Swiss in a weekend - where to go?

Hi All,

Would appreciate assistance on some travelling ideas and tips?

I'll be at swiss for business and have a weekend free to go around. I'll be based in Wettingen.

Whats the best itinerary to see the "best" of swiss in just a weekend? Although I understand the duration is too short.

Where can i visit? Zurich and Lucern would be the best? How about interlaken?

Thanks.

Hi shaunny7,

Welcome to MySwissAlps! Can you provide a bit more information? When will this trip take place? Can you spend one or two nights elsewhere or do you need to return to Wettingen each day? What are your interest? Cities? Hiking? Scenic trips?

By the way, the country is called Switzerland, not Swiss.

Looking forward to your reply!

Hi shaunny7-

Bremgarten is near you and might make a nice break at the end of the day...depending on when you are there. Walk around and down to the river for a couple of hours.

I'd go to Luzern for a weekend.

www.myswissalps.com/lu cerne

If you only have part of day, you might walk around the old towns in Zürich. It is certainly easy to get to from Wettingen.

My answers might change If i knew when you were traveling and exactly how much time you plan for the cultural enrichment phase of your journey:

www.myswissalps.com/ab outswitzerland/nature

Slowpoke

Hi both, thanks for the reply

The trip is pretty last minute and it happening next weekend. understand the weather is very cold at the moment, would that be a challenge for going around?

I mainly have only a Saturday & Sunday for going around.

My plan now would be :

Saturday around Lucern & Sunday around Zurich.

Not sure whether I should go back and forth or just travel from wettingen each day.

If travelling as above, what travel pass would be the best?

Hi Shaunny7-

See attached screen grab from the timetable for timing on trips from Wettingen to Luzern. All pass through Zürich main station.

Use the timetable to figure out travel plans:

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

This map will orient you:

map.search.ch/Wettinge n?poi=default&pos=693120 ,246784&z=2

Zoom in and you will see the rail lines.

I would not get a rail pass for your limited travel. Arno or Annika may have a better approach; let's see if they can come up with something.

I would consider a 24 hour card for each town..it cost about as much as 2 regular tram tickets. You may be asked about where you will travel....there is a central zone (zone 110) at base price, but outlying zones add cost, in each city.

Some rail fares - city to city - have a "city ticket" add on that gives you tram travel within the city.

Ask at the station.

Slowpoke

I agree, a pass is not worth it if you stick to the two city trips you mentioned. If you also intend to include mountain trips (cableways, etc.), then a Swiss Half Fare Card might be worth it. Usually it only pays off if you do two or more of such trips, but you would have to do the math to be sure.

The Lucerne page Slowpoke mentioned, as well as the Zurich page provide more details about those towns.

Hi. Thanks for all the replies.

Regarding the Swiss Half Fare card - I'm quite confused for it.

Can this card be used for the following :

1. AIRPORT TRAVEL ( ZURICH TO WETTINGEN)

2. WETTINGEN TO ZURICH ( And around Zurich)

3. WETTINGEN TO LUCERN (And around Lucern)

Hi Shaunny7,

Yes, no problem, all of those rides are discounted for Swiss Half Fare Card holders. The coverage map can be found here: myswissalps.com/swissh alffarecard/validity.

The card can be printed at home though www.swissrailways.com/ en, but if you are traveling tomorrow you will have to buy it at a staffed train station in Switzerland as online order processing takes 1 to 3 days.

Hi Shaunny7 -

As Arno noted, those trips are all discounted. if you see fares listed in the Timetable that I linked you to, they are typically the half-fare. Most Swiss have a form of half-fare discount card, and that cost number is for their benefit ( and yours.)

You will need to purchase a ticket for each journey, which will cost half the normal fare. If a conductor asks to see your ticket, you will show both the pass and the ticket.

Tickets may be bought at many convenient machines. There will be choice of ticket type indicated at one point or another during the process. It will show an indication for "1/2" or for "children" . That is what you select.

The machines operate in English, German, French and Italian.

You can also buy at ticket counters in manned stations. You will have no problem with English if you do not speak German.

When buying a ticket in a city, you may buy at a ticket counter in a station or at a ticket machine at a tram or bus stop, or also in the stations. . The machines offer a bewildering array of options.

I have found a "24 hour ticket" to be the simplest to use in cities, and it costs only approximately as much as 2-3 single tickets. It does what it says. It is good for 24 hours from the time of purchase within the "Zone" or zones ( described below).

In addition to single ticket ( typically good for 2 hours on any bus or train or tram within the "Zone" shown on the ticket), there are options to cover more than one zone (extra cost) sometimes a so-called "9 o'clock ticket" - good after the 9 AM rush hour until - I believe - midnight, as well as (often) a "short trip ticket good for 1/2 hour and somewhat cheaper than the single fare ticket. There is usually a zone map on the machine or nearby.

www.sbb.ch/en/travelca rds-and-tickets/fare-networks/zurich-transport-network.html

www.zvv.ch/zvv/en/trav elcards-and-tickets/zones/zone-maps.html

Downtown Zürich (or any city) is "Zone 110." Zürich airport is in zone 121. Wettingen is outside the Zürich Verkehrs Verein (ZVV, Zürich traffic association) zones to the northwest. You should be able to get the best Zürich 24 hour card at Wettingen, but I'm not sure what it would be. You probably should ask at the station; possibly your colleagues at work in Wettingen can help you. You will need to know whether you will plan to outside the city center.

In addition to ticket machines and manned ticket counters, the traffic association for both Luzern and Zürich have a manned office in the lower levels of the stations. They will sell you a ticket and provide advice on what to buy. They have route maps and small booklets listing the schedules and stops.

Much of this material is now available on Smartphones, but I don't know how much. That will gradually replace some printed materials.

On buses and trams in the cities, you will not show your ticket and half fare card ("Halb-tax" or "Halb-Abo") unless a special ticket inspector boards the car and asks for tickets. If you do not have one, you are fined on the spot. Make sure that you have a ticket.

Slowpoke