Zermatt Travel Forum

Does anyone know the fastest way to get from Venice to Zermatt? There are so many different train schedules, I'm getting confused. Thanks!

"fastest" can be such a relative term ;-)

One problem about taking the train from Italy up to Zermatt is that there doesn't appear to be a through rail line south from Zermatt to the Italian border; that is, the rail line runs north to Brig (well, Visp, if you want to be precise). So the question is - how quickly can you get to Brig from Venice?

If you ask www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html that question, the answer is 5 to 6 hours, with a connection usually in Milan. Believe it or not, there is a through train from Venice to Brig, but since it leaves Venice at 17:09 and arrives in Brig at 22:12, from which you would still have to take the 1.5 hour train down to Zermatt, this probably doesn't work for you.

So, for a daylight run, figure 5-6 hours from Venice to Brig, then up to an hour wait (the direct trains to Zermatt leave at 5 minutes after each hour), and 1 hour and 26 minutes on the direct train (there are trains with one connection that take a little longer). So what does that add up to? 6.5 to 8 hours - i.e., all day.

There is another alternative that may suit you better - taking the overnight train from Venice to Brig, then taking one of the first morning trains from Brig down to Zermatt. The schedule would be:
Venice - dep 19:57 (regional train)
Bologna - arr 22:05
Bologna - dep 00:39 (Euronight 314)
Brig - arr 05:39
Brig - dep 06:02 (regional train)
Zermatt - arr 07:42

Yes, this would have you hanging around the Bologna train station for a couple of hours, and changing trains in Brig before 6 in the morning...but you could at least get a couchette on the Euronight train and spend a few hours lying down instead of sitting up.

Now I am going to offer an alternative, due to the vagaries of the Swiss railroad - take the same trains as above: Venice to Milan, Milan to Brig - but don't get off at Brig. It turns out this Euronight train stays at Brig for more than an hour before it continues down the road to Visp - about 12 minutes away. Thus, you could stay on the Euronight train an extra 1.5 hours and get off at a much more reasonable 07:03, then take the next local train down to Zermatt. That is:
Venice - dep 19:57 (regional train)
Bologna - arr 22:05
Bologna - dep 00:39 (Euronight 314)
Visp - arr 07:03
Visp - dep 07:17 (regional train) - if you can make it/otherwise, have a coffee and take the next train at 08:17
Zermatt - arr 08:24 (or 09:24)

Why do this overnight solution? Because the first method has you using up an entire day of touring time to get from Venice to Zermatt, while the second method loses you far fewer hours of touring time, even though the overnight trip technically takes longer - you leave Venice at nearly 8 p.m., and roll into Zermatt no later than 9:30 the next morning - and 8:30 if you're lucky (and fast).

NOTE: I tested this solution for December 4th (picked at random); there is no guarantee that this will work everyday. I gave the Trenitalia (Italy) website above; to check the Swiss rail times, see www.sbb.ch .

Note that if you are willing to take a bus, you may be able to take the train from Venice someplace close to the Swiss border south of Zermatt, then take a bus across....I wouldn't know about that...

Bill

If you know how to get to Zermatt from Cervinia (the nearest station to which is Chatillon, 27km away by bus), there is a coach service from Milan to Breuil-Cervinia-Valtournenche, see www.savda.it. I doubt that it would be quicker than the train, though.

The only way to get to Zermatt from Cervinia would be to backtrack back to Milan and than travel from there back to Switzerland. Short of going by foot across the mountains there is no way to get to Zermatt from the South.

Just go to www.sbb.ch. Type in "Venice" and "Zermatt" in the from and to boxes, and you'll get the schedules you need. Pick one that is convenient to you.

Thank you so much! That was really helpful, and you're right...better to take the overnight so I don;t waste the day. Thanks again for taking the time to help me! :)

I wouldn't dismiss the daytime train option though. 6 hours is doable, and the route is quite scenic north of Milan. Pity to miss it all being asleep.