John_Baptist

Hi,

I'll have to stay at Zurich Airport for 10 hours next januray and would like some tips about the surroundings... is there a nice place to go/visit during these hours?

Thanks,

JB

PalenqueBob

No - take the train 20 minutes into the main Zurich station and walk around this lovely town - trains run up to ten times an hour town to airport so why restrict yourself to blah airport area?

John_Baptist

Yeah!!! That's good to hear! I've never been to Zurich.. so let's extend it!

What would be a "must see - express tour" spending, let's say, 6 hours in Zurich and getting back to the airport on time?

JB

sunstar

Yeah what Bob Said. Zurich airport is nice airport, but stay there for 10 hours? Ahhhh, no!!!!!

By taking the train to the main downtown station, you can stroll around the old town and the lake.

It could be cold strolling around in January, but doing that still beats hanging around the airport for 10 hours you said.

Just follow the signs down the escalator down to the train station area. Have some lunch or dinner down there.

There is a train information office just in front the stairs leading down to the train track platforms. If the office is open just ask the person inside when the next train leaves. You can also read the board for the Zurich HB station.


Zurich HB station is the main station and is only 15 minutes from airport.

PalenqueBob

From the station you can stroll up Bahnhofstrasse, one of the world's most famous streets for luxury shops and banks. Yes and down to the lake and old town center. In ten hours you could also take a train from the airport to Lucerne, about one hour away and one of Europe's most fantastically beautiful cities in a gorgeous lake- and Alp-dominated setting. A much easier city to manage and arguably nicer than Zurich.

FainaAgain

Stroll down Banhofstrasse to the lake. If you have time, take a river or lake boat ride.

richardsonsnm

Go to Kroenhalle for lunch.

wondering

There are tour buses with a driver who narrates that will take you around the town for a nominal fee if it is really cold and you'd rather not do too much walking. I think they are about 2 hours and are about 20E.(It has been a few years since we did it, but it gives you a good feel for the city.) We were picked up not far from the bus station by the river. Maybe someone else can help provide more dietails on this. I think you can buy tix when you board. We bought them at the desk of the Marriott hotel across the river.

Cicerone

JOhn, I used to live in Zurich and can give you several ideas, but would like to know (i) your arrival and departure times If you are there in the evening hours this is a whole different thing than a daytime layover), (ii) the day of the week you will be there, (iii) whether you will have winter clothes with you like hat, gloves and heavy coat or if you are flying on to a hot place like the Middle East, and (iv) what you like to do, are you interested in museums, restaurants or outdoor activities?

John_Baptist

Hi Cicerone,

Here are some piece of information:

(i) I'm arriving at Zurich at 11:00 AM and departuring at 21:00.
(ii) It's a Saturday on January
(iii) I'm really flying to Middle East and will have light winter clothes with me, but a hat and some gloves, yes! So, if the temperature is around 0.C it's ok. If it's too lower than this... than I think it's better not going outside!
(iv) As my budget is VERY low I've tought about going for a walk and take some pictures. I've also liked the idea of visiting Lucerne so I can use the train ticket that I think is valid for 24h.

Well, that's it.. I'm waiting for your suggestions...

TIA,

John

Cicerone

OK that is helpful. Not sure what you mean by a “very low budget”. If you want to go to Lucerne that is going to cost you CH52 (about US$42) for the round trip train ticket, so I don’t know if that fits into your budget. You have to add in lunch to that cost. Plus IMO by the time you get to Lucerne you will only have between 4-5 hours of daylight, so I am not sure it is worth the time and expense. The US$42 could be put toward an excellent lunch, public transport to and in Zurich and a walking tour (see below), and I still think you might have money left over for some Swiss chocolates.

I am not a huge fan of Lucerne, so perhaps others can post on what they like to do there. The train ride is not scenic (surprisingly); you do not see a lot of mountains during it. The first half hour is through a tunnel from to Thalwil so there are no views at all, then through a wooded valley, and then somehow because of the valley floors and angles, the last 30 minutes does not really have a veiw either. A lot of Lucerene is outdoor-based, so a January day may be tough. Without really warm winter gear to go up the nearby mountains like Pilatus, I don’t see a whole lot of reason to go there to take photos of the wooden bridge and walk around an old town that is not as interesting, IMO, as Zurich’s (nor do they have nearly as many good museums if it is cold) but others may have reccos. I only went there when compelled to do so by my visitors really. My theory was that if you wanted to see mountains you should go up into them, not just look at them from Lucerene. (But you need a heavy winter coat and good warm shoes for this in January.)

Now if this were my 8 hnours or so, what I would do is take the train to Stadelofen station in Zurich and walk to thorugh this part of the old town (past the tiny bakery that is built into the wall and has been open since 1415 or so) to the huge Grossmunster catherdral and climb the tower for a great view of Zurich, the lake and the Alps and to get the general lay of the land. Then having earned it, I would walk up the street to one of my favourite restaurants, Le Delazy and have fondue (its January and the best time for it). Next, and since you are a tourist, I would head up to the main train station and take the walking tour offered by the Tourist Assocation at 3 pm on Saturdays for 2 hours. This will give you a good overview of the best bits of the old town. (Or you could do it for free by photocopying Fodor’s walking tour out of an old guidebook, its a very good tour IMO.) After the tour, I would walk down along the right bank of the river and go to the Hotel Zum Storchen and sit by the fire with some tea or gluwein to warm up, then head out again to wander the streets of the old town in the darkness looking up into the first and second floor windows to check out the coiffered and painted ceilings which you can only see at night when inside lights are on, and at about 7 pm I would try to be at the Lindenhof or on a bridge near the Frauunster because all the churches in Zurich ring their bells for 15 minutes on Sautrday night and the sound, echoing accross the winter night, is one of my favourtie Zurich memories. After that, I would head for dinner someplace like the Kuferstube, Cantinetta Antinori or Vorderer Sternen or somewhere really down and dirty like the bratwurst stand at Sternen Grill (about CH7), and then well fortified I would take the train back to the airport and buy some Swiss chocolates for the plane either at the Sprungli shop in the main train station or in the airport itself.

The tourist office has English language guided walking tours on Saturdays at 11 am & 3 pm. They cost about US$15 and last about 2 hours. You don’t need a reservation, just show up at the tourist service office in the hautbanhof a few minutes before the tour. For information, e-mail the tourist service at [email protected], or go to http://www.zuerich.com/sightseeing

Alternatives to the walking tour if it is a really cold day would be the Landmuseum (Swiss history museum) which is accross the street from the main train station, although I might skip the first exhibits about pre-historic Zurich and go to the medieval parts as I think they are more interesting. The porcelain museum (Zunfthaus Zur Meisen) next door to the Fraumunster is actually very interesting, and can be "done" in about an hour, and is in a beautiful barouqe building. The town hall (Rathaus) along the river on the other side from the Fraumunster and down a few yards is also very interesting, it is only open a few hours a day, check the guidebooks. The Kunsthuas art musuem has a very good collection, check the website at kunsthaus.ch for their exhibits, this is just up the hill from the Grossmunster church. The E. G. Bührle Collection is a great collection of 18th and 19th century art, including many impressionist paintings. Take a look at http://www.buehrle.ch. This has somewhat limited opening hours. This is a bit out of the main town area, but it is a nice tram ride through a residential part of the city.

For ticket prices and times for trains, go to rail.ch. Use Zurich Airport as your starting point on the schedule guide.

If the Zurich day sounds interesting, I can provide much more detailed info on how to get to various places, train intsructuions, restaurant addresses and websites etc. I don’t want to spend a long time writing a detailed post on this if you are more interested in going to Lucerne or elsewhere.

As a complete alternative to the above, and this may be a bit left-field but I know from your other posts that you are headed to Israel, so I am wondering given your moniker if a trip to Einsiedeln might interest you. This was a town on the medieval “way of St James” for pilgrams going to Santiago do Compostella in Spain. The town is about an hour by train from Zurich. There is a large and beautiful baroque church which contains the “black Madonna” of Switzerland which gets a lot of pilgrams today. There is also a monastery (they sell their own wine and some other items, the wine is one of the few bargains in Switzerland....) It is in a lovely area of green rolling hills with great Alp views on clear days. Take a look at Einsiedeln.ch (cant’ find an Engish version, but for basic info, go to http://usa.myswitzerland.com and do a search for Einsiedeln). Second class round trip train fare is CH41.60 (about US$34)

Some other alternatives to a Zurich day would be:

1. Go into Zurich main station and take the little red train up to Utliberg, the highest point in Zurich, hike uphill for about 15 minutes and be rewarded with the best view of the lake and Alps. On a clear day, you can see to Germany. The train leaves from the main train station. The ride takes about a half hour. There is a hotel at the top with a self-service and full-service restaurant. Take a look at http://www.uetliberg.ch/. 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 also cafes at the train stop in Utliberg. This trip could be done in daylight and then you could still see the old town of Zurich in the late afternoon and evening hours.

2. Take a train/bus combo to the ski town of Amden actually IN the Alps, which is above the gorgeous blue-green glacial lake Walensee just past the end of Lake Zurich and is surrounded by jagged mountain peaks. This will take about 1.5 hours each way. The train after Thalwill is a pretty journey and the bus ride up and down the mountain to Amden will be very fun, plus you will get some great views up in the mountains themselves. There is a nice little restaurant with a sun terrace serving fondue and other speicalites at Café Leistkamm, this is a short walk from the bus stop in Amden. (Tel. +41 (0)55 611 12 65, I would call to make a reservation if you can). Cost is CH60.80 (US$50) round trip in second class. If you want a slightly shorter trip and lower elevataions, you can take just a train to Weesen which is on the Walensee below Amden, you can have lunch at the Parkhotel Schwert (http://www.parkhotelschwert.ch). Weesen is about an hour by train from Zurich airport.

3. Take what is IMO the most beautiful train ride in Switzerland and go to St Moritz. This will take you about 4 hours each way so you won’t have much time to do anything once you get there, but will give you some great views of mountains, valley floors and the lovely Bergun valley and then the beautiful St Moritz valley area. When you come back you will probably be in darkness, but still the trains are pleasant. Bring a sandwich for lunch so you don’t have to buy anything in St Moritz. (You could also instead go to Pontresina or Celerina nearby.) Cost would be C140 round trip. If you wanted to go over to Guarda, which is IMO the loveliest village in Switzerland, that would be about an hour by train from St Moritz. From Guarda, its 2.5 hours back to Zurich (a good bit by tunnel, so not a scenic trip out, I would not do it in daylight on the way out, the St Moritz route is much more beautiful).

A shorter version of the trip would be to go to which is in a valley toward St Moritz, but only 1.5 hours by train from the airport. This is a much prettier train ride, IMO than Lucerne, but you do miss the last bit of the Bergun valley which is quite dramatic as the little red train winds it way up the hillsides over viaducts. You will follow the valley floor with Alps around you and in the distance at most points, you will pass the lovely Walensee Lake surrounded by jagged peaks. You will not have a whole lot of time to do much else than get back on the train here, but you will get some very good views from the train.

You will need some Swiss Francs, you can either get some before you leave your home country, or when you land. There are ATM machines in the main arrival hall after you have gone through Immigration and walked through baggage claim and cleared Customs (which involves walking past the Customs guards, they do not stop you), look for signs. There are also money changers in this hall as well. From this arrivals hall follow signs for “Bahn” or “Railway” over to the airport railway station and once inside the station, head down one level to where there are luggage lockers and also a staffed luggage room where you can leave your hand luggage, look for a blue sign with a white suitcase painted on it (assuming your checked-in luggage will be checked all the way through to the Middle East). The lockers require change in Euros or Swiss Francs, I believe there is a change machine near the lockers. If for some reason your check luggage was not checked all the way through, you can store it there as well.

For railway tickets, there are manned ticket booths on the same level as the lockers (all staff speak English), and there are also ticket machines which take coins, bills and some take credit cards, they all have directions in English and are easy to use. Tracks are one more level down. There are sign boards and TV monitors in many places showing train departure times and track numbers (“Gleis” in German).

Cicerone

Sorry, part of my Item 3 got cut out. The shorter trip I was suggesting is to a town caled Bad Ragaz.

John_Baptist

Hi Cicerone,

I'm astonished!!! Your post is a complete guide to what we could call one-day-in-Switzerland!!!!

Now, as you have been so kind, I'll give you more information about my interest so we could deceide what to do! As you already know, I'm going to Israel and my main idea is a "religious" tour. So your suggestions regarding visiting churches and hearing the bells are just AMAZING!!! By the way, I'd love visiting the Kloster Abbey at Einsiedeln once I'm a benedictine monk. Yes, that's right! And this is also the reason why my budget is low... but not miserable! So, in your opinion, would it be reasonable going for a walk in Züric and then go visiting Einsiedeln? "Just" this two would be great!!!
One last question (for now), I've read about a 24h ZürichCARD for CHF 15. Do you recommend this?
At last, feel free to email me at [email protected] so we can exchange more detailed information if you don't mind!
Thanks a lot!

John

kleeblatt

Hi John,

I live only 15 min. away from Einsiedeln. It takes about an hour to get to Einsiedeln by train. If your intent is to become a monk, please contact the Einsiedeln monastary for a private visit. I'm sure someone will show you the library, the horse stalls and the beautiful, huge church (which is quite pink on the inside.)

John_Baptist

Hi Schuler,

Well, I'm already a monk! Just want to visit the brothers and get to know the monastery at Einsiedeln. What's the "best" way to go from the train station to the monastery? Is it far? Should I take a bus or enjoy a nice walk?

Thanks for your help!

John.

altamiro

>What's the "best" way to go from the train station to the monastery? Is it far?

It's about 15 min walk through the town center of Einsiedeln. Many postal buses go past the monastery too - ask the driver - but unless you get there in a snow storm there is no real reason not to walk.

Actually the way from Zürich to Einsiedeln is only about 45 min with a train change in Wädenswil (hurry!) and is quite scenic.

Cicerone

How delightful that you are a Benedictine because the church at Einsiedeln is run by that order! I am sure you can contact them and make arrangements for the full “insiders” tour. The stables which Schuler mentions are famous for their horses (sort of like Clydesdales) and they were redone about 2 years ago. I often think of them when driving through the slums of Mumbai, as the horses there live in much, much nicer accommodations than millions of people in Mumbai. You could quite easily combine seeing Zurich for a few hours and then taking the train to Einsiedeln; you might not get there until dusk, but you can still see the church and surroundings, you just may not see so much of the countryside. They have Saturday evening services as far as I know. As mentioned above, you can either walk from the train station or take a post bus (yellow bus) from the train station. There is not much of an old town area to see, but if you can get there to see the outside of the church area in some daylight it would be worthwhile, IMO as the church is very large and impressive and sits on a large piazza. (I found a website for the abbey at http://www.kloster-einsiedeln.ch/, and you can contact them by e-mail.)

There are actually several other Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland. You guys must really know how to get along to have survived Zwingli in Switzerland.... Probably the most important would be the one in St Gallen, which is about an hour by train from Zurich. The church is very beautiful (some people say it is the most beautiful in Switzerland), and they have an Abbey Library which is really interesting (it’s on the Unesco world heritage list, go to http://www.stiftsbibliothek.ch/index.asp for info) and also has many valuable manuscripts. The library seems to keep somewhat erratic opening hours, but I think you may be able to work something out with your connections if this interests you at all. (FYI, I have gone there on some Saturdays when they have stated opening hours and found it closed for one reason or another, so an advance e-mail might ensure that you can get in). The old town area around the church is quite charming as well. You could combine this with a Zurich tour. Many trains from Zurich Airport go without changes to St Gallen in just under an hour, it’s on a major rail line. Fare is CH54 from Zurich, but only CH50 from the airport. (US$44 and $41)

I wonder if you could get a rail ticket discount as a monk, you might ask at a ticket counter or check with one of the abbeys if you contact them. If you have any identification, bring that along. This may also get you into museums for free or a reduced admission. Switzerland supports all religious institutions with tax money, so really a discount for the clergy would not surprise me.

There is another Benedictine monastery in Engelberg which is about 2.5-3 hours by train from Zurich Airport. The village is quite charming and is up in the Alps (it’s a ski town) in a beautiful setting. I have only seen the outside of the monastery which is quite dramatic. You probably can also get the full “insiders” tour. I don’t know if you would prefer to go there, it is a longer trip and would probably mean that you would have to skip seeing anything of Zurich, but you could get up into the Alps. You change trains in Lucerne, so you could hop out for an hour or so if you wanted to look around. Fare is CH64 from Zurich and CH74 from the airport (US$53 and $61) round trip.

As for the Zurich Card, it is my understanding that the Zurich Card includes one round trip to and from the airport and then all public transport in Zurich. The fare to and from the airport is CH11.60, so as the Zurich Card only costs CH15, IMO you might as well buy the Zurich Card and then you have the flexibility to hop on a tram if you want to ride around Zurich if you want. It also gives you admission to some museums. As the ferries aren't running it is a little bit of a bummer as you can really walk to most everything you want to see and so don't need take a tram, but for another US$3 or so you might as well have that option, esp if it is cold and you want to just warm up by sitting on a tram for a bit.

However, if you plan to go right from the airport to Einsiedeln or Lucerne OR back to the airport from someplace outside Zurich, then IMO the Zurich card is not worth the money.

Once you decide on where you want to go, I can write out more detailed suggestions for Zurich itself.

kleeblatt

Hi John,

Leave your baggage at Zürich Airport.

Please contact Einsiedeln and tell them about your situation. They will be happy to give you a private tour. Plan on staying there a few hours. It truly is worthwhile.

Engelberg is also a beautiful monastery although not quite as big. Too bad you can't do both.

Einsiedeln website: http://www.kloster-einsiedeln.ch/

firedrago

Go downtown as the city of Zurich is only 25 mins away from the airport by train. We did not enagage any tour guide. Zurich itself is pretty accesible. You can just chill out around Limmat River or Zurich lake..

John_Baptist

Well, after so many good ideas and suggestions I've decided that the best option is to stay only in Zurich and enjoy the city! So I can use the money to have a nice meal instead of speding some time in a train... (I'll be flying for 12 hours to get in Zurich!) or maybe just a bus ride around the city. I'm really interested in getting that walking tour suggested by Cicerone!

So, thanks everyone... and if any other ideas come up, please share them!!!

John.