Summer walking holiday for adults in the Alps by train from London

[MsMartini]

I'm trying to work out the best way to do this. We'd like to avoid car hire at the destination and be able to get into the mountains easily to walk. And to keep journey times to a minimum (I know going by train will take longer).

One option seems to be daytime trains to French alps and then a resort like Chamonix. Any advice on the best route, or good resorts for public transport and cable cars etc so you don't need a car, would be great.

Another option might be a night train to the Austrian Alps via eg Munich. I've browsed maninseat61 who makes it sound doable but other sites say they sell out as soon as they go on sale and the actual booking sites look quite confusing so I don't know how you plan round that or co-ordinate with Eurostar which go on sale earlier?

It is just for me and dh. We like walking, running, swimming, he might mountain bike, I like the odd sauna. Less bothered about fancy restaurants or accommodation but like a good night's sleep.

Anyone done similar? I'd love to hear.

Saas-Fee is worth looking at. Train via Geneva to Visp then the bus up the mountain. It’s doable in a long day.
We stay at the Wellness Hostel 4000 where you can pay extra to use the spa as much as you want. The tourist tax for Saas-Fee gives a pass for all local cable cars and buses.
You just have to chance it with the Eurostar and other trains really. Look at possible connections.
Oh, and Swiss trains are expensive but there’s some sort of special pass (DH books our trains) that makes it reasonable.

Love Saas Fee but there are probably more easily accessible resorts. Think you can get to Basel or Zurich fairly easily on fast trains, then either the Bernese Oberland (ie. Interlaken, Grindelwald or Wengen, Meringen, Kandersteg) , Lucerne (ie. Engelberg) , Arosa or Lenzeheide via Chur).

We're going to Aix les Bains for walking and hot springs. Chambéry is on the mainline TGV from Paris. The ÖBB nightjet is fine. It is indeed best to get in early but it's not impossible to book, especially if you can work out how fast in advance they're released. Their website tends to decline my credit card so I normally pay with PayPal. Zürich is also a 4h TGV ride from Paris, then the whole of the Inn Valley is a wonderful train ride, 4h from Zürich to Innsbruck. Alternately, the Italian Alps are also about 4h from Zürich of you head south. Anywhere along Lakes Como or Magiorre have amazing walking.

I missed the bit about how you plan it. We do it in a very relaxed way. Book the biggest ticket first (so for you that would be Paris) on the basis that from Paris you're guaranteed a holiday, even if you end up staying in Paris! Then book the next bits as the tickets are released. You do have to be slightly flexible though. If you can't find a good connection, you choose a different mountain.

The French SNCFconnect website is pretty good. For TGVs, OuiGo is the cheap version where you have to pay for a big suitcase, but it's just as fast and comfortable for a very good price. You do have to check that it goes to the central station rather than leaving you at the outskirts though and they don't have a bar. Austrian ÖBB just says no connection if you look too early, but you can check if the route exists by looking for departures next month. Swiss SBB website is quite ok too.

Destinations - Nightjet

you can leave london at 9.30 and get to innsbruck in 11 hours later during the day or leave london at 13.30 and arrive in innsbruck the next morning. They have got new designs of sleeping accommodation eg fully enclosed couchette bunks. Either stay in Innsbruck or go to the Achensee or Mayerhofen Valley.

We went London to Paris and Paris to Lausanne on same day. We stayed in Vevey near Montreux it was so pretty. We had a swiss pass which covered the ferries ad well as trains our best holiday ever.

Hello. Can I suggest a less well known option…. You can get a direct train (overnight) to the southern French Alps from Paris austerlitz. Or alternately tgv to Grenoble or Valence and change to local train to Gap, Embrun, Briancon area. There is fabulous walking and it’s less hectic, less well know and less pricey. The Queyras is stunning.

Thank you all so much, this is exactly the sort of info I was after.

Any views on which resorts are best for getting into the mountains for walking without a car? I am assuming places that are ski resorts in winter and open their cable cars and lifts in summer?

I'm tempted to book Eurostar to Paris (that seems to give most options - France, Geneva, and can also connect to Cologne then sleepers to Austrian alps I think) for late May/June soon, and then work the rest out.......

In Austria the resorts don't open until mid June. Your options will be very limited in May outside large towns. Not sure about France.

Resorts are set up for people flying in without cars. You can ski much further than you can walk, so even a small resort will have plenty of walking for a few days. Pick a few places you fancy and check the resort website for walking routes to see if it's got enough. They all have buses and trains, taxis if you want to go somewhere off the bus route. A nice spa, a few decent restaurants and a good shop are more likely to be limiting factors than transport.

We've been to Innsbruck a few times because it's got all of the advantages of a city break with lots of accessible mountains (some even by tram!) The whole of the Ötztal is connected by buses. French villages can be a bit patchy for buses, but resorts are normally ok. Everything in Switzerland is insanely easy, it's just a matter of picking a mountain and making sure you credit card has plenty of space.

Some resorts like Wengen and Grindelwald have mountain trains which run all year and glacial resorts like Saas Fee, Zermatt and Engelberg will still run lifts up to the summits. Agree with pp that many resorts only run cablecars at weekends and public holidays in May(Ascension Day and Whitsun) then also weekdays around late June until August. Interrail do passes of varying durations and Swiss passes come in different durations with discounts on lifts but may not include privately run mountain trains.

May/June I would agree the Bernese Oberland (wengen/grindelwald) but be aware paths may be restricted by snow.

Thanks so much again, everyone.

What month would you recommend, given we are not restricted by school holidays?

Late June or early September. European schools break up earlier than UK but return from mid August.

We’ve been twice to Seefeld in the Austrian Tirol by train. Excellent public transport by bus and train- if you stay in a hotel in Seefeld you get a card that allows you free use of the local buses.
One year we did London-Paris (overnight hotel) Zurich-Innsbruck-Seefeld
The next year we did London-Amsterdam-overnight train to Innsbruck
i booked the Eurostar (you can change the times/dates free of charge so can change if you end up changing plans/date of the Nightjet) then exactly 6 months before I booked the Nightjet. But that was partly because we wanted the 6 berth couchette deal for our family of 5.
booking it was easy on the ÖBB website

The Austrian Alps can be reached in a day if you can start very early from London. Otherwise, it's two days or an overnight trip on the Nightjet service.

Cable cars usually start running in the last weekend in May (occasionally around Ascension Day, but in 2024 that day falls very early, May 4th, so probably too early for all of the off-season the maintenance work to have been completed).

The Nightjet or daytime train services will get you to Salzburg, from where there are easy public transport links to the mountain resorts.

For example, Zell am See and Kitzbuhel can be reached by train, but don't rule out the cheap and reliable Postbus routes. For example, Salzburg to Saalbach takes under 2 hours, with one change (the bus times are coordinated) and only costs €15 for a 80km journey. The "buses" are comfortable coaches rather than town buses. All public transport options in Austria can be seen on the ÖBB "Scotty" website (in English too!)

look at companies like Macs adventure who give you route maps and transport your luggage for you. we have had some great trips with them. They arrange all the accomadation. You can choose how many days you want to spend over a distance, and walk hard or easy!
https://www.macsadventure.com/

You might like the Savoie region in Southern France, near Mont Blanc and the glaciers. Fabulous in Winter and Summer. Trains from Paris and Lyon to Bourg Sainte Marie. You can take the funicular rail from there to Les Arcs, and a bus takes you to the Vanoise National Park for walking and hiking. It's not too far from Aosta in Italy if you want to venture further. Just a suggestion to add to the others already given.

Train tickets to Bourg-Saint-Maurice - SNCF Connect (sncf-connect.com)

You could get the train to Bern. Then onwards to the Jungfrau region, using Lauterbrunnen as a base (lakes, cycling, mountain trails for hiking or biking)

There may be routes with fewer changes but to give you ideas of a route and timings of each leg, I've looked on the interrailing website I think it would be:
London to Paris (2hrs 20)
across Paris Gare du Nord to Gare del'Est
Paris to Strasbourg (1h 45)
Strasbourg to Basel (1 hr 17)
Basel to Bern (1hr)

Then Bern to Lauterbrunnen (change at Interlaken Ost, as above there it's rack and pinion) (1 hr 20)

Onwards trains to Wengen and Jungfraujoch (highest train station in Europe) and the cable cars to Murren and to Birg/Schilthorn run year-round.

20 Amazing Things to Do in the Jungfrau Region of the Bernese Oberland – Earth Trekkers

Edited to add link. And to add that I think there's an ICE train from Frankfurt to Interlaken Ost which might be easier/quicker because of fewer changes

Although their trains are less reliable these days the best timetable for trans Europe journeys is the DB one from German railways. It contains almost all European timetables including the UK.

Switzerland is fab for hiking and my favourite time is early to mid September... huts and lifts still open but crowds gone. Great for public transport.

Worth looking into train passes..
https://www.europe-train-passes.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAyKurBhD5ARIsALamXaFsVUI5gd_LK4CBXnH46oet4wxR7-pSk28xgStv2tDPiN-15WC_sEQaAvT6EALw_wcB&slug=swiss-travel-pass&pid=24561&popup=details but also https://www.sbb.ch/en/buying/pages/kontingent/kontingent.xhtml;jsessionid=EAED13721F7F0948E91C311F3C7E60D2 which you can book day passes up to 6 months in advance for 52chf.

But nothing is cheap in Switzerland..

I don't know Austria and public transport can be challenging in the mountains in France but Chamonix is possible.. plenty of FABULOUS hiking there.. and my favourite mountain town .. Saint Gervais Les Bains.. sweet understated village with great walking, awesome spa, 3 gorgeous michelin star restaurants (ine has only 3 tables)..

Look at interrail.. but also look at booking in advance directly.. interrail is not always cheaper but it is flexible.

Wow, thank you all so, so much. This is absolutely brilliant, I really appreciate it. I will go through all these suggestions and details carefully. Special thanks to those who wrangled train timetables 😂.

Last question! dh has now helpfully come late to the party and said he fancies some mountain biking and Morzine has come up for that. Anyone been there to walk/bike?

"In Austria the resorts don't open until mid June. Your options will be very limited in May outside large towns"

This is not correct. By the end of May most resorts will have some lifts open - the tourist office websites give the opening dates well in advance. This summer Leogang was open from 12th May and Saalbach and Zell am See from 26th May.

Morzine / Les Gets is a mountain biking haven. Lovely town, great in the summer and there is good hiking / walking there.. but if I were to be 100% honest..if fabulous hiking is your goal, you would be shoehorning you holiday around his wishes.. if you want to PM me.. I wrote a blog post about hiking in the alps.. I have a lot of experience of interveaving the wants of my children and my husband and occassionally putting my needs first.....

PS...if your husband has suddenly decides he wants a mountain biking holiday.. with no previous declared interest... and this is not your wish.. think twice.

I was just going to suggest Macs, or Inntravel. You need to get to the starting point but then it’s all either point to point hiking, with accommodation or some limited transfers by taxi.

We hiked in the French Alps organised with Inntravel and the Slovenian Alps with Macs. You don’t have to go with a group - they give you everything you need to go either solo or in a couple.