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Getting There By Air:

Zürich-Kloten (ZRH)
Tel: (043) 816 2211.
Website: www.zurich-airport.com

The airport is situated 11km (7 miles) northeast of the city center.

Airport facilities: Facilities include showers, resting/sleeping areas, childcare, duty-free, restaurants, bars and cafes. The airport has good accessibility for disabled passengers. With the Fly-Rail Baggage service, passengers can check their bags in at the rail station up to 24-hours before their flight. Likewise, arriving passengers can check their bags from the originating airport straight through to a Swiss railway station. Car hire is available from Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, National and Sixt. The Airport Conference Center (tel: (043) 816 3422) is located in the office complex of Terminal A, and offers 28 rooms of various sizes including four in the airport’s old control tower. The center provides full facilities including fax, copiers, secretarial services, and Wi-Fi.

Transport to the city: Zurich Transport Federation, (Zürcher Verkehrsverbund) (ZVV) (tel: 0848 988 988; website: www.zvv.ch), operates regional S-Bahn trains (S2) running from beneath the airport to the city center every 10 to 15 minutes (journey time - 10 minutes). There are scheduled services to other Swiss destinations on InterCity trains. Regional Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) (tel: (044) 434 4111; website: www.vbz.ch) buses and night buses serve a large area of Switzerland. Many hotels near the airport and in the city offer a courtesy bus service. Taxis are readily available in front of both arrival halls (journey time - 15-30 minutes). The journey to the city center costs around CHF50.

Approximate flight times to Zurich: From London is 1 hour 30 minutes; from New York is 7 hours 45 minutes; from Los Angeles is 11 hours 15 minutes; from Toronto is 8 hours 15 minutes and from Sydney is 22 hours 15 minutes.

Getting There By Road:

Swiss roads are generally good, although mountain routes can be narrow and winding. Chains and/or snow tires may be required in winter, and after a heavy snowfall some routes may be closed altogether. There is a telephone number for information on national road conditions (tel: 163). Cars drive on the right. The maximum speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on dual carriageways, 80kph (50mph) on main roads, and 50kph (31mph) in towns.

On minor roads, traffic going up a mountain has priority, except postal buses when a yellow posthorn on a blue background sign is displayed (a line through this same sign cancels this). Road numbers on green signs indicate toll expressways, where a toll vignette (sticker) must be displayed. An annual road tax is levied on Swiss motorways - motorists should purchase a vignette at border points or from Switzerland Tourism before departure. Stickers are valid for one calendar year. The legal driving age is 18 and a national driving license is sufficient documentation, although Green Card insurance is recommended. The maximum legal alcohol to blood ratio for driving is 0.05%.

There are two motoring associations in Switzerland. These are Touring Club Suisse (TCS) (tel: 0844 888 111; website: www.tcs.ch) and Automobil Club der Schweiz (ACS) (tel: (031) 328 3111; website: www.acs.ch).

Emergency breakdown service: TCS (tel: 140).

Routes to the city: The A1 passes through Zurich’s outskirts on its way from Geneva and Berne to Winterthur and St Gall. Beyond this, it links up with the E43 at Lindau in Germany, and then the E54 to Munich. The A3 skirts the southwest shore of Lake Zurich from Lucerne (via the A4), Chur and Sargans. The E17 south goes directly from Basel to Zurich. The A51 connects Zurich with the airport.
 
Approximate driving times to Zurich: From Basel - 1 hour; Geneva - 3 hours; and Munich - 3 hours 30 minutes.

Coach services: Alsa and Eggmann (tel: 0900 573 747; website: www.alsa-eggmann.ch), operates in conjunction with Eurolines (tel: 0900 573 747; website: www.eurolines.com) to provide services throughout Europe. There are regular Postauto bus services, run by Swiss Post (tel: 0848 888 888; website: www.swisspost.ch), to much of rural Switzerland and excursions from major towns and cities. Zurich-Sihlquai station, located near the Hauptbahnhof on Bahnhofplatz, serves all bus companies.

Getting There By Rail:

Swiss Federal Railways, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB) (website: www.sbb.ch) operates the majority of services on Switzerland’s rail system. On some routes there are specialized cars for wheelchair users and rail is often the preferred mode of domestic travel. Further information is available from rail services (tel: 0900 300 300).

The busy Hauptbahnhof, Zurich’s main railway station, dates from 1871 and is located on Bahnhofplatz. In addition to a tourist information office, it offers a range of shops and very good restaurants, as well as left luggage, banking, postal and telecommunication facilities.

Rail services: Trains run frequently to and from major Swiss centers (including Bern, Geneva, Basel and Luzern) and there are excellent international connections too. High-speed InterCity Express (ICE) services operate from Stuttgart (journey time - 2 hours 50 minutes), Karlsruhe (journey time - 3 hours), Frankfurt (journey time - 4 hours), Hanover (journey time - 6 hours 20 minutes) and Hamburg (journey time - 7 hours 35 minutes). CityNightLine (tel: 0900 300 300; website: www.citynightline.ch) trains depart from Hamburg, Dresden, Berlin and Amsterdam, arriving in Zurich in the morning. A high-quality sleeper service (website: www.raileurope.com) also links Zurich with Barcelona (journey time - 13 hours 10 minutes). There are day and overnight trains to and from Rome (journey time - 9 hours 45 minutes) and Venice (journey time - 8 hours), Vienna (journey time - 9 hours) and Budapest (journey time - 12 hours 50 minutes). High-speed Cisalpino (tel: (058) 580 8500 or 0900 300 300; website: www.cisalpino.com) tilting trains connect Zurich with Milan (journey time - 3 hours 40 minutes) and various other northern Italian cities.

Getting Around:



Public Transport
The Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) (tel: (044) 434 4111; website: www.vbz.ch), operates the highly efficient and easy-to-use tram and bus network (known as Züri Linie) within the city. The Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) (tel: 0848 988 988; website: www.zvv.ch), operates services within the Zurich canton as a whole, including all trains.

Tickets for all forms of transit must be purchased at ticket machines (located at tram stops, bus stops and train stations) and validated before boarding. Tickets cannot be bought on trams or buses - there is a fine for anyone traveling without a ticket. Check the websites above for detailed instructions on using ticket machines.

Zurich canton operates on a zone system. A single adult fare for one to two zones is valid for one hour (including transfers). A cheaper short hop (known as a ’Kurzstrecke’) is available for five or fewer stops. First-class seating is available on S-Bahn trains, for a higher fare. Night buses depart from Bellevue on Friday and Saturday.

It is much simpler and better value to buy a day pass (Tageskarte), good for 24 hours of unlimited travel and available from ticket machines and the Tourist Information Office. The 24-hour and 72-hour ZürichCARD cover all travel in the seven central zones, including trips to and from the airport, as well as other discounts for tourists (see Sightseeing). The 9-Uhr-Tagespass is ideal for daytrips out into the surrounding region, and is valid for all journeys after 0900 for one day.

Ferries also form part of Zurich’s public transport network. The city is located at the mouth of the River Limmat, where it spills into the northern end of Lake Zurich. The main ferry terminal is at Enge (on the western shore of Lake Zurich), but it is easier to board at Bürkliplatz. Ferries go to many different towns and villages around Lake Zurich and operate daily 0900-1900. Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (tel: (044) 487 1333; website: www.zsg.ch), operates regular services to Rapperswil and Schmerikon, at the far end of the lake. Trams 2, 5, 8, 9 or 11 all serve Bürkliplatz. For Enge, tram 5 from Bellevueplatz or Bahnhof Zurich-Enge stops at the Arboretum adjacent to the harbor. You can buy tickets at the ferry terminal.

Taxis
Taxis may be found at taxi ranks or hailed on the street, as well as ordered by phone from the taxi firms: Züri Taxi (tel: (044) 222 2222; website: www.zueritaxi.chm), Taxi 444 (tel: (044) 444 4444; website: www.taxi444.ch), Alpha Taxi (tel: (044) 777 7777; website: www.alpha-taxi.ch) or Taxi Jung (tel: (044) 271 1188; website: www.taxijung.ch). For wheelchair-friendly taxis, contact Tixi - Transport Service for the Disabled (tel: (044) 404 1380; website: www.tixi.ch) or Zurich Transport for the Physically Disabled (tel: (044) 444 2211; website: www.btz.ch). Tipping is not an issue, seeing as a compulsory service charge of 15% is included in the fare, although it is customary to tip SFr2 per bag for luggage handling.

Driving in the City
Motorways almost go right into the city center, making it easy to get to destinations in Zurich. However, parking in the city can be difficult. Some of the more central car parks are located on Beethovenstrasse, Uraniastrasse, Sihlquai, Löwenstrasse and Gessner-Allee.

Car Hire
Zurich is well represented by the major car hire firms, including Alamo/National (tel: 0800 552 174; website: www.alamo.ch), Avis (tel: (044) 296 8787; website: www.avis.ch), Budget (tel: (044) 450 7535; website: www.budget.com), Europcar (tel: (044) 804 4646; website: www.europcar.ch) and Hertz (tel: (043) 444 4000; website: www.hertz.ch). The minimum age for hiring a car is 21 years and there is an additional charge for drivers under 25 years. Visitors wishing to hire a car must have held a full car license for at least one year. When hiring a car, check if basic insurance is included in the price.

Bicycle Hire
Cycling is popular in Zurich, especially along the shores of the lake. Züri Rollt (tel: (043) 288 3445; website: www.zuerirollt.ch) offers free bicycles for use in the city on payment of a deposit and presentation of a valid ID. Hire locations include the Velogate at the Hauptbahnhof (all year round), as well as from Bahnhof Enge, Oerlikon - Swissôtel, near the opera house and outside Globus department store on Usteristrasse (from May to October).

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