GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
The international airline Swiss (LX) (Internet: www.swiss.com) offers destinations in around 60 countries.
Lufthansa, the Lufthansa subsidiary Air Dolomiti, Eurowings (EW), easyJet (U2) and Austrian Airlines (OS) connect Germany and Austria with many Swiss destinations.
Air Berlin (AB) connects numerous major German cities such as Geneva with Düsseldorf and Vienna with Zurich.
Helvetic Airways (2L) flies from Rostock to Zurich twice a week.
Flight times
Frankfurt – Basel / Mühlhausen: 45 minutes; Frankfurt – Geneva: 1 hour 05 minutes; Frankfurt – Zurich: 55 min. Vienna – Zurich: 1 hour 20 min.; Vienna – Basel / Mühlhausen: 1 hour 30 minutes
Departure fee
No.
Arrival by car
Long- distance bus: including Flixbus (Internet: www.flixbus.de) and Eurolines (Internet: www.eurolines.de) travel from Germany and Austria to Switzerland.
The IC bus (Internet: www.bahn.de/p/view/angebote/fernbus/index.shtml) connects Munich with Zurich and Munich via Memmingen with Chur.
Arriving by train
Good direct connections to all the neighboring countries, especially with the rapid Euro City – trains. Numerous EuroCity trains connect Switzerland with Germany and Austria with onward journeys to Belgium, Italy, Romania and Hungary as well as the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
A train ride from Munich to Zurich takes 4 hours 20 minutes. By the end of 2020, the journey time is to be reduced to 3 hours 30 minutes.
Since the Gotthard Base Tunnel was opened, travel time between Switzerland and Italy has been reduced by 30 minutes.
The French high-speed train TGV (Internet: www.tgv.com) serves the routes Geneva – Paris and Paris – Strasbourg – Basel – Zurich and Bern – Basel – Paris.
The EuroNight night trains (EN) offer sleeper and couchette cars on European routes, including the Zurich – Graz / Budapest and Zurich – Prague routes.
The Nightjet night trains (Internet: www.oebb.at/de/angebote-ermaessigungen/nightjet) run from Germany and Austria to Switzerland, among others:
Hamburg – Berlin – Basel – Zurich;
Vienna – Linz – Feldkirch – Zurich;
Graz – Leoben – Feldkirch – Zurich.
The Austrian Railjet connects Zurich with Innsbruck and Salzburg every day and back twice a day with Vienna (journey time Zurich-Vienna: 40 minutes).
InterRail passes are also valid in Switzerland. Details see Germany.
Rail passes
Special tickets are available from Switzerland Tourism, DB and ÖBB ticket issuers and DERTOUR travel agencies, among others. Information is also available from the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) representative in Stuttgart: Arnulf-Klett-Platz 2, D-70173 Stuttgart. Tel: (0711) 230 80 10).
The Swiss Pass (Internet: www.swisstravelsystem.ch) entitles you to any number of journeys on the rail, postbus and boat routes, including the panoramic routes and to use public transport in 37 cities for 4, 8, 15, 22 days or 1 Month. Discounts on many mountain railways are also included as well as free entry to more than 400 museums.
With the Swiss Flexi Pass (only available in Switzerland) you have free travel on the entire network of the Swiss Travel System on 3, 4, 5 or 6 days of your choice within a month. Discounts on many mountain railways are also included as well as free entry to more than 400 museums.
In addition to the Swisspass and Swiss Flexi Pass, there are other special tickets such as the Swiss Card, Family Card or Swiss Youth Pass. Information on the passes at www.sbb.ch/home.html. The special tickets for the Swiss Federal Railways are also available in Germany from Deutsche Bahn and RailAway GmbH (Internet: www.railaway.ch).
Regional holiday passesare available in certain regions in summer. Further information from the Swiss Federal Railways (see above), tourist offices, the DB or ÖBB.
The Bahncard 25 and Bahncard 50 are valid for cross-border rail traffic between Germany and Switzerland. Germany.
Note on rail travel
At more than 130 train stations in Switzerland, including the train stations in Zurich Altstetten, Bülach, Weinfelden, Thalwil, Wetzikon, Bern Wankdorf and Burgdorf, travelers have free internet access via W-LAN.
On the way by ship
As a country located in Europe according to historyaah, Switzerland is not only a country of mountains, but also of lakes and rivers. Ships and excursion steamers sail on the following waters in the summer months: Aare, Lake Constance, Lake Geneva, Lac de Joux, Lake Lugano, Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich. You can travel at half price with the Swiss Boat Pass or, especially for families, with the Swiss Family Boat Pass (Internet: www.vssu.ch).
ACCOMMODATION
Hotels
The hotels are all of a high standard and mostly offer a lot of comfort. Book in advance, but the tourist offices do not take bookings. The palette ranges from elegant luxury hotels to guest houses and guest houses with a family atmosphere. There are also numerous accommodations that are equipped for disabled people. The »Hotel Guide for the Disabled in Switzerland« is available from Mobility International Switzerland, address: Froburgstrasse 4, CH-4600 Olten. Tel: (062) 206 88 35. (Internet: www.mis-ch.ch)
Most hotels are affiliated with hotelleriesuisse. Address: Monbijoustrasse 130, PO Box, CH-3001 Bern. Tel: (031) 370 41 11. (Internet: www.hotelleriesuisse.ch)
Hotel classification: Hotels are divided into the Hotelstars Union star categories from one to five stars.
Camping
There are around 450 tent sites in Switzerland. Camping is not recommended on private property / farmland. Camping guides are published by the Association of Swiss Campings (VSC / ASC) (available in bookshops or from the association). The address of the Association of Swiss Campings (VSC / ASC) is: Secretariat, Bahnhofstrasse 2, Postfach, CH-3322 Schönbühl. Tel: (031) 852 06 26. (Internet: www.swisscamps.ch)
Other accommodation options
People over 25 will only get a bed if there is enough space. An international or national youth hostel card must be presented. Book at least 5 days in advance. Booking confirmation possible if the international youth hostel reply card is enclosed. A list of Swiss Youth Hostels is available from the Swiss Tourist Office or from the Swiss Youth Hostels, Schaffhauserstrasse 14, Postfach 161, CH-8042 Zurich. Tel: (044) 360 14 14. (Internet: www.youthhostel.ch)
