From the Alpine foothills to the Italian lakes, this eight-hour crossing is the continent's best advert for ditching air travel and taking things slow...
IF YOU'VE never gone FlixBus, can you really call yourself a European traveller? From launching its first budget service in 2013, the luminous green coaches are now ubiquitous on the continent, famous for linking far-flung countries over marathon routes. (Bordeaux to Bucharest, anyone?) Not that the long journeys have put people off. Such is the Germany company's popularity that you could make a case for them having advanced the cause of European integration more than any EU directive could ever hope for.
And yet despite what ticket sales might suggest, Europeans have a love-hate relationship with their budget coach line. Think of them as the Ryanair of overland travel: often late, always uncomfortable, but ultimately too cheap to ignore.
With such a reputation comes a host of preconceptions. No reasonable traveller, for example, would step onto their FlixBus with anything other than resignation. An unmemorable ride is the best ride you can hope for: a nine-hour non-event from A to B. And the worst you can fear? The imagination runs wild. But stuck with fifty strangers in a metal box on wheels and all sharing something that just legally passes for a toilet, some ordeals are hard to scrub from the memory...
Not all FlixBuses, however, are equal. Among the endless non-descript journeys along the bleak autostrade of Europe, there is one that stands out above all others: Munich—Milan. It's true: as much of a paradox as it might sound, this particular FlixBus lays claim to being one of the most beautiful journeys in Europe. From the rolling foothills of the Bavarian Foreland to the flat expanse of the Po Valley, your bus will carry you up one side of the Alps, spill you out the other and onto the Italian lakes, before coming to rest in Europe's fashion metropolis.
Four countries. Eight hours. It’s long and not particularly comfortable. But if ever there was an advert for ditching air travel and getting there slow, this is it.
Munich
The journey starts, appropriately enough, in FlixBus’s ancestral homeland, where the company started little over a decade ago. No time to get misty-eyed, though: you’ve got a bus to catch. So grab one last bratwurst mit brötchen, down your last hefe-weizen, and get yourself to the Munich Omnibus Bahnhof. As of 2024, there are seven FlixBus journeys linking the Bavarian capital with Milan each day (yes, seven). The savvy traveller might be tempted to book the overnight coach and sleep their way through the trip; the savvier traveller knows that this is a route worth staying up for. So you leave at midday, making the most of the daylight hours—and making sure to nab a window seat.
From Munich, the bus trundles south-east through the Bavarian countryside until reaching the Allgäu. Spend any time in Germany and you'll soon discover that the Allgäu is to Germans what the Yorkshire Dales are to the English; if James Herriot ever found himself transplanted over the Rhine, it's surely here in the Bavarian idyll where he would end up plying his trade. A bite-sized region on Germany's southern border, it has an outsized renown for its untouched beauty, its views of the Alps and, most importantly, its cheese. Allgäuer käse floods supermarkets all over the country and, judging from their packets, you would think the region were inhabited exclusively by cows and the lederhosen-clad farmers who milk them. The view from the FlixBus might have you questioning the stereotype. (After all, how untouched can the beauty be when you’re slicing through it on a coach the colour of industrial cleaning product?) But in any case, the landscape out the window makes for a pleasant appetiser as you set off on your way.
Lake Constance
After two hours you’ll reach Lake Constance, or Bodensee as it’s known in German. Besides being a tourist hotspot, the lake is also known as a geographic oddity: the only place in Europe where borders “don’t exist”. It appears that, with Bodensee caught in the middle between Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the three countries have never managed to agree exactly who owns what. The result means that anything on the lake can make the unique claim to being in all three at the same time.
Sadly there’ll be no time for a dip to test out the theory, although you’ll still get some great views of the lake as the bus curls along the shoreline. There’s plenty material round these parts to inspire future trips away, too. The town of Lindau itself is a particular gem, an island just off the shore made up of winding medieval streets. Make a note for later and then prepare yourself for the first international border of the journey, leaving Deutschland and entering Österreich.
Vaduz
If traffic's light, you might get half an hour in Austria; after a pitstop in Bregenz it’s quickly south as you follow the Rhine upriver. For those box-tickers disappointed at missing the opportunity of swimming in three countries at once, you might still have the chance to set foot in one of Europe’s smallest. Next stop: Lichtenstein. Or so FlixBus advertises. (If no one’s bought a ticket to or from Vaduz, the pint-sized capital, then you’ll likely bypass the country completely.) At the very least you’ll be able to say you’ve seen Lichtenstein, although seeing it through your window is hardly the same as having the soil beneath your feet—even if that soil would have been, in reality, the carpark of the national stadium which doubles as the coach station.
If you’re disheartened, then there’s plenty out the window to console you. Blink and you’ll miss it, but you’ve already crossed the border into Switzerland: things are indeed starting to look very alpine. The mighty Rhine is now a trickle between the peaks closing in on either side. You’re at 1,500 ft on the valley floor—and only just getting started.
Chur
You rise gently to Chur, a town pushing 2,000 ft. It’s been four hours of FlixBus by now; halfway to Milan, so you deserve a rest from all that sitting down. With your coach idling at the train station, you get forty minutes to stretch your legs, which is more than enough time to wander to the Altstadt and back. It'll do you good. Maybe it's the fact you've spent the afternoon breathing in recycled air, but the oxygen feels crisper up here. There's certainly something about seeing a mountain at the end of every street that really opens up the lungs.
If this is your first experience of Switzerland, then allow Chur to confirm all your preconceived notions about the country. For one, that it is shockingly clean. Even the train station, the sole part of any European city guaranteed to be a hive of scum and villainy, feels like some exclusive boutique. Just don’t expect to stock up on snacks enough to see you through to Italy. A visit to a minimart will confirm preconceived notion number two: that it is shockingly expensive. Given that Davos and the world’s elite are just one mountain’s hop to the east, however, it’s maybe not a surprise that this part of the world is outwith your average FlixBusser’s budget…
San Bernardino
Leaving Chur, the mountains really begin to close in. With the road hugging the cliff edge, the sheer, craggy rock face at your shoulder will now and then give way to spectacular views of narrow ravines or sweeping valleys. These are some truly incredible sights—if at times a little unnerving. Weren’t all these roads through the Alps mule tracks once upon a time? Were luminous green coaches ever meant to reach this altitude? Thank God someone thought to build a tunnel. At the foot of the San Bernardino Pass, already topping out at well above 5,000 ft, you dive into the body of the mountain and speed through the darkness.
With that, it’s time to say auf wiedersehen to die Schweiz and buongiorno to la Svizzera: after travelling under the earth for far longer than seems likely (6.5km in total), daylight finally greets you again in the Italian-speaking south of the country. If you’ve ever been confused as to why the Swiss Confederation has four official languages or how that possibly came to be, then the San Bernardino tunnel does an excellent job of clearing things up. The mountains under which it runs are so imposing that, after one look at them, it will make eminent sense that a language arrived at their feet, shrugged, and gave up its progress. Crossing Switzerland by coach, what seems more unlikely than the Swiss having four languages is their ability to stitch the different parts of their country together so they can speak to one another. Somehow, through a series of engineering feats, they’ve pulled it off.
The Lakes
After San Bernardino, you’ve passed the apex of the journey and now begin the slow descent to Milan. That doesn’t mean, however, there isn’t still plenty to see as you rush with the river down to the valley floor. You may be in Switzerland, but welcome to the Italian lakes. Having timed it right means the sun should just be starting to dip toward the horizon; on a cloudless day, you’re afforded some stunning views as you make your way toward the Po Valley.
Lugano, your last stop in Switzerland, marks the beginning of the home straight. As a parting gift, the country has one last curiosity to offer you. Crossing the Melide causeway in the middle of Lake Lugano, take the time to turn your head north: there, dominating the shoreline, you’ll see a sand-brown carbuncle that you might mistake for a power station. This is in fact the Casinò di Campione, Europe's largest casino and one of its oldest. If that weren't of interest enough, the casino also sits in Italy’s only exclave—i.e., the only part of Italy lying wholly within the borders of another country. The town of Campione d’Italia (meaning, bizarrely, “Champion of Italy”) is indeed bordered on four sides by Switzerland. But one imagines the residents aren't too unhappy at being cut off from the mother country: apparently this quirk of geography has turned the comune into a miniature tax haven. Europe's largest casino in a town of less than 2,000 suddenly makes a lot more sense.
Milan
After some complicated negotiations around a congested border post, you’re in Italy. Peek at the western horizon and you might catch a vanishing glimpse of Lake Como: breathe in the beauty while you can. Once over the border, the scenery takes an unfortunate turn for the industrial; far from the crystal clear air of the Alps, you arrive in the most polluted region of Western Europe. Ugly at the best of times, the flatlands around the Po Valley motorway are particularly jarring after coming down from the mountains. If were hoping to get some shut-eye, now might be the time.
Not too much, mind you. Traffic jams notwithstanding, before long you’re there: Milan. Your long and winding road from Munich is done. Lampugnano coach station is the cold bath waiting for you after your journey, and the less said about that the better. (Where’s Chur and its spotless station when you need it most?) But then, after a day of pure alpine beauty, perhaps something needs to disabuse you of the notion it'll always be that good. God knows it won’t be.
WHAT'S LEFT is the small matter of cost. FlixBus may be a budget coach company, but now that they've secured what's more or less a monopoly of the European market, their deals aren't what they once were...
So, a few numbers. In 2024, a month out from travel, a FlixBus leaving Munich for Milan at noon costs €29.99. The same route by plane (easyJet) costs €41. With a difference in journey time of seven hours, it's understandable if €11 doesn't tempt you to ditch the airline. That's not to say, however, that there aren't ways to make the coach ticket a little more worthwhile. If you’re a student, for example, Unidays and Student Beans usually have some discount on; and despite doing their best to hide it on their site, FlixBus still has 20% off for all new customers.
Even if you can’t knock a few euros off the price, there’s nevertheless much to be said for taking the long way round. Do it for the environmental reasons, sure—but do it for the selfish reasons too. You get to see snow-capped mountains up close, get to check out Switzerland without going bankrupt, and even get the chance to tick off one of Europe’s smallest countries on a technicality. It may not be the most luxurious way of traversing the Alps, but the FlixBus Munich to Milan is budget travel at its most spectacular.
Unless stated otherwise, all photographs are copyright of 14 Degrees East.