Zurich travel FAQ

Good starting points are a walk through the Old Town to the Lindenhof, a climb up the Grossmünster tower, a stroll down Bahnhofstrasse and a round trip on Lake Zurich. For views, go up the Uetliberg, Zurich’s own mountain; for a day trip, the Rhine Falls are about 50 minutes away by direct train.

According to the airport, trains to Zürich HB run every 10 minutes and take about 15 minutes. Zürich Tourism notes that tram line 10 takes about 35 minutes, and that Zürich Card holders travel free from the airport to the city centre.

The Old Town, the Lindenhof and Bahnhofstrasse are public streets and squares. At the Lindt Home of Chocolate the chocolate fountain, the shop and the café can be visited without a museum ticket. At the Rhine Falls, entry on the Neuhausen side is free, and the Street Parade in August is free as well.

Go to a museum: the Swiss National Museum right next to the main station, the Kunsthaus Zürich, the FIFA Museum or the Lindt Home of Chocolate. At Zurich Zoo the Masoala Rainforest is an indoor rainforest of 11,000 m². Note that the Grossmünster crypt is closed on rainy days to protect its murals.

Zurich Zoo with its elephant park and rainforest hall, the Planet Trail on the Uetliberg (easy and suitable for strollers), the non-swimmer area at Strandbad Mythenquai in summer and the hands-on castle building site at Kyburg Castle. Children from the age of 4 can try kids motocross at MX-Academy.

In the colder months the Uetliberg summit is often above the fog that covers the city. When there is snow, a 3.1 km toboggan run leads down from the Uetliberg to the Triemli district. In Advent the "Lucy" Christmas lights shine on Bahnhofstrasse, and the Rhine Falls area is open all year round.

Yes: 187 steep steps lead up the Karlsturm to a platform at 50 m. There is no lift, only a limited number of people can be on the tower at once, and the tower is not open every day – check the visitor information before you go. Details on our Grossmünster page.

Direct trains run from Zürich HB to both sides of the falls in about 50 minutes: the S9 to Neuhausen Rheinfall (north bank) and the S12 to Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall (south bank). See the Rhine Falls day trip for viewpoints and the boat to the middle rock.

At MX-Academy in Schlatt TG: the courses start at the MX-Academy shop, about 45 km from Zürich HB (about 40 minutes by car). The taster course with one hour of riding time (breaks included) costs CHF 165 including bike, protective gear and coach; it is offered every second Wednesday, and no experience is needed. For teenagers and adults MX-Academy recommends 3.5 or 4 hours of riding time. See motocross near Zurich.

No. At MX-Academy you can rent all the equipment for a taster course: protective gear, a dirt bike and the coaching. The rental bikes are Honda CRF models in all sizes, for example CRF50, CRF110, CRF125, CRF150 and CRF250. Fall damage is never included. Course dates are in the MX-Academy course calendar.

Yes. MX-Academy’s courses are held in German – there are no English-only courses – but there are always people on site who can translate, and MX-Academy takes English-speaking riders into account. So visitors can join a motocross taster course near Zurich without speaking German. Bike, protective gear and coach can be rented for the course. More about the motocross courses in Switzerland on mx-academy.ch.

Largely, yes. Most of the sights are on both sides of the river Limmat, between the main station and the lake. Zürich Tourism lists the Lindenhof at 533 m, the Grossmünster at 882 m and the Fraumünster at 900 m from the main station (straight-line distances).

German is the official language (written as Swiss Standard German), and people speak Zurich German. Many attractions offer information in English too – for example audio guides at the Swiss National Museum, the Kunsthaus and Kyburg Castle.