Zurich
 

Hi I'm a newby to this forum.....so bear with me and forgive my spelling please. We're taking a small detour on our way to Rome by way of Zurich. How far is the airport from the city and with only a day or two, what are some hi-lites to see/do in Zurich? Oh, almost forgot. Is there a train system from Zurich to Rome? If so, how long of a ride is it? tHx....edc

You should buy a guidebook for Zurich to get you started. Here's a link to some basic info that you can find by clicking on "desinations" above.
http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...ion=zurich@169

The ride from the airport to the old city is about a half hour. Yes, you can ride the train from Rome to Zurich..have you looked at a map to see how far it is? It takes 9+ hours and you usually change trains in Milan. I've taken this from Bologna to Zurich and part of the ride is really pretty.

There are trains all over Europe, and certainly for two of the main cities. If a city has a train station, you can get from one to another somehow. Trains are national and rail networks are across a country and connect to other countries, there isn't like one line that goes between cities in different countries.

Zurich airport isn't that far from the city center. There is even a train station right at the airport where you can get a train for the short ride into the city.

It's not a bad ride between those two cities -- about 9 hrs, change at Milan.

Zurich airport into the main station takes 10 to 12 minutes; trains depart every few minutes. Be sure to buy a ticket before you get on the train; this is a "self-control" train and you cannot buy tickets from the conductor. There is a heavy fine if you are caught without one.

In addition to the 9+ hour train to Rome via Milan, there is a night train that departs Zurich at 9:54 and arrives in Rome at 9:12 the following morning.

You can see the Swiss rail schedules at www.rail.ch

At least I know my answer was correct!

We went from Zurich to Rome and had looked into trains vs. flying...we ended up flying. We flew Air Berlin and the tickets were about $60 per person compared to over $200 per person for the train. Also, the flight is short compared to losing a day on the train. I would suggest flying!

In Zurich I was staying with some locals/friends. So that we could see a lot of the sites, we rented a car at the airport. If you have a chance visit Lucerne and Engelberg (we did both in one day trip). Lucerne is postcard-pretty, and Engelberg is in the mountains. You can take a tram up the mountain for great views, can also hike ice caves if you get there early enough. Or, do what we did and sit outdoors at a restaurant and enjoy the local beer and cuisine :)