Meeting Your Trip in BRIG or in ZERMATT
Updated for 2008

On this page, you will find information about meeting your trip in BRIG or ZERMATT. Topics include...

We suggest that you print these pages out, and bring a copy with you to your trip.


When and Where:
Zermatt is at the top of an Alpine valley, and Brig at the bottom of the same valley, to reaching these two involves the same trains, except for the mountain cog railway that climbs the hill (Zermatt only).

If you are joining your trip in BRIG...
...3 meeting times are on offer: 2:30p, 3:30p, and 4:30p, on platform 1 of the Brig station, at the far west end of the platform (right, as you face the station, your back to the tracks). We are often there in between these times, but we also use the gaps to run errands related to trip set-up.

If for any reason you are unable to reach this meeting, it is important to call our Paris office (or your coordinator’s cell phone, if you have it) by 4:30p on the meeting day, and then to travel directly to the night’s stop in Domodossola. This phone call is VERY IMPORTANT, since we otherwise assume you are a “no-show,” and ship your bike back to Paris!

If you are joining your trip in ZERMATT...
...we will probably have lodged you at the Hotel Garni Testa Grigia, CH 3920 Zermatt
Tel: (41) (027) 966.79.00 Fax: (41) (27) 966.79.01
If other Blue Marbles are in town, you will meet them at the hotel.

Even if tonight is part of your trip, and a Blue Marble coordinator is in town, it is an “independent” night, so you do not technically need to meet other members of your group, nor indeed to see anyone. However, our coordinator will stop by the hotel before the dinner hour, circa 8p (if he hasn't, he’ll arrive in the lobby at 8:30p, off the last train), and you are welcome to join him (and any others hanging around) for the evening.


Included in Your Access Package, if you subscribed to it:
Train tickets to Brig or Zermatt from Milan, Gallarate (Malpensa Airport), Geneva, Paris, Zurich or elsewhere.

If you are arriving via an overnight train, a couchette berth is included on board the train (or a sleeper berth if you chose to upgrade).

Travel Documents will have been sent to you in advance, unless you are arriving via Paris, in which case they will be supplied by our Paris office. You will receive either a train ticket, or a railpass with accompanying explanation regarding its use, and a schedule for the train that you have reserved.


Getting to the Trip
Brig is a major railway junction in the Rhône Valley, and on the border with Italy.
Zermatt is the alpine resort at the top of a side valley, accessible by an alpine cog railway from Brig.

The closest airports are Geneva and Milan. Milan’s Malpensa airport is geographically closer, but trains to Brig run directly from a rail station in Geneva’s airport’s main terminal, which makes this trip quicker and easier. Direct trains also run from the Zurich Airport rail station.

Brig Only
Your coordinator’s arrival in Brig is irregular, since he generally arrives by bike. He should be in place for the first meeting time (and you can check earlier - he is often in place by 1:30p or so), but if you do not see him, simply come back an hour later, and he will be there.

If you get to Brig in time, and are “proactive” about getting your bike sized and set up, and dealing with your luggage, there is a pleasant warm-up ride that you can take. If you are too jet-lagged to cycle, a short train ride can carry you literally to the front door of your hotel in Domodossola, for a nap.

Zermatt Only
Our usual hotel, the Testa Grigia, is two blocks from the station. Walk (slightly uphill) along Zermatt’s main street, in the direction in which your train was travelling as it pulled into the station. The hotel is on the left, but its entrance is discrete and easy to miss. You have gone too far if you come to the church.

If a Blue Marble coordinator is in Zermatt tonight, he will arrive sometime in the evening, in time for a late dinner. He will try to ascertain whether or not you have checked in, and will come to look for you if you have. On your end, ask the desk which room he has been assigned, and try to leave him a message. If you then want to wander about, feel free to do so. The tourist office is by the railway station, and can help with suggestions for walks and sights.

Even if the stay in Zermatt is included in the price of your trip, tonight is an “independent night” - that is, you are on your own for dinner. This was set up this way lest you be too tired after a flight to enjoy a nice dinner. If you are hoping to eat without bankrupting yourself (not an easy thing to do in Zermatt), try to find a set price menu, called tagesteller in German, generally advertised on chalkboards in front of restaurants. This is the day’s dish, and is the most economical solution to dining in Switzerland.

Travel Documents:
You will receive either a ticket or a railpass for the trip as far as Brig. If you are arriving via Paris, it will be waiting for you in our Paris office, instead.

If you are continuing to Zermatt, you will also receive a small, unprepossessing cardboard rectangle. This is the ticket from Brig (or Visp, where you may alternately change trains) to Zermatt. Despite its appearance, it costs a ton of Swiss Francs, and should be carefully guarded.


From Geneva Airport
Follow signs to the train station (within the air terminal). Take the first train announced whose final destination is Brig (“Brigue” in French). If your destination is Brig, you may also take any train bound for Milano, Venice (“Venezia”), or Florence (“Firenze”). If you are travelling to Zermatt, you must wait for a train which terminates in Brig (does not go through to Italy).

If you are going to Brig, most trains terminate there (and the few that continue to Milan or beyond stop in Brig for 10 minutes or so), so getting off is easy. Two trains operate every hour, and journey time is a bit over 2 and a half hours.

If you are going to Zermatt, you will get off instead in a town called Visp, 10 minutes before your train would reach Brig. To help you prepare to detrain: the previous station is Leuk, about 10 minutes prior, and the one before that is Sierre / Siders. See below for ongoing instructions to Zermatt.


From Milan

Linate Airport, Brescia Airport, or Downtown
A bus service runs from either airport (Brescia or Linate) to Milano Centrale station (the last stop for the bus). The bus is frequent from Linate, but not so from Brescia... if there is no departing bus from Brescia, take a local bus into the center of town, and catch the every-half-hour train into Milan from there. Be sure to take a train to Milano Centrale, and not to another Milan station.

We recommend taking the bus, especially from Brescia, since the ride is quite a long one, and thus expensive by taxi (even the bus costs about 15€).

At the Milano Centrale station, take the next train departing for Brig. These are hard to figure out, since no trains terminate their runs in Brig (they wind up in Geneva, Basel, and elsewhere), so the giant departure board will not mention the place. But “Partenza” (departure) posters posted around the station, and which list all departures chronologically, show all major stations, including Brig (if spelled in Italian, it will be shown as “Brigga”). The Information Office (“i”) can also provide the necessary information. These trains technically require reservations, but if you have a ticket for a train other than the one pulling out, and no time to modify it, go show it to the conductor, and see if he will let your ride.

You will reach Brig about 2 hours after leaving Milan. The last stop before Brig is Domodossola. A short while after Domodossola, the train enters a 15-minute-long tunnel under the Simplon pass. When it resurfaces, Brig is 2 minutes away.

Malpensa Airport
Take the local bus to the Gallarate train station (“stazione ferroviale di Gallarate”). It runs every 20 minutes, and costs a couple of euros. Or you could take a cab... the station is just a few kilometers away. The ride should take about 15 minutes, and cost no more than 20 euros, but be sure that you are clear on the approximate price before you get in the car.

In Gallarate, take the next departing train which makes a stop in Brig (“Brigga,” in Italian), even if its final destination is something else. You can figure out which trains stop in Brig by consulting the posters labeled “Partenza,” posted around the station, and which list all trains in order of departure. Be sure that the poster you consult refers to partenzas (departures) from Gallarate, and not from Milano Centrale (the station that the poster refers to is at the top of the poster, a sub-title). The current schedule calls for departures to Brig at 7:58a, 8:58a, 11:58a, and then 58 minutes past every even hour (12:58p, 2:58p, etc.). This schedule is subject to change, but it can be confirmed at http://fahrplan.sbb.ch/bin/query.exe/en?.

These trains technically require reservations, but if you have a ticket for a train other than the one pulling out, and no time to modify it, get on, anyway, and just occupy any open seat. The fine will not be more than 10€, and may well be waived altogether.

Brig is 1'18" away on an express (the trains departing in odd hours), 1'45" away on a local (trains departing in even hours). To help you get off in the right place: the last stop before Brig is Domodossola, which is actually where you are spending the night if your trip meets in Brig. A short while after Domodossola, the train enters a 15-minute-long tunnel under the Simplon pass. When it resurfaces, Brig is 2 minutes away.

If you are continuing to Zermatt, see below.


From Zurich Airport
Follow signs to the train station (within the air terminal). Look on the departure board to see the next scheduled train for Brig. Direct trains to Brig (or to Visp, if you are connecting to Zermatt) run every hour, at 39” past the hour.

Trip time is about 2-and-a-half hours. Start paying attention when you go through a massive tunnel, lasting 20 minutes or so. When you come out, Visp (change for Zermatt) is the next stop, and Brig is 10 minutes after that (since Brig is the final stop, you will have no trouble detraining if this is your destination).

If you are continuing to Zermatt, see below.



From Paris
If you are arriving via Paris, you have received separate instructions regarding the trip from the airport or rail station to the city center (either to our office, or to one of our hotels if you are spending a night there before setting out). On the cycle trip’s start date, you will travel to Brig by train.

Trains from Paris to Switzerland require reservations, and if you are arriving via this route you should give us advance warning of your preferences, so that we may book an appropriate seat for you. The most appropriate train departs Paris at 8a (approximately), with a connection in Lausanne, Basel, or Geneva (it is thus impossible to make this trip on the day on which your flight lands).

Stop by our Paris office sometime before your trip (opening hours) to pick up your tickets for the ride down, and to collect any equipment that you need for your trip.

We will provide you with a ticket, and a seat reservation on the first of the two trains you must ride. The reservation will specify a car and seat number. If you are travelling via Lausanne or Geneva, your connection point will be the last stop for your train. Everyone will get off there, including you. If via Basel, the train makes a long stop, so you have plenty of time to figure things out (the previous stop, in this case, will be Mulhouse, about 20 minutes prior).

Take the next train announced whose final destination is Brig (“Brigue” in French). If your destination is Brig, you may also take any train bound for Milano, Venice (“Venezia”), or Florence (“Firenze”). If you are travelling to Zermatt, you must wait for a train which terminates in Brig (does not go through to Italy).

If you are going to Brig, most trains terminate there (and the few that continue to Milan or beyond stop in Brig for 10 minutes or so), so getting off is easy. Two trains operate every hour, and journey time is a bit over 2 and a half hours.

If you are going to Zermatt, you will get off instead in a town called Visp, 10 minutes before your train would reach Brig. To help you prepare to detrain: the previous station is Leuk, about 10 minutes prior, and the one before that is Sierre / Siders. See below for ongoing instructions to Zermatt.

Travel time to Brig on the second train is 2 hours (10 minutes less to Visp).


From Disentis, via the “Glacier Express”
The “Glacier Express” has the peculiarity of arriving on special tracks in front of (not inside) the Brig station. It stops in Brig for a while, since the locomotive must change ends of the train, so you have plenty of time to figure out that you are there, and get off. If you are continuing to Zermatt (see below) you may do so on the same train. However, your ticket from Brig to Zermatt (included in the price of your trip) is not valid in 1st class, so you must get up and change cars, or pay an extra charge on board (circa 15 CHF). You may sit in any of the adjoining 2nd class cars to continue your journey.


Travelling on from Brig (or Visp) to Zermatt, if Applicable:
The alpine train from Brig to Zermatt leaves from special tracks embedded in the street in front of the station. That is, you must exit the station, and look for more trains out in the street. The train is more conventionally located in Visp, within the station complex.

You have received a small cardboard ticket for this trip, from us. The train runs every hour, generally departing Brig at 5” past the hour, though occasional trains go at 23” or 51” past the hour in addition. Visp departure is 10 minutes later.

The trip takes 80 minutes from Brig (70 from Visp). and Zermatt is the last stop. Stay awake for this ride, which is spectacular. The best scenery is mostly on the left side, but if you are feeling energetic, cross the car every time the train crosses the river (to keep the river always in sight), and you will be richly rewarded.