Autumn with the Foliage Train offers a 4-hour journey between Italy and Switzerland, allowing you to admire the vibrant colors of the most romantic season. From October 12 to November 17, 2024, the Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway, which runs between Lake Maggiore and Val d’Ossola, will host the most anticipated experience of the year.
Foliage Train
The Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway is a panoramic railway line that offers a truly exciting travel experience in the autumn. It is one of the autumn must-sees between Italy and Switzerland. Thousands of passengers every year, thanks to the special Foliage Train® ticket, board the trains of the Vigezzina-Centovalli Railway to admire the enchanting scenery that the trains have been crossing every day since 1923. Lonely Planet has included the Vigezzina-Centovalli, an Alpine railway that connects Switzerland to Italy, among the ten most spectacular lines in Europe, and it once again offers the Foliage Train®.
What is the Foliage Train? The woods along our route, between Domodossola and Locarno, teem with various colors in autumn, creating a breathtaking landscape of foliage, showcasing the autumn variation in the color of leaves. When can you experience the Foliage Train? From 12 October to 17 November 2024 is the best time to observe this picturesque phenomenon on board our trains.
The Foliage Train® route
The Italian section of the Foliage Train starts from Domodossola and climbs up to the Vigezzo Valley, with its highest point in the village of Santa Maria Maggiore. At this altitude, the trains continue to the border with Switzerland. You arrive in Re, home to the renowned Sanctuary of the Madonna del Sangue. After crossing the pass, the tracks begin to slowly descend through the Centovalli until reaching Locarno and Lake Maggiore.
The Foliage Train travels through woods tinged with warm colors between October and November. Between deep gorges and enchanting plains, the highest peaks show the white of the first snow. On board the vintage trains with large panoramic windows, you can admire the spectacle of the hills with rows of golden yellow vines. The Foliage Train passes through birch and chestnut groves until reaching beech forests at the highest altitudes.
Foliage Train: What to See.
The traveler can choose to start the journey from Domodossola, in the Piedmont region, or Locarno, in Ticino. The historic center of Domodossola showcases a rich architectural and cultural heritage, exemplified by the magnificent Piazza Mercato and the remarkable historic buildings. Do not miss a visit to Palazzo San Francesco with the rich collections of the Civic Museums. The exhibition “The Times of Beauty” will be on display here until January 12, 2025. Between the Classical World, Guido Reni and Magritte”.
Santa Maria Maggiore organizes the 19th edition of Fuori di Zucca on October 19 and 20. It is an event to discover the village and a market of typical local products. Also in Santa Maria Maggiore, the School of Fine Arts “Rossetti Valentini” hosts the exhibition “Gian Maria Rastellini in the Milan of Grubicy and Tosi” until November 3. The Centro Culturale Vecchio Municipio is hosting the exhibition “Mountain: people and things of the HIGH world”.
Foliage Train Tickets.
It will be possible to purchase online the special ticket, valid for one or two days, to board the Foliage Train® from October 12 to November 17, 2024. The journey lasts less than two hours each way, with the possibility of making just one intermediate stop (on the way out or on the way back) to discover one of the places touched by the railway route.
Ticket prices are
- On Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and the days before holidays, the first class ticket costs €50, while the second class costs €40. The ticket includes only one optional intermediate stop (outward or return).
- The adult ticket is priced at
The first class ticket costs €46, while the second class ticket costs €36. The ticket includes only one optional intermediate stop (outward or return). - Children and young people aged 6 to 16 travel with a 50% discount. Children under 6 travel for free if they do not occupy a seat.
Other useful information.
The ticket includes one round-trip Domodossola-Locarno or vice versa and one intermediate stop either on the outward journey or on the return journey. We recommend that you only enter one intermediate stop at the time of purchase. Otherwise, the system will not allow you to finalize your purchase. The ticket is valid for one day, covers one round trip on the entire line, takes just under two hours to travel each way, and includes one intermediate stop for the duration of the ticket. The ticket is valid for only two days if you stay overnight at the terminals in Domodossola or Locarno.
Details and the link to the online ticket office for the Foliage Train will be available at www.vigezzinacentovalli.com/foliage.
Given the forecast of a high influx, seat reservations are mandatory.
Foliage Train Gallery
Video Foliage Train
Foliage train Italy map
Foliage train Italy map
Domodossola weather
Meteo Domodossola
Ticket offices
- Ticket offices in Italy. You can purchase tickets at the Domodossola ticket office, open daily, or at the Santa Maria Maggiore station. If the Santa Maria Maggiore station remains closed, you have the option to purchase tickets on the train. Contacts: Via Mizzoccola, 9–28845 Domodossola (VB) Telephone: +39 0324 242055 Email: info@vigezzinacentovalli.com
- In Switzerland. You can purchase tickets at the FART ticket counter at Piazza Stazione in Locarno and at the ticket machines in the stations. On the touchscreen, simply select the appropriate header: TURISTICO VALLE VIGEZZO (for Re, Santa Maria Maggiore, and Druogno) or TURISTICO DOMODOSSOLA, and the option required (adults or children). FART Ticket Office Hours Monday-Friday: 08.30-12.30/13.40-17.10 Saturday: 08.30-12.30 Sunday and public holidays: closed Contacts Via Galli, 9-6600 LOCARNO (TI) Telephone: +41 (0)91 7518731 Email: labiglietteria@centovalli.ch
How to book your ticket online
