Switzerland doesn’t exactly struggle to make a scenic train ride worthwhile. But one journey through the Swiss Alps owes its place among the world’s best to far more than a window seat.
The Jungfrau Railway ranked No. 20 in Condé Nast Traveler’s 2026 Readers’ Choice Awards for the most breathtaking train adventures in the world. Its destination is Jungfraujoch, home to Europe’s highest railway station at 11,332 feet above sea level.
Getting passengers there took 16 years of construction—and tragically, the lives of 30 workers, whose labor deserves as much attention as the majestic scenery.
The bold undertaking began in 1896, with workers, many from Italy, using shovels, picks and sheer physical effort on the initial outdoor stretch.
Farther up, crews drilled and blasted their way through the mountains’ limestone and gneiss, carving a passage deep inside the Alps.
According to the railway’s own history, most of the fatal accidents involved blasting. Severe working conditions also contributed to staff turnover and six strikes.
When the route opened to Jungfraujoch on Aug. 1, 1912, their work had made an extraordinary Alpine landscape accessible by rail.
The achievement remains remarkable 114 years later, though its human cost should never become a footnote to the unparalleled views.
The railway tunnels through the Eiger and Mönch mountains. If the Eiger sounds familiar, it’s the 13,015-foot Swiss peak whose imposing north face has made it famous among mountaineers.
Often called the “Ogre”—a long way from Shrek’s swamp—the Eiger forms a celebrated trio with the Mönch, or “Monk,” and Jungfrau, or “Maiden.”
Passengers can approach via Kleine Scheidegg, or take the Eiger Express gondola from Grindelwald Terminal to Eigergletscher and join the journey there.
Sam Sears
Much of the final ascent happens inside the mountains, so don’t expect uninterrupted countryside through the glass. A five-minute stop at Eismeer offers a preview of the ice-filled landscape waiting above you.
At Jungfraujoch, marketed as the “Top of Europe,” the Sphinx observation deck is a main attraction.
An elevator climbs 108 meters in 25 seconds, delivering visitors to sweeping views of the Aletsch Glacier, the longest in the Alps, within the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Weather permitting, this is where the phone earns its storage space. The Ice Palace takes the sightseeing indoors, with frozen passageways and animal sculptures carved from ice.
Mountain guides first created its halls in the 1930s using picks and saws. Outside, the glacier plateau offers snow and ice throughout the year for amazing photo ops.
There’s also Lindt Swiss Chocolate Heaven, the world’s highest Lindt shop—because apparently even a trip to the top of Europe calls for a chocolate stop.
Before heading down, make time for Alpine Sensation. The exhibition traces the railway’s history through a corridor containing 30 memorial tablets honoring the workers who died during construction.
Their work made this journey possible. Taking a beat to remember them belongs on the itinerary just as surely as stepping outside to admire what they helped generations of travelers reach.