New Eurail Route Connects the Swiss Alps with the Italian Riviera

Europe is one of the best continents to see by train: Fairly compact, small and inexpensive, it’s easy to country hop while passing ever-changing landscapes straight out of storybooks. One of Europe’s leading train travel companies, Eurail connects travelers with countries and allows the purchase of tickets based on the region or the number of countries on an itinerary.

This spring, the train company introduced a new route that connects the picturesque Swiss Alps with the fanciful Italian Riviera from a first- or second-class seat. The Italy-Switzerland pass can be purchased on Eurail’s website and includes travel within and/or between the two countries within a predetermined time period.

Begin the route in Lucerne, from there you can take the Gotthard Panorama Express train — with massive windows — through the stunning mountains to Lugano, a short boat ride across the lake to Italy. The route then continues on to Milan for shopping, Genoa for pesto and includes a few stops in the UNESCO village of Cinque Terre.

Prices for a 10-day ticket (which can be used anytime within a period of two months) costs $496 in second class and $617 in first class. The journey only requires one ticket and allows you to hop off and hop on whenever you’d like. Tickets can be purchased online and either delivered via mail or held at station ticket offices.