ZURICH · SWITZERLAND
A lake, an old town, and the Alps in the back garden.
Lake Zurich cruises, Old Town walks, Lindt at the source, and day trips out to Jungfraujoch, Lucerne, Interlaken and Rhine Falls. Swiss precision, alpine air, chocolate at the lakeside.
Only in Switzerland
Three things you can’t do anywhere else.
Lake cruises and city walks exist all over Europe. These three don’t. The highest railway on the continent, the biggest waterfall by volume, and the original Lindt factory on the lakeshore. Build the rest of the Zurich trip around them.
Highest railway in Europe
Jungfraujoch: Top of Europe
No other railway in Europe goes higher. The cogwheel train climbs through the heart of the Eiger to 3,454m, where the Aletsch Glacier opens out across the Bernese Alps. From Zurich it's a full but doable day trip; from Interlaken it's the morning ride. Either way the view at the top doesn't exist anywhere else on rails.
- 1 Jungfraujoch: Top of Europe Day Trip from Zurich
- 2 Jungfraujoch Day Trip from Zurich: Swiss Alps & Bernese Oberland
- 3 From Zurich: Day Trip to Jungfrau and Interlaken
The largest waterfall in Europe
Rhine Falls
Europe's biggest waterfall by volume sits 40 minutes north of Zurich, where the Rhine drops 23m across a 150m face. Boats run right up to the central rock, where stairs cut to a viewing platform with the falls roaring on both sides. The combination of scale, accessibility and how close the boats actually get is genuinely unique.
- 1 From Zurich: Stein am Rhein and Rhine Falls
- 2 Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein Half-Day Tour from Zurich
- 3 From Zurich: Rhine Falls Morning Trip with Entry Tickets
Chocolate at the source
Lindt Home of Chocolate
The world's tallest chocolate fountain (9 metres of flowing Lindor) stands inside the Lindt Home of Chocolate in Kilchberg, a 15-minute boat ride down Lake Zurich from the city. The original Lindt factory has been on this lakeside since 1899. The museum tour ends with unlimited tasting.
- 1 Lindt Home of Chocolate Museum Entry Ticket
- 2 Zurich: City Tour, Cruise, and Lindt Home of Chocolate Visit
- 3 Zurich Sights: Cruise, Lindt Chocolate and optional FIFA Ticket
Where Zurich starts
Start with the one that everyone books.
If it’s your first day in Zurich, start here. The lake, the Old Town, and the alpine view if the weather plays.
The classics
Zurich’s Most Popular Tours
Lake cruises, Old Town walks, Jungfraujoch, Lindt, Lucerne, Rhine Falls. The Switzerland every traveller wants to see on a first Zurich trip.
By region
Pick a side of Switzerland.
Each one is its own day. The Old Town for the cobbles and Bahnhofstrasse. The lake for the cruises and the chocolate. Lucerne for the Chapel Bridge and Mount Pilatus. Interlaken for Jungfraujoch. Rhine Falls for the roar.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
By boat for the lake. On foot for the Old Town. By eTuk-Tuk for a slower lap of the city. By cogwheel railway up to Jungfraujoch. Chocolate at Lindt, fondue in a wood-panelled cellar, the Falls for the afternoon.
On foot through Niederdorf
The Old Town walks.
Cobbled lanes, guild halls, the twin towers of the Grossmunster, the Lindenhof view across the river. Three walks through the medieval heart of Zurich, on foot or by eTuk-Tuk.
Into the Alps
The mountains within reach.
Mount Titlis with a rotating cable car, Mount Pilatus from Lucerne, Mount Rigi (the “queen of the mountains”), Grindelwald in the shadow of the Eiger. Three peaks bookable as day trips from Zurich.
Why everyone leaves heavier
Chocolate, cheese and the wine.
Cheese fondue in a wood-panelled cellar, Swiss wine in the lake-side vineyards almost nobody knows about, dessert walks through the patisseries. Three picks for an afternoon spent eating Switzerland.
Out on the train
The day trips Zurich is built around.
Switzerland\'s rail network puts Lucerne 40 minutes away, Bern an hour, Interlaken under two, the Black Forest just across the German border. Three picks for a day out with the hotel still in Zurich.
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