I’ve been fortunate enough to spend quite a bit of time off in Switzerland and it’s become one of my favorite places to visit. If you enjoy local food, a little bit of art, and a whole lot of natural beauty, here’s my hit list of how to spend 24 hours off if you have a day off in Zurich.

While Zurich is a lovely city to walk around, if you’re wanting the mountainous or pristine lake views that Switzerland is somewhat known for, you’ll want to pop on a train for a day trip out of the city. Below are two day trips that I’ve taken and have brought touring crew along for the ride for and either are a killer time. The first one is great if it’s your first time visiting Switzerland. The second is great if you’re looking for a bit more adventure and fresh air.

Here’s my Google Maps list of Swiss Spots (including the train stations in case you forget where you are).

Things you should know ahead of time:

Getting Around

Public transit is a piece of cake to figure out — just download the SBB Mobile app on the app store and you can sort out buses, trams, trains, funicular and tram rides, all over the country (and they’re damn near always on time). You can also pay for tickets ahead of time on the app.

Currency + Cost

Switzerland doesn’t use the Euro, they have their own Swiss Franc or CHF (generally speaking it’s about even to the USD). Everyone will tell you about how Switzerland is so expensive and they’re right for the most part however you will absolutely be able to find more affordable options for places to eat. For drinks, prepare your wallet…drinks for a night out will run you on average $20 (USD) per cocktail. The authentic Swiss restaurants will also on average be more expensive since they attract so many tourists…A traditional fondue will run you about $35 (USD) per person.

The cost to catch a train from city to city isn’t terribly expensive (~10-20 CHF depending on where you’re going) however you’ll pay at least double for specialty transport like cable cars or mountain trains. Switzerland is a beautiful place and they’ve invested a lot into the infrastructure to make some of these beautiful places safe and accessible.

A word of caution — Billiard halls — ASK FOR THE TABLE PRICES BEFORE YOU GRAB A RACK OF BALLS. I learned this after about a $600 tab one night between 3 tables at $50/hour per table…and they were cash only…

Additionally, it might go without saying, Switzerland isn’t the cheapest place to do your laundry if you’re sending it out while on tour…

Language

Nearly everyone in Switzerland can speak English. The only places you might run into difficulty is in the smaller villages and with the more elderly. The locals speak a variety of French, German, Italian, and English, but in a Swiss way. In Zurich, everything is a bit more German leaning. In Geneva, it’s a bit more French leaning. So it’ll differ where you’ll say “Danke,” for “Thank you,” or “Merci.”

Local Shopping

Grocery stores — look for a COOP, Migros, or LIDL.

Hardware stores — BAUHAUS, JUMBO, or Do It + Garden.

Day Trip 1: Mount Pilatus (via Luzern)

Cost of transportation: ~110.00 CHF (round-trip transport)

MORNING (9AM - 12PM): Get to Luzern

Make your way to Zurich HB (Central Station). Grab a quick pastry or sandwich and coffee at the station for a quick bite before jumping on the train to Luzern (Lucerne). Train times vary from 41-50min. You’ll want to be at the train station by 9:30-10:30am for the trains to get you into Luzern by 10:45-11:10am at the latest so you can enjoy the rest of you day there soaking up the sights.

I’d also suggest finding a seat on the left of the train facing the direction the train is moving for the best views.

When you arrive in Luzern, you’ll walk out of the station and immediately see Lake Luzern in front of you and on your right. You can get a better taste of exactly where you are if you walk across the bridge and to the other side of the water where you’ll see a few boat docks. It’s worth spending about 30 minutes to an hour walking around before heading back the Luzern station where you’ll look to catch either a bus or another train depending on what you’re up for to get to the next stop.

Luzern is famous for the Chapel Bridge (or Kapellbrücke), named for the nearby Saint Peter’s Chapel. Walking through the bridge you’ll find several paintings that date back to the 17th century. The water tower predates the bridge by about 30 years and had been used as a jail and torture chamber. The bridge was originally constructed in 1365 and nearly burned in 1993, destroying a few of the paintings. It has since been restored.

Walking across and down past Saint Peter’s Chapel, you’ll find another bridge, prime for picture taking and also your way back into the Old Town.

I wouldn’t suggest spending extra time in Luzern to eat unless you grab something to go as there are restaurants on top of Mount Pilatus to choose from for lunch. But if you’re dying for a bite here’s some suggestions:

Restaurant Recs in Old Town Luzern:

• PURA Plant-Based Food & Cafe: pura-luzern.ch (healthy cafe on the river)

• Stadkeller: stadtkeller.ch (they do fondue and racclette)

• Restaurant Schiff: schiffluzern.ch (river views also serving traditional Swiss food)

AFTERNOON (12PM - 5PM): Getting up the Mountain

After walking around town a bit, make your way back to the Luzern train station. You have two options: take a series of cable cars up to the top of Mount Pilatus, or the world steepest cogwheel train. You can always take the cable car up (I prefer this and you don’t need a reservation to ride) and the cogwheel train down. Depending on the time of year, you may be stuck with only one of these options. Check it all out here.

Cable Car: At Luzern Station look for the bus stop A. You’ll want to take Bus B1 heading to Kriens, Busschliefe, about a 17 minute ride. From there you’ll change to bus stop D and take the bus B15 heading to Kriens, Pilatus-Bahnen, a 13 minute ride. The SBB Mobile App can help you with all of this. The end destination you’re looking for is Pilatus-Bahnen.

The round trip ticket from Kriens to Pilatus Kulm and back will run you 78.00 CHF. It’s about a 35min trip up to the summit this way. It may sound expensive but trust me, the views are worth it and you can spend as much time as you’d like exploring the other lower stops along the way.

You technically could even hike from Kriens to the first cable car stop Krienseregg (510m / 1695ft elevation gain) and take the cable cars the rest of the way and buy a ticket that reflects this.

Cogwheel Train: You can access this by taking a 20 min train around the lake from Luzern Central station to Alpnachstad and purchase tickets on arrival. The train to the summit takes about 30-45min one way.

Mount Pilatus stands at about 7000 feet. The first and second levels of the mountain are loaded with hiking and mountain biking trails, an adventure course, and a restaurant and bar.

When you reach the summit, the views are nothing short of incredible. There are two hotels on the summit that would make for an incredible stay if you had the time to stay an extra day and a day bag with you / wanted to photograph the view after the sun went down. Otherwise there’s two little view points worth seeing from the top — one that’s flat and easily accessible that takes you through some of the mountain via a carved out tunnel, and the other is a stairway to the very top.

There’s a bar and cafe inside the summit station that serves a variety of hot and cold beverages, including gluhwein in the winter. Take your time enjoying the views — last ride down is usually 4:20pm in the winter.

EVENING (5PM - 9PM)

What goes up must come down. Make your way back to Luzern station via the SBB app and head back to Zurich. If you can score a seat on the right side of the train, that would be my suggestion for the best view. Every time I’ve done this trek, I’m usually pretty wiped by the end of it and want to get back to town to grab a bite locally before calling it a night.

Swiss Food —
1. Zum

Fancy Cocktail Bar - Kronenhalle (the art on the walls in this place is worth more than the real estate…) It reminds me of the sort of place James Bond might enjoy a dirty martini. The drinks are strong but class.

Day Trip 2: Rigi-Kulm (via Arth-Goldau)

Cost of transportation: ~108.00 CHF (roundtrip transport)

Now if you’re looking for something more hiking, skiing, or snow-shoeing centered, I’d suggest checking out Rigi-Kulm.

In the wintertime, if you have a mountain railway ticket, you get to ski for free. You’ll just have to sort out gear in Arth.

I visited Rigi in April 2019 and the photos are what you see as far as conditions. I was able to walk on a mostly paved hiking trail the whole way up and opted to take the train down. I had packed some snacks and a sandwich for the summit. There are restaurants and little chalets to stay at along the way up however you should check ahead of time what’s open and when things close. The fresh mountain air was incredible and the climb was very manageable.

Getting There:

Download the SBB Mobile app and route yourself from Zurich HB to Arth-Goldau. There’s a variety of trains available that can get you to Arth-Goldau anywhere from 43 min to 1h 7min and one-way will run you from 12-15 CHF.

There’s a ticket station at Arth-Goldau where you can pick up a map of the area to see where the hiking trails are, the ski, cross country skiing and snow-shoeing paths are, and restaurants / chalets along the way. There’s one train ticket that you can purchase to hop on or off at any point along the way that will run you 78.00 CHF.

You can view train timetables here.

Generally, the last train down from Rigi Kulm runs at 7:16pm to arrive at Arth-Goldau by 8:03pm but check the timetables for the season you’re visiting for ahead of time.