panzano

I saw a posting from Cicerone about Stein am Rhein and it sounds beautiful. Is there a train that goes there form Zurich? I will be in Zurich for at least 3 days while my husband is at a conference and am looking for ways to fill my day and see as much as I can. Other than museums in the city and shopping I am not sure what else to do. I would like to go to the Lindt factory-anyone know if it's worth it? They have Lindt stores everywhere in the US, but I thought a chocolate factory sounds like fun. Thoughts?
Also, is Zurich safe for a woman to walk around on her own?
Thanks!

Cicerone

Zurich is absolutely safe to walk on your own, and quite enjoyable to do so. Where are you staying? I can give you some town walks from your hotel and some ideas for sights and shopping (bring a big bagful of money). Also, when is the trip, because that would also affect my reccos, if the ferries are running then a ferry trip would be top of the list as well. They start June 1.

Yes, there is a train to Stein am Rhein. It takes about an 1 from Zurich. I have to confess to not knowing precisely where the train station is as I always drove there, but my recollection is that the station is accross the river from the the old town area, but is not a far walk at all, the whole town is very small. Go to rail.ch for train schedules.

Another way to get there is to take a boat from Schaffhausen, which has some nice waterfalls. I have not done this, but check guidebooks for info on how to do it, I don't believe it is complicated and would be a nice combination and a pretty ride down the Rhine river. The train trip to Schaffhausen from Zurich is about 30 minutes. The ferry takes 2 hours I believe.

I think the Lindt tour is only in German, I have tried to find English tours in the past and have never had any luck in finding them. I also understand that the tour is mostly film, you don't really get to see the chocolate being made. I think there are many more things that would be more fun.

Take a look at the frommers.com website and also click on Destinations above and see the basic info on stuff to do in Zurich for some initial ideas.

je

The Lindt factory tour is a self guided tour, but interesting. All the displays are in several languages including english. Unfortunately they won't let you in the actual chocolate manufacturing area for sanitary reasons. That is their explanation but it's more likely for keeping the process a secret. However, at the end of your tour, you are presented with a very nice box of their chocolates. Ask at the tourist office in the main rail station about tickets and how to get there. It's a fairly short train ride from Zurich. You could easily spend a half day at least doing this. Definitely go to Stein am Rheim. The train station is just across the river from the town. Hike up to the castle above the town for a unique view. Have lunch at the Rheinfels restaurant overlooking the river at the bridge.

panzano

Thank you for all the tips! They sound great. I definately am going to try to get to Stein am Rhein. I am staying at the Steigenberger Bellerive au Lac. We leave before June 1st unfortunately.

je

Lindt is now combined (owned by?) with Sprungli chocolates. The factory is in the town of Kilchberg. Once you get to the train station there, it's a short walk to the factory.

Cicerone

Good news Panzano, the ferries in Zurich started running in April, at least on spring schedule, so you can get some ferry trips in while you are there. I am working up some other Zurich suggestions and will repost.

Cicerone

Some basics for the trip and some basic tour suggestions are below, more specifics will follow in another message. A good map of Zurich would help make your trip a bit easier, if you don't have one there is a tourist office in the main train station (Hautbanhof) that has good maps.
I have posted below info on a guided walking tour of Zurich and also other suggestions for things to do around Zurich. I will post on some of my own reccos for walks and shops in Zurich later. When is your trip exactly? I will be out of town most of next week, but if you are leaving soon I will try to post over the weekend.
1. Steinberger Hotel - This is a very nice hotel, and although I have not seen the rooms I have only been in the public areas but from these areas I am confident that the rooms are quite nice. The company which owns and opeartes it runs several other very nice hotels in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe. It is not in the old town but is walkable to it in 5-10 minutes. It is two blocks or so from the Opera House and near to some very good restaurants, and is accross the street from the lake, so all in all it is a very good location. If you have a choice ask for a lake view room on a HIGH floor. The hotel is on a busy road and the rooms on lower floors could be noisy I imagine. It has air conditioning, which should not be needed normally in May, but could be used in a pinch if the street noise is too much for you.

2. Transport to the Hotel - If you are arriving by air and if your husband's comapny is paying for it, the easiest way to get to the hotel from the airport is to take a taxi. This will take about 10-15 minutes but will cost between US$60-70 (welcome to Switzerland). Most taxis take credit cards, and tipping is absolutely not required or expected. It is however the easiest way if you have luggage rather than dealing with the train.

If you are arriving by train or don't want to pay for a taxi and want to take the airport train into town, then do NOT take the train the the main train station (the Hautbanhof, go to the Stadelhofen train station. The Stadelhofen station is is one of the four train stations in Zurich; although most tourists only know about the Hautbanhof. The Stadelhofen train station is much closer to your hotel than the Hautbanhof, and you can walk to the hotel from the Stadelhofen train station in just over 5 minutes. Unless you have a very large amount of luggage, the walk is easy to do. There are many trains from the airport to Stadelhofen that do not require any changes, take a look at rail.ch for schedules.

If you are arriving by train into Zurich from elsewhere in Switzerland or Zurich, you should also go to Stadelhofen train station rather than the Hautbahnhof train station. However, if you have to change trains at the Hautbahnhof to do this, and if you have a lot of baggage, this might be more trouble than it is worth. In that case, you could take a taxi from the Hautbahnhof train station to the hotel, this would take about 5 minutes and would cost about something between US$15-20. (Just go into a McDonalds if you want to see high prices, or better yet, a drycleaner.)

To get to your hotel from the Stadelhofen train station: When you get off the train, you will be on the street level but will be on the opposite side of the tracks from where you need to be to get to the hotel. Take the pedestrian walkway down and under the train tracks, after the underpass, you will have a choice of going to the right up a long flight of stairs, or to the left up an escalator or long flight of stairs, signs may say “Track 1”. Either way will take you up to the street level. Once you on the street level, with the tracks to your back, walk toward the street. You will come into a large open plaza surrounded on three sides by buildings and open on the far opposite side where the lake is. There are trams around this plaza and you may see a fountain in the middle. Cross the street and walk along the buildings on the left side of the plaza, you will cross a minor pedestrian-only alley/street (Hufgasse) and then another broader street with trams running on it (Seefeldstrasse). Once you cross that street, keep walking straight, you will see on your left a large white baroque wedding-cake of a building, this is the Opera House. On your right is a big parking lot and an open field. Walk straight past the Opera House until you come to the end of the sidewalk where there is an intersection with a very busy two-lane road (Utoquai). Turn left here and follow Utoquai for 3 blocks until you come to the hotel which is on your left at No. 47 Utoquai, on the corner of Utuquai and Kreuzstrasse. The total distance from station to hotel can't be more than a 500 yards and is probably less.

3. Transport in Zurich - I don't know if you have a rail pass for Switzerland or Europe, if you do, you might want to check whether this will give you any discounts on the public transportation in Zurich. Zurich has a tram/street car and ferries. There are buses, but these are generally used as feeders for the trams and to the train stations, so there would be very little reason for you to take a bus.

As a tourist, you will actually be walking most everywhere, but may want to take the occasional tram and probably will want to take a ferry ride or two. The old town areas are very small, and most of them are car free and tram-free which means you have to walk. The longest distance you might walk is from your hotel to the Hautbahnhof train station which is about 2.5 miles. The width of the old town areas is less than that, so really you will be in quite a tightly confined area.
However, if you are taking the train to and from the airport there is something call the Zurich Card which might be good. This card includes one round trip to and from the airport, unlimited trips on trams and ferries, free entry to most of Zurich museums, discount on the guided walking tour (see below) and discount admission to the Zurich Zoo. It also includes the rail trip to Utlieberg (see below). The Zurich Card costs CH15 (US$12) for a 24-hour card and CH30 (US$26) for a 72-hour card. You can buy them at all the train stations in Zurich, at the airport and at the Bellevue tram stop near your hotel (see below). As the fare to and from the airport is CH11.60 US$9), the Zurich Card is a usually good deal as you get all that plus all the other transport free. However, if you aren't going to the airport by train, then you might have to price this out by trip, but overall it may be still is a good deal if you plan to go to Utliberg by train and/or take some ferry trips, although not all ferry trips are included (see below). The Zurich Card would NOT cover the trip to Stein am Rhine as that is out of the Zurich region. For further information on the Zurich Card, visit the city's official website at: http://www.zuerich.com/zurich_az/en/zuerichcard.php
If you don't get any kind of discount card, then for trams, the best deal IMO is the "tagerskarte" or day card, which costs CH7.60 and which lets you take unlimited rides for a 24-hour period. Push the green button on the tram ticket machines for the day card. For the ferries, just buy individual trip tickets. Second class is fine for weekdays, on weekends first class is usually less crowded than second.

4. Bellevue Tram Stop – This is very close to our hotel, right near the Stadelhofen train station and is a major interchange for trams, so it is good for you to know about and use if you take trams. To get there, all you do is turn right outside your hotel, walk up Utoquai for 3 blocks, go past the Opera House and the parking lot and large open field, and then look right and you will see the circular tram stop with a roof in the middle. You can buy tickets here at the manned booth and at automatic ticket machines.

5. ATM/Pharmacy – there is a UBS bank branch at the Bellevue Tram stop (see above), it is next to the Globus department store across the street and to the right of the tram stop as you approach it from the hotel. Look for the red UBS sign. The ATM lobby is open 24 hours. That is the closest ATM to your hotel I believe. There are also ATMs at the airport. There is a 24 hour pharmacy about 100 feet down on the same side of the street as the bank, further down away from the hotel and on the corner, look for the green cross, that is the pharmacy symbol. They speak English.

6. Markets - There is a farmers market every Tuesday and Friday morning at Burkliplatz on the lake which is quite near your hotel. Just turn right from your hotel, walk up the lakeside sidewalk, curve around the end of the lake and then look right, you will see it. It starts at 7 am and goes until about 10. There are fruit, vegetables, cheeses, breads, flowers, it is quite a good market and interesting to see. You can buy great croissants and bread and have breakfast and you can usually find coffee as well. It is quite colourful and you will laugh to see Zurich women actually shopping with wicker baskets! Also, there is an excellent flea market on Saturdays from about 8 – 4 pm also at Burkliplatz, lots of fun stuff on offer.

7. Walking Tours - The Fodors guide to Switzerland actually has a good walking tour set out in their book, you could use that as a guide. You can get a copy from a library and photocopy it, you don't need a new edition, as very little has changed in town in the last hundred years, so an edition which is a few years old would still be accurate for the walking tour (not so much for restaurants maybe).

There are walking tours of the old town in English every day at 3 pm and on Saturdays at 11 am & 3 pm. They cost about US$15 (50% discount with your Zurich Card) and last about 2 hours. They are supposed to be quite good. You don’t need a reservation, just show up at the tourist service office in the main train station a few minutes before the tour. For information, go to http://www.zuerich.com/sightseeing, in particular see http://www.zuerich.com/sightseeing/c...75c120c3168e03

8. Biking - You can rent bikes for free or a small fee/deposit at train stations in Zurich. The Stadelhofen train station near your hotel would have bikes. You can ride around the entire lake if you wanted, this would take the better part of the day, but would be flat and there is a bike lane the entire route. (You could just go as far as you wanted and turn back.) The road around the lake is nice because it is flat (hard to find in Switzerland), it is a little busy with cars but not really bad, esp once you get away from Zurich proper. Another good place to bike is the waking and bike path along the river which exits the lake close to your hotel. You can ride for at least 10 miles along the path. You can also join a bike tour of Zurich, the itinerary looks interesting, riding over the cobblestones in the old town is always good for a laugh, go to http://www.zurichbybike.ch/daytour_e.htm

9. Utliberg - If you get a clear day, this is a great trip and easy to do by yourself. You take a little train to Utliberg, hike uphill for about 10 minutes and then you are rewarded with the best view of Zurich, the lake and Alps. On a clear day, you can see to Germany. The train leaves from the main train station and you can also board at the Selnau station kind of near the lower end of the Banhofstrasse. The train ride takes about a half hour, and you can use a Zurich Card. There is a nice hotel with a good restaurant and a more informal sort of bratwurst place, both nice for lunch. (Go to http://www.utokulm.ch/english/restaurant) There are some good walks in this area, you might ask your hotel if they have suggestions, or go to the tourist office in the main train station and see if they have brochures.

10. Ferry Trips - On a nice day there is almost nothing better IMO than sitting outside on the back of a ferry and watching the little towns go by and seeing the Alps in the distance. The ferry pier is quite close to your hotel, it is near Burkliplatz. Just turn right outside your hotel, walk up the lakeside side, curve around the end of the lake and look left for the piers. You can do a circle tour, or just go down to one of the towns along the lake, get off, walk around a bit and then wait for the next ferry. You can go all the way down the lake to Rapperswil (see below). Some reccos I would make would be as follows, you could use your Zurich Card for either trip:

Kusnacht – this is about 1/2 down the lake on the south side, the famed "Gold Coast" that gets the most sun and has vineyards all along the hillsides. There is a lovely hotel here right at the pier with a great restaurant and also a much more casual bratwurst type place, both of which would be fine for lunch. (You might want to save the – restaurant for dinner with your husband). There is not a lot to the town of Kusnacht, although what there is is right along the road in back of the hotel and the piers so you can stroll along here and see the few shops. Tina Turner has a home somewhere along the water here, if you see her find out where she lives.....if you wanted to make this a shorter trip, you could take a train back from here rather than the ferry, the train would only take about 8 minutes. The train station is about a 5 minute walk from the hotel and ferry pier.

Thalwil - this is about 1/3 of the way down on the north shore of the lake and so is not too long a ride, it would be about a 40 minute ride. The main town is up quite a steep hill, so I don't know that I would recco going up there (although they do have a pretty old town), but there are two nice restaurants on the water where you could take break for lunch before the return ferry. There are two good restaurants right on the water, one more casual Italian to the right of the piers about 100 meters down the main road along the lake at 25 Seestrasse (Restaurant Seetracht, go to http://www.seerestaurant-tracht.ch), one more expensive but very good European restaurant in the Alexander Zum See hotel about 200 meters down the road at 182 Seestrasse, to the left of the piers (go to http://www.alexander-am-see.ch/). Both have outdoor terraces with terrific views.

9. Rapperswil – this is a town at the far end of the lake. The ferry trip takes about 2 hours, you can buy lunch or snacks on board and there are bathrooms. (You could not use your Zurich Card.) There is a medieval portion of the town which is very charming and if you climb the hill you will get great views. There is a castle at the top (now a museum on Polish history of not too great interest unless you are Polish.) There is a church which is interesting as well. Take a look at www.rapperswil.ch, click on the UK flag for the English version. You can then return to Zurich by train (about 30 minutes) rather than taking the ferry back. The train station is quite close to the ferry pier.

10. Zoo - Zurich has an excellent zoo, and the tram ride up the hill to the zoo is fun and gives some good views. Take #5 from the Bellevue tram stop in the direction going away from the lake.

11. Train Rides – Although some of the following are longish for day trips, they offer some spectacular scenery and a chance to get into the countryside:

Appenzell – this is a lovely village set in the rolling green hills with the Alps as a background. This is part of "Heidi" country, the story is set in Maienfield which is not too far and which you can also visit. The train ride would take about 2 hours each way. You can walk around the town and have lunch, there are also walks in the nearby countryside.

Pontresina/St Moritz – this is a fantastic trip, both in terms of scenery going there, and the towns themselves. The trip takes 3.5 hours each way. The most beautiful part of the trip is between Tiefencastle and Celerina, but really all of it is very pretty. You can either go to St Mortiz (expensive and glamorous) or to Pontresina or Celerina which are smaller. All are set in a large flat valley surrounded by Alps with lakes dotted about. A great day and chance to get into the mountains.

Guarda – in my opinion this is the most beautiful village in Switzerland, a country of charming villages. It has the painted houses like Stein am Rhine, but is much smaller. This is the Engadine region which is relatively untouristed, esp by Americans. The town is not on a river, but is in the middle of gorgeous Alps. The train ride there is very pretty, not quite the stunner that the Pontresina/St Moritz ride is, esp since the route now goes through a tunnel, but the tunnel route means that you can get there in 2.5 hours. Other nice villages in this area are Schuol and Tarasp (which has a castle), you can train between these towns in less than 30 minutes.

Walensee – this is a beautiful, very large glacial lake in the middle of jagged mountain peaks (If you have seen the Remarkables in New Zealand, they will look familiar). This could be done as a half day trip, or a full day if you wanted to hike/bike. You can take the train to Murg or Mols (about an hour from Zurich), then take a ferry down to the other end of the lake to Weesen and have lunch (see below) and then get the train to Zurich from there. There is very good walking in this area as well, as well as biking along the lake, you could rent bikes at any of the train stations. For info on ferry service on the Walensee, go to http://www.walenseeschiff.ch/en/welcome.cfm

A nice place for lunch in Weesen on the lake is
Parkhotel Schwert
Hauptstrasse 23
8872 Weesen
http://www.parkhotelschwert.ch

Bernina Express – this is an all-day trip, from about 7 am to 7 pm. The first 2/3rds is the same as going to Pontresina/St Moritz as above. After that you start going higher and up into the glaciers, the views are really excellent. However, it is quite a commitment for a day, and you do have 2 hours in Tirano by yourself, which is not nearly as interesting nor as pretty as St Moritz or Pontresina IMO. Perhaps you can do this with your husband. For info, go do rbb.ch

Jungfrau valley – this is probably one of the five most beautiful places in Switzerland. This again is long for a day trip, it will take you 3.5 hours each way, but if you get a good day weather-wise this is trip you will be one you always remember. I would suggest you go to Wengen, just because I like the views and walks from there better. But you can go to Grindelwald, Murren, Gimmelwald or just stay down at the bottom of the valley in Lauterbrunnen if you want. I would not suggest that you try to take the train to the top of the Jungfrau mountain, as you really do not have the time to do that on a day trip from Zurich. Just go to Wengen or whatever town you choose, have lunch, and take a walk in along the cliff edges and take in the fantastic Alp views. If you choose Wengen, go to the tourist office in Wengen and get there pamphlet on walks. There are several short and easy (flat ones) that will reward you with great views, but even standing in the middle of town is awesome. I personally would recommend lunch on the deck of the Caprice hotel (see www.caprice-wengen.ch), but you could also do the walk which leads out past Mary's Cafe and have a great lunch there too. I think the Alpenrose would probably be a good place as well (alpenrose.ch).

je

Some interesting information about Zurich:

http://yourcountry.swiss.com/local/a...lgieri-usa.htm

ronkala

t

panzano

Cicerone-I never thanked you for all your information on Zurich! That was really nice of you to list all that. I made it to Utliberg on my last day with just enought time to catch my lfight out!
Thanks again!!! Great info
Can't wait to get back to Switzerland.