Sion Transportation

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FROM MILANO (ITALY) TO SWITZERLAND (SION)
There are at least 10 departures per day of trains from Milan in Italy to Geneva which have a stop in Sion.
Four of them are direct trains (Cisalpino train)
8:25 – 12:25 – 17:20 – 19:25 (June 2010)
FROM SWITZERLAND (SION) TO MILANO (ITALY)

There are at least 10 departures per day of trains from Sion which arrive in Italy – Milano Stazione Centrale.
Four of them are direct trains (Cisalpino train)
7:14 – 9:14 – 15:14 – 20:14 (June 2010)

They pass through the Simplon pass and Tunnel
(2,5 hours - CHF 62.00 = € 45 = $ 60 single ticket - June 2010)

Trenitalia
Swiss Federal Railways

Pic. 1 – On board the high-speed Cisalpino
Pic. 2 - The entrance to the Simplon tunnel from the Swiss side (sorry for the bad pic but the train was running too fast for my camera)
Pic. 3 - The entrance to the Simplon tunnel from the Italian side (sorry for the good STOLEN pic)
Pic. 4 – Heidi, my yodelling cow, sits near the window to look at Switzerland for her last time. Hope she will fell good in Italy too.

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From mid May until mid October free city bikes can be rented from a bike stand at the Place de la Planta. The project is called "Sion roule".

To get one of the bikes you have to leave your I.D. card and a deposit of 50 CHF. Then you can head off for the whole day, but you have to return your bike before the bike stand closes at 19:00 h.

This project exists since June 2006 and it is financed by several local sponsors. The bikes have 24 gears and are of good quailty.

One late afternoon I used one of the bikes for a quick trip to the Stade de Tourbillion, which is loacted outside of the city centre.

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Sion is not a big city and therefore the main sights are located in walking distance to the historic city centre, which in parts is pedestrianised.

Only the two castles Valère and Tourbillion are situated on top of small hills, the rest of Sion is more or less flat.

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The train was our main means of transport on our trip through the Valais.

We arrived in Sion by train from Brig and left the city in the direction of Zermatt with a change of trains in Visp.

Also we used the train to get to St. Leonard for a little sidetrip.

The train station of Sion is situated at the southern end of the city centre. It has excellent connections to most major cities in Switzerland.

Since the the opening of the 34,6 km long Lötschberg tunnel in June 2007, trips between the Bernese highland and the Canton of Valais last up to one hour less than before.

The new Lötschberg base tunnel is one of the major Swiss project of the century.

The Lötschberg base tunnel is 34.6 kilometres long and extends from Frutigen in the Kander valley (canton Bern) to Raron in the Rhone valley (canton Valais).
After it opens in 2007, the new high-speed rail tunnel, together with the Simplon tunnel, will be the first fast north-south transalpine link. Speeding through the Lötschberg base tunnel will be possible up to 280 kph!

From December 2007, good news the journey time to the Valais will be reduce.
For instance:
*Bern - Visp 0h55 instead of 1h50, so less 55 minutes!
*Basel – Visp 2h16 instead of 3h17, so less 61 minutes!
*Zürich - Visp 2h instead of 3h, so less 1 hour!
Then Sion is a short 30 minutes train trip from Visp.

The Valais region now has much faster connections to the rest of Switzerland, so more time to enjoy your stay.

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In the summer season you can rent a free bicylce from the Place de la Planta. You will have to deposit your passport or ID card etc and bring back the bike by 7 pm in the evening. It’s not possible to rent it overnight.

If you need a bike for several days including nights then you will have to rent one from the railway station and pay for it.

Just to the left as you leave the railway station there is a big postbus station in front of the post office. The yellow postbuses take you to the villages in the surrounding hills and mountains of Sion.

You buy the tickets from the bus driver.

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If you are not travelling by car, then you are most likely to arrive by train. Sion is connected to Brig and therefore Italy and to Geneva.

There is a kiosk and a small supermarket with long opening times.