6 Day Trips from Zurich via Train
We’ve used multiple forms of transportation around Europe and stayed anywhere from one to four nights in a city. It all works but the packing and unpacking gets tiresome and driving in a foreign city can be stressful. So, we decided to do Switzerland a bit different. There is so much to see that to maximize our first visit, we spent a week in Zurich and used a Rail Europe Rail pass to take day trips. The Rail pass was a good choice for us this trip but I would suggest doing some research to see if it is good for you. We used this blog post from the very helpful Jackie Nourse at the Budget Minded Traveler to decide if the rail pass was worth it as well as the Rome2Rio website to get general ideas on individual train ticket costs to compare to the total rail pass cost. Once we decided to get one, we selected the countries we’d be visiting and then the number of travel days we wanted. We didn’t have to specify the exact cities, dates or times in advance. We decided each day where we wanted to go using the Rail Planner Eurail app. The pass doesn’t reserve seats for you but you do get to sit in First Class. We did have to sit in second class once and that was only because we stepped on the train as it was about to depart during morning rush hour. Swiss public transportation is the best I’ve ever been on, everything is clean and on time. Most of the train stations in Switzerland are essentially shopping malls with clothing stores, restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores. With our rail pass we saw seven different cities in three countries but were never on the train for more than a couple hours. Just remember you’ll need to have both Swiss Francs and Euros handy! For your time in Zurich in between day trips be sure to check out my blog post on some things to do in Zurich!
FREIBURG is a great way to see the Black Forest region of Germany without spending 6 - 8 hours in one day on a train. We were able to take a direct train from Zurich that left at 8am so we were in Freiburg by 10am. All other trips required a train change in Basel. Freiburg is a university town known for their Bachle street canals. Everything is easily walkable from the train station but they do have a tram to help you get around. We chose to walk and got to see a small vineyard and the Cathedral Market in Old Town. We wanted to find the two still standing medieval era city gates - Swabian Gate and Martin’s Gate. We found Swabian Gate first (also known as the McDonald’s Tower due to the ‘McCafe’ sign on it) and after walking through it we discovered St Martin’s Church a bit further down the street. It was a beautiful church and the trees around it were exploding in pink blooms (spring in Europe is THE BEST). We then headed back across the Dreisam River and found a path where we could walk along it. When we came back up to street level we were right by Martin’s Gate. We were getting hungry by then so we headed to Hausbrauerei Feirling for lunch (cash only). After lunch we walked around the Cathedral Market and then headed to hike up Schlossberg (Castle Hill). There is an elevator in a cave to the restaurant there that anyone can take to assist with some of the journey. The hike was steep and we took some breaks but getting to the top for the views was so worth it. You had views of the town, vineyards and the Black Forest. Once we left Freiburg our only option was to change trains in Basel. So, once we were back in Basel we decided to leave the train station to go see the Rhine before heading back to Zurich. Basel sits on the border of Germany, France and Switzerland. You can check out the Border Triangle area to see where they all meet. We walked through Basel past some beautiful buildings and plazas in the Old Town area (signs direct you from the train station) down to the Rhine River. You can walk across the river and along one side of it. This side has some restaurants, park benches and homes. We sat on one of the benches enjoying the view and weather for a bit before heading back to Zurich. Basel has trams as well and we took advantage of that to get back to the train station.
Freiburg, Germany - View from Schlossberg (Castle Hill)
LUCERNE is a short 45 minute train ride from Zurich. Lucerne has a beautiful walkable old town with views of the Lake Lucerne, the Reuss River and the majestic Alps. There is a beautiful covered bridge over the Reuss that has a lot of history. Definitely explore the Old Town (you can see it from the train station) and check out Hotel zum Rebstock for lunch. It offered local food and you can sit outside with views of a beautiful church and the Alps. There are plenty of other spots along the river with better views but they come with a high price tag. We explored the Old Town on a prior trip to Lucerne (a day trip from Lake Como in Italy) so this time we headed to Mt Pilatus. Depending on the time of year you can go up one side via cogwheel train and down the other via a cable car. To get there from the train station, you’ll walk across the street to the bus stops. The cogwheel train wasn’t open when we went so we took a bus to the Kriens stop for the cable car. From the bus stop it is short uphill walk to where you board the cable car (just follow the Pilatus dragon signs). We were able to get 50% off our ticket by showing our rail pass. The cable cars are small and while the ride takes about 30 minutes, it goes by fast with the views. We also marveled at the people choosing to hike or bike their way up. There was a halfway point that you could get out at that had a restaurant and playground. We stayed on and got off at the last small cable car stop, Fräkmüntegg. This was not the top of Pilatus though, just where the small cable car’s journey ended. At Fräkmüntegg was another restaurant, a ropes course and a toboggan ride. On our way back down there we were treated to a show put on by some Alphorn players. From Fräkmüntegg you board a much bigger cable car to take you to the very top of Pilatus. At the top there is a restaurant (of course) but also a hotel. The views at the top were outstanding. One one side you could see the snow covered Alps and the other was Lucerne, the Swiss countryside and multiple lakes.
Lucerne, Switzerland - view from Mt. Pilatus
RHINE FALLS is another short train ride but on a local one so it tends to make a lot of stops. Rhine Falls is the largest volume waterfall in Europe and somehow I had never heard of it before we started planning for this trip. There are two stops for the falls from the train: the Northern banks, Neuhausen am Rheinfall/Schaffhausen and the Southern banks with Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall. The Southern bank stop happened to be under construction and closed while we were there so we had no choice but to get off at the Northern bank stop. This was fine with us because access to the falls from this side is completely free. You walk towards the falls from the train station and can walk down along the side and around the front of them - which I think makes for the best views. However, the Southern side allows you to get up close to the falls with an entrance fee. They have boats that go right to the middle of the falls where you can climb up on a tiny steep and rocky island. Water thunders around you as a Swiss flag flies above your head. There are plenty of shops and restaurants surrounding the falls and in the town of Neuhausen am Rheinfall. We actually visited Lucerne and Rhine Falls in the same day since both were such short train rides. We went to Lucerne in the morning and after returning to Zurich, we changed trains there to go see the falls in the afternoon.
Rhine Falls - Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland
COLMAR was like going to Freiburg - you’ll need to change trains in Basel. But with Colmar, you’ll leave a Swiss train behind in Basel and get on a French regional train. Colmar is in the Alsace Wine Region which was enough reason for me to want to go but they also have the idyllic timber framed buildings and the La Petite Venise area. The old town part of Colmar is a short walk from the train station and our first stop was a patisserie for a French pastry. While there is plenty to explore within Colmar - you can ride a boat through the La Petite Venise area or browse vendors at the Permanent Terroir Market Hall - a great way to see the area with limited time is on a bike tour. We chose Colmar Bike Tours. They have tours ranging from 2.5 to 6 hours. We took the 2.5 hour trip but the longer ones offer wine and/or food. Even if you haven’t ridden a bike in a while, don’t dismiss this adventure as we got to ride E-bikes. They made pedaling up any kind of incline relatively easy! We rode through Colmar to the town of Eguisheim. Eguisheim was named France’s most favorite village in 2013. We rode on some of the town streets but also on a some forest paths and once in Eguisheim, through some vineyards. We made multiple stops for photos as well as to learn about the area from our local guide. Once we were back in Colmar he gave us a great suggestion for lunch - Au Fer Rouge - and it ended up as one of the best meals of the entire trip. We also, of course, wanted to buy some wine so he suggested Domaine Martin Jund. It was the meeting point for the bike tour but, as our guide promised, they were quite pleasant and allowed us to try multiple wines. We ultimately bought a Pinot Noir and a Pinot Blanc to take back on the train with us to Zurich.
Colmar, France - La Petite Venise area
BERN is the capital of Switzerland which I didn’t know before this trip. Bern is easily walkable from the train station and we passed an outdoor market as we headed toward the Parliament Building. The building itself is beautiful to look at but we walked to the back of the building where it overlooked the Aare River. Searching the Switzerland hashtag on Instagram will show plenty of mountains but one thing that always stood out to me was the turquoise lakes and rivers - and that is what the Aare was - an almost unbelievable shade of turquoise. And to top it off, you could see the Alps in the distance. We walked across the river where we saw the outside of the Albert Einstein museum. He lived in Bern and worked at the patent office. His side hustle while working there was developing the Theory of Relativity. NBD. Bern is also known for its 16th century fountains and bears. The fountains can be found all around Bern with the most unusual being a child eating ogre. As for the bears, while it is a symbol seen all around Bern, only one wild bear has been sighted in the area in 190 years. The Aare river makes a U shape through Bern and at the bottom of the U is the Bear Park. The Bear Park itself has been a point of controversy due to the initial conditions the bears lived in. It is much improved and they have a lot more room to explore. From the Bear Park area we saw a sign for a Rose Garden so we followed it. It was a short walk but also the steepest of the trip. We stopped more than once to catch our breath. We were rewarded at the top with expansive views of Bern, the Aare River and the Alps. The roses weren’t blooming yet unfortunately but they had a restaurant that took in the fantastic views and an Albert Einstein statue that encouraged selfies.
Bern, Switzerland - view from the Rose Garden
INTERLAKEN is part of the Jungfraujoch region and officially in the Alps. Interlaken (‘in between lakes’ in German) requires a train change in Bern when coming from Zurich. There are, of course, some shops, restaurants and such in Interlaken but we chose to only do one thing while there - go up a mountain. The train station was right along the Aare River and across it from the station was the entrance to Harder Kulm. Some chose to hike up but we took the train to the top. We got a discount on the ticket with our rail pass. At the top was a restaurant and plenty of areas for sitting and relaxing to take in the views. And views they were. Our time at the top of Harder Kulm was my favorite of the trip. We drank a Rugen Brau beer from the town we looked down upon. Paragliders dotted the sky over the turquoise waters of Lake Brienz, Lake Thun and the Aare river and despite the warm sunshine, the mountains across the valley were still covered in snow. I could have sat there forever. When discussing what else we wanted to do, we realized how close we were to Grindlewald and Jungfraujoch. The train to Grindlewald and ultimately Jungfraujoch was a regional one and not included in our rail pass (but is included in Swiss rail passes) so we had to purchase a separate ticket. We had already been to Bern that morning and had we planned differently, we would have done Bern a separate day and instead, come straight to Interlaken to take the train all the way up to Jungfraujoch. We thought about still going to Jungfraujoch but there weren’t any trains coming back down by the time we would have gotten up there. We didn’t want to stay the night up there so we settled on just going to Grindlewald. I knew it was picturesque but I was also excited by the name because I’m a big Harry Potter fan. The train ride there was amazing - rivers, mountains, waterfalls and charming mountain homes. Once there we were surrounded by the Alps on all sides. We happened to arrive in what seemed to be Grindlewald’s spring break. Many shops and restaurants were closed to take a break after the busy winter season and before the also busy summer season started. We tried to take a cable car up a mountain but it wasn’t open for the season yet. When things are open, Grindlewald-First looks like a lot of fun. Even though not much was open we enjoyed walking around the town admiring the houses deciding which one we would buy. One of the only restaurants open was right by the train station. Not one we would normally go for but Hotel Derby had fondue on the menu which we hadn’t yet eaten. So we ate bread and potatoes dipped in bubbly cheese and Swiss beer and wine to wash it down. Heading back to Zurich from Grindlewald was our longest travel time for our day trips. While each section was only about 30 to 45 minutes, with needing to change trains in Interlaken and Bern it ended up being about 2.5 hours total travel time. But so worth it.
Grindlewald. Switzerland