Bernina Express from Milan: Panoramic Coach or Red Train?

Among the Milan day trips this site reviews, one puts you in a panoramic Bernina Express coach from the city: Frigerio Viaggi’s From Milan: St. Moritz and Bernina Express Tour, on its Tour with Panoramic Carriage option, from $185 per person (our review). The same operator runs a Como version. Every other day trip from Milan on this site rides the regional red train in 2nd class, even when “Bernina Express” appears in the listing’s title, web address or itinerary.

That is not a reason to skip the red train. Both trains run on the same track and pass the same glaciers. The difference is the coach you sit in, the windows and the price.

Two trains on one line

The Bernina Express is the panoramic train of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) between St. Moritz or Chur and Tirano. Its coaches have glass curving up into the roof, the windows do not open, and every passenger buys a seat reservation on top of the ticket. Third-party fare tables put that reservation at about CHF 32 per person each way between St. Moritz and Tirano. Only a few of these trains run each day.

The red train, the trenino rosso, is the ordinary regional service on the same line. It runs roughly once an hour, uses standard coaches with windows that open, and a seat reservation is optional at CHF 5 per person. Both trains climb to Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 m, the highest point of the RhB network, pass Lago Bianco and Alp Grüm with its view of the Palü glacier, and loop around the Brusio spiral viaduct into Tirano. RhB itself warns that resellers sometimes call regional trains “Bernina Express”. Our Bernina Express vs red train guide covers the two in more depth.

The train each Milan day trip uses

Four of the red-train tours call the train “Bernina Express” somewhere on the listing, yet their includes name a 2nd-class regional ticket and exclude panoramic seats. Read the includes line, not the title, before you book.

How the Frigerio panoramic day runs

The coach leaves Piazza della Repubblica 5, on the corner with Via Turati, near metro M3 Repubblica, and the operator asks you to arrive 15 minutes early. It drives about three hours north to St. Moritz. The listing promises about 2.5 hours of free time there, while the itinerary plans 1.5 hours, so expect something in between. In the afternoon you board the Bernina Express to Tirano, about two hours on the itinerary, past the Morteratsch Glacier, the Montebello curve, Lago Bianco and Alp Grüm. After a short stop in Tirano near the Madonna di Tirano sanctuary, the coach drives about 2.5 hours back to Milan and arrives late in the evening. The day lasts about 12.5 hours.

Three lines on the listing matter before you pay. The panoramic place is guaranteed only on the Tour with Panoramic Carriage option; the cheaper standard-carriage option seats you in an ordinary coach. Seats are not assigned in advance, and first class is on request only. A third option swaps the St. Moritz free time for a lunch of pizzoccheri at Diavolezza.

The guide speaks Italian and English, cancellation is free up to 24 hours ahead, and the listing rules the day out for people with mobility impairments, heart problems or motion sickness. Rated 4.6 from 4,090+ reviews, it is the most-reviewed tour on this site that can guarantee a panoramic coach. Frigerio also sells it on Viator as From Milan: St. Moritz and Panoramic Bernina Express Tour, from $189.

Starting from Como instead

If you are staying on the lake, From Como: Bernina Panoramic Express & St. Moritz saves you the trip into Milan (our review). It leaves from Viale Innocenzo XI 13 in Como, in front of the B&B Hotel City Centre, and reaches St. Moritz in about 2.5 hours along the lake. Your panoramic place is confirmed at booking, the Tirano stop is about 20 minutes, and the price starts at $218 per person, rated 4.6 from 580+ reviews. Our Lake Como Bernina train tour page compares it with the lake-cruise days.

What the panoramic coach changes

The curved glass shows you peaks and sky above the usual window line, which suits the glacier views at Morteratsch and Alp Grüm. The windows do not open, though, and reflections on the glass show up in many photos. On the red train you can lower a window for a clean shot, although not every coach on every train has one that opens.

Neither train lets you pick a side. RhB says seat side and direction cannot be booked. Many travelers suggest the right-hand side going south, from St. Moritz to Tirano, which is the direction both Frigerio tours ride, but you take the seat that is free.

Winter shortens the view. Between 26 October and 23 April, RhB’s daily afternoon Bernina Express leaves St. Moritz at 15:30 and reaches Tirano at 18:00, and the sun sets in Tirano at about 16:35 in late December. The Frigerio listing warns that from late October to late February early sunsets can cut visibility from the afternoon train. Read the Bernina train from Milan in winter or the December guide before you pick a winter date.

The Landwasser Viaduct, seen on many Bernina Express posters, is on the Albula line near Filisur, north of St. Moritz. Neither Frigerio tour goes there, since both ride only the St. Moritz–Tirano section of the Bernina line.

Riding the Bernina Express from Milan on your own

You can book the panoramic train yourself. Trenord regional trains run from Milano Centrale to Tirano in about 2.5 hours, roughly every hour. On the 2025/26 timetable the 07:20 from Milan reached Tirano at 09:52, in time for the 10:06 Bernina Express, which reaches St. Moritz at 12:35. You need an RhB ticket, about CHF 33 to 35 one way in 2nd class, plus the Bernina Express reservation of about CHF 32. Swiss Travel Pass, Eurail and Interrail holders pay the reservation in full, and so do children.

Those Trenord times come from last year’s timetable, so check your train on trenord.it and book the reservation early on rhb.ch: popular dates sell out. Our Bernina train tickets from Milan page lists every ticket and where to buy it, and how to get to the Bernina Express from Milan walks through the connections.

Panoramic or red: which to book

Book the Frigerio panoramic option if the glass-roofed train is the reason for your day and you want someone else to handle the coach, the border and the reservation. Book a red-train day if price or open windows matter more to you. The City Wonders red train day is the lowest-priced day trip on this site at $121, on the Bernina or Albula line depending on the option (our review), and the Milano Art Discovery red train day has 5,110+ reviews at $131 (our review).

For every option side by side, see the best Bernina train tours from Milan. If you would like a day with your own driver, the private Bernina train tours from Milan page covers them. Staying near the meeting point helps on an early start; our guide to where to stay in Milan for the Bernina train covers the areas around Repubblica and Centrale.

Whichever train you choose, carry a passport or ID card: you cross the Swiss–Italian border twice, and the operators require the document. When you have a date, check dates for the Frigerio panoramic option and confirm the option name before you pay.