This really is a case of the journey being the destination.

It’s possible to wizz from Zurich to Milan in 3 hours 25 minutes, using the new Gotthard Base Tunnel under the Alps. But the views in the tunnel aren’t great. It is much better then to go over the Alps, using the original, much shorter Gotthard Tunnel and the Gotthard Pass. This can be achieved by changing at Arth Goldau and Erstfeld, making a total journey time of 4 hours 40 minutes.

However, the best way of enjoying the mountains is to take the Bernina Pass, which goes higher still, crossing the Alps above the treeline, and then dropping down into the quaint border town of Tirano. This route will take a total of 9 – 10 hours, but is worth every minute of it. The journey starts with the intercity train with Zurich to Chur, which heads south along the shores of the Zurichsee and Walensee, the high mountains reflected in the waters of the lake.

On arrival in Chur, the connecting train to St. Moritz awaits. This spotlessly clean red narrow-gauge train bustles out of the town and follows river valleys, hugging hillsides and popping in and out of tunnels. Trees, mountains, and sudden drops into deep valleys slip past the window, and before long it is time to get off. It’s possible to spend the night in St. Moritz, or to change the stop before for a connecting shuttle to Pontresina, the beginning of the Bernina route itself.

Pontresina is probably the ideal place for a stopover or short stay. The excellent and spotlessly clean youth hostel is opposite the station, and it serves good meals. It is also probably the only place you can afford to stay in Switzerland. There are plenty of walking trails – or you can do what I usually do, and just get another train.

The railway south of Chur is operated by the Rhaetian Railway and a is a quaint yet surprisingly efficient system. The rolling stock is either modern units with huge picture windows, the panorama cars of the premium ‘Bernina Express’ tourist train, or some older coaches with opening windows. Aside from the open-top cars that are sometimes attached in summer, the coaches with the opening windows are the ones to look out for. Sometimes there is even a freight wagon or two attached to the train, but I’d not recommend travelling in one of those.

Back at Pontresina station, the train to Tirano runs every 1 – 2 hours. Most visitors travel in the premium ‘Bernina Express’, which is a great way of combining a delicious meal with delicious views – for a considerable sum of money. Personally, I’d travel in one of the regular carriages and save the cash. The views are pretty spectacular on both sides, but heading south I’d aim to sit on the right-hand side – as it gives the best views of the summit lake and the glacier. The train gradually gains height, reaching a rather chilly summit, where walkers get on and off. The summit lake is beautiful in winter, covered with ice and snow, and spectacular in summer with contrasting shades of blue. You feel on top of the world – probably because you are.

After passing the glacier, which is sadly slowly receding, the line begins to descend via a serious of loops and tunnels. The distant view down the valley to Italy is breath-taking, and it is worth putting your camera away and just enjoying the drama of the ride as the train squeals around the curves, descending lower and lower into the progressively warmer and greener valley.

At the station of Poschiavo (where my sister’s phone was rescued after an ‘incident’ involving a gap between the car’s window and frame), the feel of the line changes. We are now heading through verdant greenery, and at times along a road.

A final dramatic descent via a looping bridge that looks just out of a model railway, and a cautious crawl across the town’s main square, leads to the terminus of the Rhaetian Railway in Tirano. This is the first town in Italy, and what border control formalities that exist take place in the station’s entrance hall.

Across the forecourt from the Rhaetian Railways station is the Italian Railways’ own station, where a regular service runs to Milan, taking around 2 hours, 30 minutes. Although a more ordinary journey on rather more ordinary trains, it’s worth sitting on the right hand side for views of Lake Como, which is followed for some distance. A fast run through the Milan suburbs eventually brings the journey to an end at the monumental Milano Centrale station.

Lake Como

The Duomo (Cathedral) Milan

Milan Central Station

The journey will have taken longer than the fast train direct from Zurich, in fact an awful lot longer, but by travelling this way you will see places and views that some people will never see, and it really will feel as if you have actually crossed the Alps, not flown over them or charged straight underneath them.

A trip like this can sound expensive, and if you buy your tickets from Swiss Railways, it is. So the clever workaround is to either do the trip using an Interrail Pass, or to book it as part of a longer journey from a station in Germany, using the DB website www.bahn.co.uk Simply book your journey from, say, Baden-Baden (or another German station) to Tirano, and add in two ‘via’ points of Zurich and Pontresina. Adjust your timings and select a stopover period in each of those places, if you wish. It’s possible to stop over for up to 48 hours, so you can include an overnight break en route.