Here’s Why Autumn Is The Best Time To See Switzerland By Train

Katherine’s favourite stretch is the line hugging Lake Geneva between Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux, where the UNESCO-listed Lavaux terraces tumble down to the water. ‘It’s just beautiful around there,’ she says. ‘Not only can you see the changing foliage, you can also see the wine growers out harvesting the grapes, which is brilliant.’

For an even closer look, the little Train des Vignes climbs from Vevey up through the vineyards to Puidoux-Chexbres. Hop off at any village for a glass of Chasselas in a winemaker’s cellar; harvest season is when the region is at its most convivial.

From Montreux, the MOB railway climbs away from the lake towards the Gruyère, the Pays-d’Enhaut, Gstaad and Zweisimmen – and the most romantic way to ride it is the GoldenPass Belle Époque. Its blue carriages are styled after the original Orient Express, all polished wood, brass fittings and plush upholstery, which makes the scenery outside feel like a moving painting.

‘The GoldenPass Belle Époque train is particularly beautiful on the inside,’ says Katherine, ‘or if you’re really lucky, you might also get one of the old carriages where you can pull the windows down. You can lean out and have a look and just take it all in, with the wind blowing your hair.’

Prefer your views unframed? The GoldenPass Panoramic runs the same route and is billed as the world’s first fully panoramic train. Its wraparound windows were designed in the MOB’s own workshops at Chernex, so the carriage all but disappears and leaves you with the lake, peaks and chalets.

Going further? The GoldenPass Express runs all the way from Montreux to Interlaken without a change of train, its clever gauge-changing carriages carrying you from the French-speaking Riviera into the heart of the Bernese Oberland. Browse all MOB trains here.

The simplest way to do all of this is with the Swiss Travel Pass: one ticket for unlimited travel on trains, buses and boats across the country, plus free entry to hundreds of museums and discounts on many mountain excursions. Seat reservations on the panoramic trains are booked separately, so plan ahead for the GoldenPass Belle Époque and GoldenPass Express.

And the GoldenPass is only the start. The Grand Train Tour of Switzerland links the country’s great panoramic lines into a single 1,280km route. It runs from the Glacier Express and Bernina Express in the high Alps to the Gotthard Panorama Express and the palm-fringed shores of Ticino, passing 11 lakes and five UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the way. You can ride it all in one go or pick a stretch or two.

It makes for easy autumn detours, too. Above Lake Lucerne, the Rigi railways are running autumn rides with Locomotive 7, a 153-year-old steam engine brought out of retirement especially for the season. In Graubünden, the Rhaetian Railway’s Chur-Arosa line winds up through larch forests that turn a spectacular gold.

The Swiss Travel Pass covers boats as well as trains, and the lakes are still very much open for business in autumn. On Lake Geneva, a CGN cruise glides past Château de Chillon and the Lavaux terraces – the perfect counterpoint to seeing them from the train.

Some autumn sailings are on smaller boats, and on a misty morning, with the far shore half hidden, they can feel quite mystical. Timetables thin out as the leaves fall, so check before you travel.

The trick to autumn in Switzerland is timing, and the colours move from the high valleys down to the lakes as the weeks go on. Switzerland Tourism’s foliage map shows where the leaves are at their best right now, so you can point your train in the right direction.

The weather helps, too. ‘It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold,’ says Katherine. ‘You can get some really nice sunny days, but it’s also not beating down on you, it’s just perfect.’

Autumn is festival season, and the rail network makes them easy to reach. Katherine’s pick is close to home: the capital’s Zibelemärit, held on the fourth Monday of November (23 November this year). ‘I have to give a shout out to my local festival in Bern,’ she says. ‘It’s literally a festival for onions.’ Expect plaited onion garlands, onion tart and a good-natured confetti battle through the old town.

While it’s all about the journey, we can’t forget the destination, either. Switzerland’s spa and wellness hotels come into their own as the evenings draw in – think a thermal pool with a mountain view after the GoldenPass Belle Époque drops you in Gstaad. The Swiss Historic Hotels collection, meanwhile, brings together centuries-old inns, grand belle époque hotels and characterful townhouses nestled among Switzerland’s mountains, forests and Alpine meadows.