Zurich

Short excursions from Zurich:

Rapperswil — Pretty town on the other end of the Zurichsee, accessible by S-Bahn S5 36 min, S7 39 min or S15 36 min, or boat tip, famous for its rose gardens, beautiful old-town with castle and many lake-side restaurants and cafés.

Winterthur — Since in winter there is little to do outdoors, people flock to this city, the city of museums. It can be reached by taking S-Bahn S7 33 min, S8 28 min, S12 20 min, fastest route or S16 30 min, to Winterthur Hbf.

The Rheinfall, a large-volume waterfall. Take the S-Bahn S7, S8, S12 or S16 to Winterthur or S16 to Andelfingen and change there for S33 to the station called Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall. This station, however, is only open during summer. If you're going to the Rheinfall during winter which you probably won't, you should get off at Dachsen, the station before Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall on the S33, and take the 634 bus to the stop Schloss Laufen, Rheinfall.

Schaffhausen — Pretty town located very near the Rheinfall, accessible by S-Bahn S16 or S22 or S33, though S22 and S33 are rural local lines, so if you're coming from Zürich Hbf and, let's suppose, have an all-zone ZVV travelcard, you should buy a ticket between Andelfingen and Schaffhausen and use the S16. Dachsen Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall during summer is actually the last stop in the ZVV area, but Andelfingen is the only stop S16 makes between Winterthur and Neuhausen am Rheinfall outside the ZVV area; therefore you can save even more if you buy the ticket from Dachsen Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall during summer, and change to S33 at Winterthur or Andelfingen.

Stein am Rhein — A pretty town, accessible by S-Bahn S29 Winterthur - Stein am Rhein, which is connected to other S-Bahn lines at Winterthur S7, S8, S12, S16, Oberwinterthur S8, S12, Wallrüti S12, Reutlingen S12 or Seuzach S12. If you have an all-zone ZVV travelcard, you should buy a single ticket from Stammheim.

Baden. A cosy town just outside Zurich. Accesible by S-Bahn S6 37 min or S12 30 min. If you have an all-zone ZVV ticket you should by a single ticket from Otelfingen for S6 or Dietikon for S12

Lucerne Luzern — Pretty city, home of the transport museum, and further excursions possible. It can be reached by the IR train routes Zürich Airport - Oerlikon - Zürich Hbf - Thalwil - Zug - Lucerne 45 min or Zürich Hbf - Thalwil - Baar - Zug - Rotkreuz - Lucerne 50 min.

Arth-Goldau — Your gateway to the Rigi railway, also less than one hour away.

Other further away easy excursions from Zurich include:

Sankt-Gallen — Famous for its convent and extremely ornate Stiftsbibliothek. Also the point of access for the Appenzeller Bahn system, which can take you to the pretty town of Appenzell where there is a cheese factory you can visit.

Solothurn — A very pretty baroque town in the northern metropolitan area of Berne, accessible by frequent ICN trains.

Einsiedeln.

Basel — Near the triple point between France, Germany, and Switzerland. Approx. 65 minutes from Zürich Hbf with IR train route Chur - Zürich Hbf - Aarau - Basel, or 70 minutes with IR route Zürich Hbf - Brugg - Basel.

Access to most other parts of Switzerland is extremely easy, thanks to the efficient and frequent SBB train system. Other locations easily accessible from Zurich worth a complete visit in their own right include:

Berne — The capital of Switzerland, nice looking city, 57 minutes away by IC train routes St. Gallen - Winterthur - Zürich Hbf - Berne - Genève Aéroport or Romanshorn - Winterthur - Zürich Hbf - Berne - Brig, or 80 minutes by IR train route Zürich Hbf - Baden - Brugg - Aarau - Olten - Berne.

Chur and Landquart — Although not so much to see within these cities, they are your starting points for exploration of the nature-rich and mountainous canton of Graubünden and the Rhaetische Bahn system which runs over naturally scenic routes.

Interlaken — Your gateway to the Berner Oberland, an incredibly scenic part of Switzerland with some of the highest peaks in the Alps. You can continue from there using the also incredibly touristy Berner Oberlandbahn to the Lauterbrunnen valley and beyond, or get off somewhere and hike away from the touristyness if you are fit for it.

The fastest route to Interlaken is taking an IC train to Bern and then another IC to Interlaken this takes 117 min. However, if you have time to spare, try reaching Interlaken by taking an IR train to Luzern first and then taking another IR train from Luzern to Interlaken Golden Pass or Zentralbahn, takes 171 min. It's a much more scenic route.

Jungfraujoch, you can definitely take a day trip from Zurich, although there is so much more that the Berner Oberland offers that you'll be missing if you don't spend more time there.

From Interlaken, take the Berner Oberland Bahn to Lauterbrunnen, then Wengernalpbahn to Kleine Scheidegg and finally the submountain railway Jungfraubahn totally taking 137 min.

Lausanne is 2 1/2 hours away by train and is a gateway to the Lavaux vineyard region.

Geneva is three hours away.

The Italian-speaking region of Ticino, including the fortified city of Bellinzona are up to three hours away.

The canton of Valais includes the famed Matterhorn in Zermatt and other gorgeous scenery, but is a little harder to reach from Zurich as there are no direct trains to these areas. Nevertheless, if you know where you are going, the SBB website (http://www.sbb.ch) can give you the schedules.

The Schwarzwald Black Forest of Germany is also easily accessible from Zurich. ICE trains run every two hours during the day to Stuttgart, stopping at Rottweil where you can find decent connections to most places in the Black Forest. There is also the Bodensee "Lake Constance" which you can reach by good connections to Konstanz.

Zurich is also extremely well-connected to the rest of Europe by train, with direct trains to as far as Barcelona, Belgrade, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Zagreb, Bari, and Rome, just to name a few.