Fancy a little time travel? On the occasion of our first wedding anniversary, we wanted to treat ourselves to something special and decided to take a ride on the legendary Belle Époque Bahn. We have long been fascinated by romantic train journeys that take us back to the fascinating era of the Belle Époque for a moment. The historic-looking train is a replica of the legendary Golden Mountain Pullman Express. At that time, this luxury train ran between Montreux and Zweisimmen and experienced a fitting renaissance with the Belle Epoque train.
The Golden Pass Line – Belle Époque Train & more
The trains of the Golden Pass Line operate along a 210 km route from Lucerne to Lake Geneva in Montreux. The route runs from Lucerne along Lake Lucerne and passes the stations of Interlaken, Zweisimmen, Gstaad and Chateau d'Oex before finally ending in Montreux.
Where exactly does the Belle Époque train depart from? The Belle Époque Bahn route
The most impressive section of the route is between Zweisimmen and Montreux. And from Zweisimmen, the Belle Époque train and the gold-colored panorama train also run. Only the regular trains of the Swiss railway network run to Zweisimmen. So if you want to ride the Belle Époque Bahn, make sure you are on the right section of the route. The journey from Zweisimmen to Montreux takes just under two hours (1h45). If you have several days, you can visit picturesque places like Gstaad or the Lac du Vernex in Rossinière before Montreux.
Golden Pass line timetable
The trains on the Golden Pass line run at relatively short, regular intervals, so that you can usually continue every one to one and a half hours. The best thing about it: With the regular train ticket you can travel on all trains on the route. Despite the normal train ticket, you can also travel on the Belle Époque Bahn and enjoy a touch of the extravagant Orient Express feeling. Even the arrival of the Belle Époque Bahn is a small sensation and attracts numerous spectators who don't miss the opportunity to take a few photos.
Belle Époque Bahn: Seats, Reservation & Booking
When booking, we first had to fiddle around a bit, because there are several sites where you can book train tickets for the Belle Époque Bahn. But on some pages, the departure times do not state which train it is. If you want to take the Belle Époque train at a specific time, we recommend you go directly to the MOB page to book. Because here you can see what kind of trains are leaving when and plan your trip accordingly. You can also reserve seats directly on this page.
From a practical point of view, however, the site is unfortunately only semi-optimal, it constantly hangs or error messages appear. So patience was required, but we still managed to do it. Unfortunately, on our outward journey from Zweisimmen to Montreux, all the seats in first class were already booked, so we reserved seats in second class for CHF 9 each. In retrospect, however, we would not have needed the reservation at all, because there were enough free seats without a reservation.
Ride on the Belle Époque Bahn: prices & costs
The route from Zweisimmen to Montreux costs CHF 42 per person in second class including a reservation, or CHF 33 per person without a reservation. If you are from Switzerland and have a general subscription or the half-fare card, tickets start at just CHF 9. On the return trip we had the train almost entirely to ourselves and of course we didn't miss the opportunity to take a few photos of the first-class train compartment. As soon as you are there, you can also conveniently buy the train tickets from the machines.
The most important question: How does it feel to ride the Belle Époque train?
We felt a bit like the main characters of a historical novel before embarking on a great adventure. Already the arrival of the train is an experience. The route leads through picturesque landscapes that look exactly how you imagine Switzerland to be. We were amazed to see how quickly the landscape changed as we drove.
When Montreux was not far away, the picturesque and partly snow-covered mountain ranges were replaced by palm trees and an almost Mediterranean flair towards the end of the journey. The charming spa and jazz town of Montreux lies on the picturesque Lake Geneva, surrounded by mountains and lush vegetation. Oh, if only traveling by train could always be so nice! In general, traveling by train in Switzerland is very pleasant and relaxed. The trains are clean, cozy and comfortable. You can find travel tips for the Montreux Riviera in our article Time out on Lake Geneva: 6 things you definitely shouldn't miss on the Swiss Riviera.
Train romance in Switzerland: Which seat guarantees the best view?
Let's come to another exciting question: Which side of the seat offers the best view? To be honest, there is no "wrong" side of the seat. The landscape changes and so it is sometimes interesting to look out on one side and sometimes on the other side. But in summary, the left side in the direction of travel (from Zweisimmen to Montreux) is particularly scenic.
Specials – Chocolate Train GoldenPass MOB & Cheese Train GoldenPass Montreux–Château-d'Œx
In addition to the normal daily trips, there are also regular special trips such as the chocolate train with fine chocolate tasting and a subsequent visit to the Maison du Gruyèr cheese dairy and the «Maisons Cailler-Nestlé» chocolate factory. You can find more information and details here. If you're more after a fondue, it could be cheese train (the name alone says it all) may be interesting for you. The panoramic train or the Belle Epoque train takes you from Montreux or Zweisimmen to Château-d'Oex. In “Le Chalet” you then have the opportunity to look over the cheesemaker’s shoulder as he traditionally makes cheese and then enjoy a delicious fondue.
Belle Époque Bahn for special occasions: marriage proposals, bachelor parties & birthday parties
We think that a ride on the Belle Époque Bahn is ideal for special occasions. Be it an extraordinary bachelor party, an unforgettable birthday party or even a romantic marriage proposal: the ambience is made for it! For us it was the perfect trip for our wedding anniversary.
You can find more romantic trips & travel ideas for special occasions under our heading Romantic trips.
[…] the name of Switzerland stands. While we took the romantic Belle Époque train from Zweisimmen to Montreux in June for our wedding anniversary, I went to Basel in September and spent two weeks [...]