Glacier Express Excellence Class, Glacier Express

Glacier Express Excellence Class: Zermatt · Oberalp Pass · St. Moritz

Twenty seats in one car, Zermatt to St. Moritz

Glacier Express · Day journeys

Excellence Class is the way to ride the Glacier Express when the eight hours between Zermatt and St. Moritz are the whole point of the day: 20 seats in a single panoramic car, every one at a window, with a concierge looking after those 20 guests only. Glacier Express calls them the most sought-after seats in Switzerland. The route crosses 291 bridges, runs through 91 tunnels, reaches 2,033 metres at the Oberalp Pass and passes through two UNESCO areas, Albula/Bernina and the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch.

The car has ten pairs of seats facing each other across a table, each place with its own infotainment tablet, Wi-Fi, a headset and the Excellence Class magazine. Check-in is at a welcome desk on the platform, and luggage is carried to and from the platform for you. At the end of the car is the Glacier Bar, under a gold-plated compass dome that turns with the direction of travel.

The meal is the centre of the day: Champagne and an aperitif platter, then a seasonal five-course menu of regional cooking with wine to match, from the Chur caterer Panoramic Gourmet AG. Soft drinks, water and coffee are included; cocktails, the top wines and spirits are charged. The first Glacier Express ran on 25 June 1930, and the company that runs it today, Glacier Express AG of Andermatt, set up in 2017, is owned in equal halves by the Rhaetian Railway and the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway.

We book Excellence Class together with the first-class ticket the supplement requires, and confirm the direction, the date and what is included in writing before you pay.

Departure-date guidance before the best dates sell through
Every benefit confirmed in writing before you commit
Hotels joined either side of the journey, as one trip

Lunch in Excellence Class, the Glacier Bar behind

Snowfields through the panoramic windows

The Glacier Express on a river bridge in autumn

The route

Drawn to show the order of the stations, not the exact track.

The journeys

Zermatt to St. Moritz
Day journey
About eight hours, leaving Zermatt in the morning and arriving in St. Moritz in the late afternoon.
St. Moritz to Zermatt
Day journey
The same journey in the other direction, from a morning start in St. Moritz to Zermatt in the late afternoon.

The carriages

Excellence Class panoramic car

Twenty seats in ten pairs at tables, each a guaranteed window seat, with an infotainment tablet, Wi-Fi and a headset at every place.

The Glacier Bar

At the end of the car, under a gold-plated compass dome that turns with the train, with cocktails and a wine cabinet, charged separately.

The five-course menu

Champagne and an aperitif platter, then a seasonal regional menu of five courses with wine accompaniment, catered by Panoramic Gourmet AG of Chur.

Concierge and platform check-in

A concierge host for the 20 guests only, a welcome desk on the platform, and luggage taken to and from the platform.

Booking this train

Excellence Class is sold only for the full journey, Zermatt to St. Moritz or St. Moritz to Zermatt, so choose the direction by where you want to spend the nights either side; we book the hotels at both ends. The supplement sits on top of a first-class ticket, and a rail pass or travel card can cover or reduce the ticket but never the supplement. The train does not run from mid-October to early December (11 October to 4 December 2026, then 10 October to 3 December 2027), and Excellence Class is not sold from 16 April to 3 May 2027, depending on direction, while the Rhine Gorge is closed and a replacement bus runs between Chur and Disentis. Glacier Express keeps the full Excellence Class supplement on cancellations inside 60 days of travel. For a group, the whole car can be chartered on request.

Questions, answered

Do I need a first-class ticket as well as Excellence Class?

Yes. Excellence Class is a supplement on top of a first-class ticket or pass for the journey, and rail passes and travel cards count against the ticket only, not the supplement. We book the two together.

What is included in Excellence Class?

A guaranteed window seat, a concierge for the car's 20 guests, check-in on the platform and luggage carried to and from it, Champagne and an aperitif platter, a seasonal five-course menu with wine accompaniment, and soft drinks, water and coffee. Each place has an infotainment tablet, Wi-Fi and a headset. Cocktails, the top wines and spirits from the Glacier Bar are extra.

When does the Glacier Express run?

All year except mid-October to early December. In the current timetable the winter season runs from 5 December 2026 to 7 May 2027 and the summer season from 8 May to 9 October 2027, with no service from 10 October to 3 December 2027. Excellence Class is not sold from 16 April to 3 May 2027, depending on direction, while the Rhine Gorge is closed.

Which direction should I take?

Both are the same journey of about eight hours with the same service, leaving in the morning and arriving in the late afternoon. Choose by where you want to end the day, Zermatt or St. Moritz; we book the hotels at both ends.