Rail Pass Advice for Switzerland and Italy?

My friend and I are traveling to Europe in mid-August. We are flying in and out of Zurich. While in Europe, we will first be traveling from Zurich to Graechen (located in Valais - the Alps). I am having a hard time finding information on travel in and out of Graechen because it is a small town located in the Alps. It does have a LGH station (lift, correct?) and bus connections. From Graechen we'll be going to Venice, Cinque Terre, and then on to Paris.
We're thinking of getting an Italy-France 4 trip EuroRail pass. Can these passes be used twice in one day?
When in Switzerland, we may get the pass that allows a 50% discount on all public transportation and roundtrip travel to the airport.
Anything we may need to know? How do lifts work in Switzerland? We're both 26 and have student ID's, are there any discounts that may apply to us?
Thank you so much!!

Hi kmbouw, and welcome to the forum! The timetable helps you to find out about connections from and to Grächen. You can get there by bus via St. Niklaus, which is down in the valley. There are no cable cars to Grächen, but there's one starting in Grächen and getting you even higher up in the mountains, to Hannigalp. Grächen LGH is the valley station of this cable car. The centre of the town is referred to as 'Grächen Post' in the timetable. Most lifts run continuously during opening hours (such as the one to Hannigalp) or three to four times an hour. So you can just get to the valley station and hop on whenever you want. You'll first have to buy a ticket at the ticket corner. If you show your Swiss Card (see below), you'll get the right amount of discount.

It seems that you're looking for the Swiss Card for your stay in Switzerland, which sounds like a good choice to me. It provides a free trip from Zurich Airport to Grächen and back, and a 50% discount on your trips in between. Specifics and purchase options can be reviewed at the Swiss Card page.

Most Eurail Passes, such as the France-Italy Pass, offer a few days of free traveling. On these days, you can make as much trips as you like, as the pass will be valid all day long.

Have a great stay!

Hi Annika -
Thank you so much for the response.

We are looking into the Swiss Pass. We land at the Zurich Airport at 8 am on Thursday the 18th. We will be spending the night in Zurich before going to Graechen the following day. Can we still use the Swiss Pass for these travel plans? Or must the the Pass be used when travelers go directly to their destination. Also, we're traveling out of Switzerland and then will return to Zurich not by way of Graechen. Can this apply to us?

Hi kmbouw2! Are you considering the Swiss Pass or the Swiss Card? They're quite different. The Swiss Pass offers free traveling on all continuous days, so it doesn't matter where you're heading or where you're coming from.

Assuming you mean the Swiss Card: it should actually be used for a direct trip from an airport to your destination, but in reality it won't be a problem to start using it the next day from the main railway station of Zurich to Grächen. The Swiss Card won't be valid on your first day in Zurich in that case, so you'd have to buy regular tickets for the trips you make that day. The resort from which you leave for the airport on your way back doesn't have to be the same as the resort you first arrived in. So in all, the Swiss Card seems to be a good option.