This ones a favourite for tourists and only a short train ride from Zurich. This is where all the tourist buses and Contiki groups go (they often skip Zurich) and there’s a reason why. We don’t often go to Lucerne as our final destination, but head here to use as a base to explore the lake and surrounding mountains. If you do make it here then a walk across the famous Kappelbrucke bridge is a must, with the beautiful view of Mt Pilatus in the background. From here hop on a train or boat and visit one of these incredible mountains for the ultimate mountain day trip:

– Mt Rigi
– Mt Pilatus
– Mt Titlis

For details on these trips keep reading!

This is one of our favourite winter trips that we took but like everywhere in Switzerland you almost have to visit again in Summer to appreciate the place without the snow (and cold)! This one offers incredible scenic views of the surrounding lakes and mountains with lots of walking and hiking trails. You can use the SBB app to get here by train from Zurich, but we recommend heading to Lucerne first then taking the scenic route. Starting with a boat cruise on Lake Lucerne to Vitznau, then a scenic cog railway to Rigi Kulm. From here it’s a short walk to the top, nearly 1’800m above sea level with views over Lake Lucerne, Lake Zug and Lake Lauerz. You can then hike (downhill) to the stunning Mineralbad and Spa Rigi Kaltbald, pools that start inside where you can swim outside with an alp backdrop for ultimate relaxation. We went in January when the alps are covered in snow, you could even touch the snow from the edge of the pool…incredible! Tip: avoid doing this during school holidays and weekends during summer (the areas around Lucerne can get super crowded!)

BOAT: Lucerne – Vitznau (BAT 11)
FUNICULAR: Vitznau – Rigi Kulm (R 1115)
WALK: Rigi Kulm – Rigi Kalbad (R 1110)
FUNICULAR: Rigi Kulm – Vitznau (R 1110)
BOAT: Vitznau – Lucerne (BAT 11)

This is the stunning mountain you see in the background when crossing the Kappelbrucke bridge in Lucerne. A short bus ride from Lucerne you will find yourself at the base of Mt Pilatus where you can take a cable car to the top. Once at the top you can climb to the lookout for epic views over Lake Lucerne. Tip: go in summer and on the way up, stop at Frakmuntegg to go luging! A 1.3km toboggan run down the mountain and with the most incredible view, it’s so much fun! The toboggan run is only running in the summer months and on dry days. We did this on the way up to the peak, and then took the cogwheel train on the way down (the steepest cogwheel train in the world!) For more head here https://www.pilatus.ch/en/discover/cogwheel-railway/

BUS: Lucerne – Kreins, Zentrum Pilatus (NFO 1)
GONDOLA: Kriens PB – Frakmuntegg (GB 1)
CABLE CAR: Frakmuntegg – Pilatus Kulm (LB 1001)
COGWHEEL TRAIN: Pilatus Kulm – Alpnachstad
TRAIN: Alpnachstad – Luzern (S5)

Another mountain near Lucerne with a rotating cable car, a glacier cave and Europe’s highest suspension bridge (if you dare to cross!) You can even ski here during the winter months. Take the train to Engelberg and then head to the ticket office where you can purchase your ticket for the gondola and cable car (tip: there are shorter lines at the Engelberg train station than at the Titlisbahn office itself). From here you take a small gondola part way up the mountain and then you hop on a rotating cable car! The cable car makes a 360 degrees loop on each trip so you’re guaranteed to get incredible views.

TRAIN: Lucerne – Engelberg Bahnhof
BUS/WALK: Engelberg Bahnhof – Talstation Titlis
GONDOLA: Talstatin Titlis – Stand
CABLECAR: Stand – Kleintitlis

By far our favourite village in Switzerland, there’s just something about this car-less mountain resort village that kept us coming back, three times actually! Home to the iconic Matterhorn mountain (you know the one on the Toblerone bar?), it’s stunning in both summer and winter depending on what you want to experience. Skiing alongside the Matterhorn, sleeping in an igloo up in the alps or taking a summer hike with the most incredible views, it’s hard to decide when to go (so we did both). Either way, after a day out in the Alps, coming back to your hotel for a massage and spa before dinner is the perfect way to spend the evening. We’ve stayed in three different spa hotels and it’s hard to pick a favourite, we loved them all. Recommendations below. A longer trip from Zurich so we definitely recommend spending a night or two here because it’s such a special place you won’t want to leave. No matter when you visit, a trip on the Gornergrat train should be on your list, the train ride with the best view!

Given this is a mountain resort village, you will find plenty of top rated hotels here, with unique spa and restaurants. We’ve stayed at three different spa hotels and rate them all, it’s hard to pick our favourite!

If you didn’t know already, Switzerland is divided into three main areas: the German-influenced area, the French-influenced area and the Italian-influenced area, known as Ticino. Apart from spending time up in the alps, Ticino is one of our favourite areas and we always stop off at Lugano on our way to Italy for lunch (pizza of course). The Zurich to Lake Como is one epic drive, one that we highly recommend, in fact, Brendon has done this drive four times! If you’re taking the train instead then you’ll get to go through the world’s longest tunnel, the Gotthard tunnel at over 55km long! Lugano is perfect for a day trip or a place to stopover. Make sure you walk along the waterfront to the gardens to the famous gate (see below). You can also take paddle boats out on the lake or head up the funicular for incredible views. If you’re passing through then a stop to the Bellinzona castle is also well worth it.

The town Interlaken was named after the meeting of the two lakes, Lake Brienz and Lake Thun and it’s here you will find the adventure capital of Switzerland. This is where you’ll generally see photos of people skydiving, river rafting, canyoneering, not to mention the many hiking trails. This is the perfect place to take a day trip from Zurich with a gorgeous scenic train trip from Bern. Once you’re in Interlaken it’s worth a funicular trip up to Harderkulm for the best lookout!

TRAIN: Zurich – Interlaken Ost via Bern
WALK: Interlaken Ost to Harderbahn
FUNICULAR: Harderbahn to Harderkulm

Close to Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen is a small village situated in one of the impressive valleys in the Swiss Alps. When you walk down the main street you’re surrounded by huge rock faces and mountain peaks. This is one of those villages you would have already seen many photos of during summer and winter, with the famous Staubbach waterfalls in the background known for being one of the highest free-falling waterfalls in Europe. There are some beautiful hikes around this area so it’s a great place to visit in the summer months and there are also many ski trails for the winter time. It’s from here you can take a train to Jungfraujoch via Kleine Scheidegg. We actually never went up the Jungfraujoch so we haven’t included it in our guide but it’s a very popular day trip and comes very highly recommended from others (most of the Contiki groups go here as it’s known as the “top of Europe”). For us, it was actually Hayley’s Swiss family who recommended Zermatt over Jungfraujoch. Both of are just as costly so usually you would just pick one and while you’re not guaranteed a clear day at either place, most of the Jungfraujoch train ride is inside a tunnel so you don’t get the views like you do on the Gornergrat.

TRAIN: Zurich – Lauterbrunnen (via Bern and Interlaken)

This is easily our favourite place in Switzerland. You may not have heard of this town: it’s a small car-free town up in the alps (at 2’200 metres) and only accessible by a small gondola or by skiing from one of the other ski towns. We were introduced to this town by Hayley’s Swiss family because they have an apartment here and we were fortunate enough to spend many weekends here.

In the winter months, we would head up on Friday evening after work, with our skis packed and groceries for a couple of days (there’s no supermarket up there, just a small shop and a couple of restaurants). We would wake to the most incredible sunrise over the Italian Alps, and spend the weekend skiing on our favourite slopes finished with a delicious home cooked meal and wine. What made this so perfect was you could literally put your skis on at the door of the chalet and take off for the day (and then when Hayley needed a break she could ski right to the front door for a quick coffee!)

In summer there are some incredible hikes, including a hike to the Aletsch Glacier (one of the biggest glaciers in Europe). You’ll also get to experience the cows making their way up the mountain. We woke to their cow bells ringing right outside the bedroom door! Spending a weekend here in winter and again in summer really did define “Switzerland” for us. Waking up at that altitude to complete peace and quiet and spending the day out in the alps is something we’ll never forget.

TRAIN: Zürich – Brig (IC8)
TRAIN: Brig – Fiesch (R 518)
WALK / BUS: Fiesch – Fiesch FE
CABLE CAR: Fiesch FE – Fiescheralp (LB 207)

If you’re coming in summer then find an epic place to hike. If you’re coming in winter then find an epic place to ski. As we spent most of our ski weekends at Fiescheralp then we don’t have an extensive list, but we managed to get to a couple more of the popular places that are perfect day trips from Zürich.

We haven’t explored much of the northeast of Switzerland but we did visit Säntis last year with our family. Säntis is the highest mountain of the northwest region at 2’500 meters and the landmark of the Lake Constance region. From the top, there are some incredible panoramic views and on a clear day, you can see out across Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy and even France! You can hike up to the top during summer (and even in winter), or you can choose the alternative route and take the cable car like we did. We went up for lunch and enjoyed a traditional meal at the restaurant: Bratwurst and Rosti! After heading back down you can then head to the small village town of Appenzell, the car-free old town with cute, colourful wooden houses. Close by you can even pay a visit and hike to the Berggasthaus Aescher, a restaurant built into the side of the cliff. This restaurant was one spot we didn’t get to but it’s on the list for when we go back. If you do plan to do Santis and the town of Appenzell in one day, we would recommend renting a car as there are a lot of train connections which does take up a chunk of your day.

SÄNTIS
TRAIN: Zürich – Gossau SG
TRAIN: Gossau SG – Urnäsch (S 23)
BUS: Urnäsch, Bahnhof – Sàntis-Schwebebahn (BUS 791)

APPENZELL
BUS: Sàntis-Schwebebahn – Urnäsch, Bahnhof (BUS 791)
TRAIN: Urnäsch – Appenzell (S23)

If you love driving then put the Swiss Alpine Passes on your bucket list. Some of the most epic roads we’ve driven are in central Switzerland including the Furka Pass, the Grimsel Pass and the Susten Pass. In fact, if you’re based in Zürich then this makes for the ultimate day road trip (also do-able from Geneva). From Zürich head along Lake Lucerne passing through Vitznau, then head towards the three passes starting with the Susten Pass, then taking on the Grimsel Pass and finishing off with the Furka Pass. First tip, if you want to drive the passes properly (and by properly we mean at your own speed and not behind drivers who can’t drive corners through the curly passes) then don’t drive these on a weekend because they’re super busy, especially with motorbikes. The second tip, avoid the motorways as much as you can as the scenic roads have the most epic views! Third tip, if you’re a car fanatic like Brendon then get a supercar for the day! Brendon’s love of driving and love of Porsche made for the perfect birthday gift! If you’ve rented a car to already take on some other sights then make a detour through one of these passes, the views are incredible!

The famous wine region of Switzerland in the French speaking region. The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces stretch about 35km along Lake Geneva, starting from the Chateau de Chillon (well worth a visit if you are in the region) to the city of Lausanne. The vineyards are actually planted on the slopes of the lake and is a UNESCO protected area. There are walking trails winding through the vineyards with stunning views over the lake and to the Alps which makes for the perfect day trip of hiking and wine tasting. You can hike the entire length of the vineyards or you can pick and choose which parts to walk. For a full day of hiking, you can walk from Ouchy in Lausanne to the Chateau de Chillon. For shorter walks we would recommend starting at Saint Saphorin and walking along to Rivaz or Chexbres. If you end at Rivaz then you can then take a boat cruise around Lake Geneva. The Lavaux region is closer to Geneva but definitely still perfect for a day trip from Zürich. The vineyards are only open for tasting during the summer months.

No matter what the season is or what the weather is doing, one option is to hop on a train and head to one of Switzerland’s many cities to explore. While they’re not major cities compared to other European countries, each one has it’s own unique “old town” with charming streets to stroll down, not to mention the cute cafes to stop off at for coffee and cake.

ZURICH
Our home for two years, click below for our detailed travel guide for a weekend in Zürich.