Your Tour Manager will be happy to advise you about attractive options and specific connections. (B D)
Thursday 29th December
Sunday 25th December
The time has come to venture further south to Italy as well as Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. While your luggage is directly forwarded by SBB’s excellent transfer service from hotel to hotel, you take a direct EuroCity train along the legendary Simplon Railway south to Italy. You change trains in Domodossola and then take the stunning Centovalli narrow gauge railway past 100 valleys and over numerous towering viaducts to Locarno. After ample time to explore Mediterranean Locarno with its spacious piazza and a side-step to the adjacent lakeside village of Ascona, you take an SBB train to nearby Lugano in Ticino, Switzerland’s Italian speaking canton. Check-in to your centrally located hotel, where you will stay for the next three nights. On arrival, dinner is served in the hotel restaurant. (B D)
Festive Lake Lucerne steamboat cruise with Christmas lunch
For Christmas Day, the memorable highlight is a gala cruise on the vintage 1901 paddle steamer ‘Uri’. A festive 4-course Christmas meal will be served to you in the ornate Belle Epoque salon of the ship, as you cruise over stunning Lake Lucerne with Mount Pilatus and Mount Rigi in full view. Watch the big steam engine push the bright red paddle wheels, as the steamer gently glides over the water. After the cruise, you’ll have free time in Lucerne to explore this elegant city. Then you could use your Swiss Pass to travel back to Bern and Brig on a different railway route than in the morning, either travelling through the Emmental or over the Brünig Pass. In the evening, a light dinner will be served at the hotel. (B L D) Monday 26th and Tuesday 27th December
Freedom of Switzerland with First Class Swiss Travel Pass
For the next two days you have total freedom to discover all that Switzerland has to offer. Aside from attractions like the nearby Bernese Oberland or Lake Geneva, you can explore the less-famous railway lines in the serene Gruyere region or make a side-step to Chamonix, France on the Mont Blanc Express, all offering iconic ‘little trains’, towering viaducts and mountain views. Excursions over the Oberalp Pass to the Rhaetian Railway are also possible. Each night, dinner is served at the hotel in Brig. (B D) Wednesday 28th December Mountain magnificence in the Bernese Oberland
Today you may join your Tour Manager for a guided excursion to the world famous Bernese Oberland. After arriving to Interlaken by SBB service, you can explore the countless ‘Little Trains’ of the region and travel by scenic train to such famed mountain villages as Grindelwald, Wengen, Lauterbrunnen and Mürren, where you will be rewarded with the most amazing views of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. In case you would like to follow in the footsteps of James Bond, you can make the optional excursion to the summit of Mount Schilthorn, the filming location of “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. (B D)
Journey on the Centovalli Railway in Northern Italy, Lake Maggiore in Locarno and Ascona; Arrive in Lugano
Friday 30th and Saturday 31st December
Railways and Funiculars of Ticino; along the Gotthard Railway and Swiss Riviera in Locarno and Lugano
The mountain railways of Ticino are particularly exciting, as are the lakeside cities of Locarno and Lugano with their Mediterranean flair. For all railway enthusiasts, the busy border station of Chiasso is also a must. You first make a group visit to the Madonna del Sasso funicular, for spectacular views from this Italianate basilica high above Locarno. Then you are free to travel the length and breadth of the Ticino railway network for the next two days, including the Gotthard summit route with its winding horseshoe curves, the Ponte Tresa narrow gauge railway or the main line along Lake Lugano towards Italy. You could even make good use of the 57 km long Gotthard base tunnel and make an easy day-trip to the Mount Rigi rack railway at Arth-Goldau. On both evenings you have dinner at the hotel in Lugano. On New Year’s Eve, complimentary drinks are included with your dinner to celebrate the New Year. (B D)
Tour Summary Tour price
£2695
Single supplement £295 Ground only (Brig – Lugano)
£2400
Price includes: • 11 nights half board at centrally located quality hotels in Brig and Lugano • First Class rail travel from London to Switzerland and back (seats are reserved in standard premier carriages on Eurostar services) • A 15-Day Swiss Travel Pass national rail rover in First Class • Gornergrat mountain railway excursion • Festive Lake Lucerne Christmas Day Cruise with 4-course meal • SBB luggage transfer from Brig to Lugano • Train tickets in Italy for excursion on Centovalli Railway • New Year’s Eve 3-course dinner with drinks included • All seat reservations and transfers (except on free days) • The services of a tour manager Optional Schilthorn excursion £35. All prices shown are per person based on two persons sharing. Meals included each day are shown as: B = Breakfast - L = Lunch - D = Dinner December 2022 Mon
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Sunday 1st January 2023 Return to London
After your exhilarating Christmas holiday you return to London via Paris by TGV and Eurostar services. (B)
EUROPEAN TOUR – 12 Days
19
