Alpine Express: Italy to Switzerland on the Bernina Express

For those joining as a post-cruise extension, a private transfer carries you directly to the train station, where your Business Class seat aboard the Frecciarossa awaits. For those choosing a pre-cruise extension, your private transfer delivers you straight to the heart of Rome, where the first of many carefully considered experiences is already waiting.

Day 1: An Evening Aperitivo in Trastevere

Rome has a way of drawing you in before you have quite found your bearings, and there is no more fitting introduction than an evening in Trastevere. In the company of a local expert, the enduring Italian ritual of aperitivo comes to life through a curated selection of classic drinks, among them the iconic Martini and the ever-popular Spritz, each paired with Roman finger foods that speak of neighbourhood tradition and easy conviviality. More than a tasting, it is a moment of pause at the golden hour, a window into the rhythms of local life where heritage and taste converge at twilight.

Day 2: A Day at Your Own Pace

Rome rewards those who wander without agenda. Today is entirely your own, to revisit a favorite corner, discover a neighbourhood that caught your eye, linger over a long lunch, or simply allow the city to reveal itself at its own unhurried pace. There are few better places in the world to have nothing planned at all.

Day 3: Private Tour of Italy's Most Dynamic City

Bid farewell to Rome as you board your Business Class high-speed train and travel north towards Milan, a city that wears its position at the beating heart of Italy's modern Renaissance with effortless authority. A guided afternoon brings its many layers into focus, through vibrant streets charged with energy, inside the magnificent Duomo Cathedral where Gothic architecture reaches its most breathtaking expression, and onwards to the celebrated exterior of Teatro alla Scala, whose understated grandeur speaks quietly of the extraordinary performances contained within. The tour closes in the most Italian fashion possible, over a cappuccino or hot chocolate, a small and perfect moment that somehow captures the city entirely.

Day 4: All Aboard the Bernina Express

Some journeys are destinations in their own right. Departing Milan by private transfer to Tirano, you board the legendary Bernina Express, one of the world’s great scenic rail journeys, for a First Class passage through a landscape of extraordinary drama. Glaciers, viaducts, alpine meadows and milky blue lakes pass in slow succession as the train climbs towards St. Moritz, each kilometer more breathtaking than the last. By the time you arrive and settle into the legendary Badrutt's Palace, the journey itself will already feel like the day's defining experience. The remainder of the afternoon is yours to savor at leisure.

Day 5: A Morning on the Heights of Muottas Muragl

There are few mornings quite as clarifying as one spent above the Engadin Valley. A short scenic train ride to Punt Muragl is followed by a funicular ascent to the summit of Muottas Muragl, where the full panorama of the Alps opens in every direction, the Engadin lakes shimmering far below, the surrounding peaks standing in quiet, unhurried grandeur. The Panorama Trail leads you along a ridge of sweeping alpine beauty, a leisurely hike accessible to all levels that balances stillness with a gentle sense of adventure. The funicular and train carry you back to St. Moritz in time for the afternoon, the mountain air and the scale of the landscape lingering long after the walk is done.

Day 6: A Scenic Drive to Milan

Your journey draws to a close with a private transfer through the alpine landscape towards either Milan Malpensa, approximately three hours by road, where your return flight awaits. It is a fittingly unhurried conclusion to a journey that has moved, from the very first evening in Trastevere, at exactly the right pace.