Travelling by train still has much of its old leisurely romance and can be a pleasant, scenic and relaxing way to travel to Switzerland. However, you won. t save much on the airfare; indeed, you may end up paying quite a bit more.

There are two main options on point-to-point routings. The first involves making the sea crossing, taking a train from the coast and changing again, probably at Paris or Brussels, for transport on to Switzerland . all of which lengthens the journey out to a numbing fifteen hours and is really not worth your while. The better and faster option, which might only take eight hours London. Geneva, is to travel through the Channel Tunnel and change trains in Paris. Preferable to either option is to slot Switzerland into a longer tour around Western and/or Central Europe, for which a host of tickets and passes are available.

CHANNEL TUNNEL ROUTES

Eurostar trains depart more or less hourly from London Waterloo through the Channel Tunnel direct to Paris Gare du Nord (journey time 3hr). From Paris, many trains serve Switzerland, but unfortunately not from the Gare du Nord, and also not from one single station, meaning you have to plan your route in advance and be prepared to lug your bags through the Paris metro. From the Gare de Lyon, high-speed TGV trains . for which you must pay a small supplement . depart throughout the day on three different routes: to Geneva (3hr 40min); to Lausanne (3hr 50min); and, once a day, to Bern (4hr 30min) and Zürich (6hr). The Gare de l. Est, handily situated right beside the Gare du Nord, has non-TGV trains departing frequently to Bâle/Basel (5hr 30min), as well as daily overnight sleeper services delivering you to Zürich or Chur for breakfast.

Eurostar quotes fares only between London and Paris; to book through to Switzerland, your best bet is the Swiss Federal Railways office in London. Their top offer, and the best-value way to get to Switzerland by train, is £109 for a second-class return between London and Basel; you must book seven days in advance, and include a Saturday night.

EUROPEAN TRAIN PASSES

If Switzerland is only part of your itinerary, and you plan to travel further afield in Western or Central Europe, a train pass represents much better value than point-to-point tickets. All varieties are available from Rail Europe, Usit Campus and Wasteels. However, you should note that the pan-European train passes tend to be less good value for travel within Switzerland than the various Swiss passes detailed here. The latter, as well as being more flexible, can offer substantial discounts on mountain railways and cable-cars (for which the various European passes quite often aren. t valid) while also throwing in free transport on Swiss buses and boats. If you. re on a train tour of Europe it may therefore be better to get a European pass for travel outside Switzerland, and some kind of Swiss pass for travel within Switzerland.

EU nnon-EU ationals, and nationals resident in Europe for at least six months, have a few choices . which you go for depends on how far afield you. re planning on travelling. The Inter-Rail pass groups together 28 European countries in zones: Switzerland is located in Zone C, along with Germany, Austria and Denmark; France is in Zone E, along with the Benelux countries; Italy is in G, along with Slovenia, Greece and Turkey. This means that a one-zone pass for Zone E covers travel from the Channel ports north to Amsterdam, south to Marseilles, and as far as the Swiss border, from where a Swiss pass can take over coverage. A two-zone pass for Zones E and G, plus a Swiss pass, gives you the run of Western and Southern Europe from Brussels to Istanbul. Prices are good value. A one-zone 22-day pass costs £159 for those under 26, or £229 for those over 26. A two-zone monthly pass is £209/279, three-zone monthly £229/309, or all zones monthly £259/349. Note that Inter-Rail passes don. t include boat-train travel between Britain and the continent, although pass holders are eligible for discounts on the London. Paris Eurostar service, on rail travel within Britain, and on some mountain railways and cable-car lines in Switzerland.

Another option is the Eurodomino Freedom Pass, which gives unlimited train travel for anything between three and eight days. travel in a one-month period within any one of 27 European countries. Sample under-26 prices for Switzerland, for three/six/eight days are £59/79/89; over-26 equivalents are £79/99/109. You can buy as many separate country passes as you want, but bear in mind that for travel inside Switzerland, Swiss train passes can be much better value. For those over 60, the Rail Europe Senior Card costs £5, and gives a thirty percent discount on rail travel between . but not within . 25 European countries, including Eurostar and rail-connected sea crossings. However, before you can purchase this card you must have a British Rail Senior Card (£18); both are valid for a year.