dbourget

Arriving in Zurich on Saturday afternoon in late September, flying out on Monday morning. I anticipate that we'll spend Saturday afternoon/evening touring Zurich itself. Looking for a day trip for Sunday. Have never been to Switzerland before, so am open for any ideas and suggestions. Haven't determined yet if we should rent a car for the day or if we can take the train for our day trip.

Am willing to be out and about ALL day long...figuring we can recover on the plane ride home the next day. Would prefer to be outdoors rather than inside museums, which we can do as a backup plan if the weather is uncooperative.

Would love to hear any and all ideas! Thanks!

Dayenu

See if you can take a boat to one of the nearby towns.

bobthenavigator

Luzern is wonderful and an easy train ride.

nytraveler

If you grab a train to Lucern (about an huor) you canthen ascend Mt. Pilatus - perhaps combined with a boat trip stopping at one or more cute villages.

Zurich is really a busines city and although there is a mildly quaint old town yuo really need to get into the countryside to see Switzerland.

MLF611

Your options are many, here are four, all doable without a car:

1. Stein am Rhein and the waterfalls near Schaffhausen: http://www.rheinfall.ch/

2. Train to Luzern, boat trip on the lake, up to Mt. Pilatus

3. Hike among the vineyards and farms in nearby scenice but often overlooked Fricktal. Enjoy a local winetasting.

4. Early morning train to Gstaad, stroll through the village, hike along the beautiful trails around town, enjoy pastries at Charlie's tea room.

quokka

5. Weather permitting: a boat cruise along the whole lake from Zürich to Rapperswil. See the cute little old town of Rapperswil, take the train back to Zürich.

trotsky

I'll second (third?) the suggestion for a daytrip to Mt Pilatus- I did it 2008 & it is a comprehensive day trip. Train from Zurich to Luzern, approx 1 hour There is a combined day trip ticket which then gives you about 1.5 hrs sailing the lakes, transfer to a steep cog railway for the ascent to Pilatus. At the time we were there, there was a discount in this ticket for a lunch on the observation deck at the top. At the top you can also hike, see further observation areas etc- many high mountains can be seen. To return, aerial godonlas take you down to ground level & then a bus into Luzern itself. You can then spend time in Luzern before returning to Zurich. This was one of the best day trips I have done in many years of travelling. Enjoy Switzerland Trotsky

dbourget

Many thanks for your wonderful suggestions. I'll consider them all! Kind regards.

flylow

I'll 3rd the Luzern/Pilatus day trip and suggest another day trip.

From Luzern a 1 hour train trip to Engelberg (little over 2hrs from Zurich) is one of the most beautiful I've taken through Swiss valleys up a 20%+ grade into Engleberg. Engelberg is a great little town and excursions to it's mountain (Titlis) and it's glacier is quite a trip.

Some links to look at:
http://engelberg.ch/index.php?id=58&lang=en
http://titlis.ch/en/titlis/titlis_in...mer_activities

Whatever you do, enjoy it!