Zurich

• Best use: Zurich is a clean lake, old-town, train, chocolate, coffee, and mountain-edge layover where price discipline matters.
• Starting point: Build around lake/Old Town, Bahnhofstrasse chocolate, a river walk, or a short train-based nature reset.
• Big mistake: Spending like Switzerland is normal Europe. The city is efficient, beautiful, and expensive.
• What to skip: Random luxury shopping, overlong mountain detours on a short layover, and taxis when the train works.

Getting back before pickup

Set your accommodation as the start and end of the outing. Check both journeys, waiting and any connections before leaving. Set a leave-by alarm that gets you back with time for rest and preparation before your required crew pickup. Cut the extra stop if the return becomes uncertain.

Use the SBB or ZVV planner for your actual city route and fare. Central Zürich is zone 110, which counts as two zones. Lindt in Kilchberg needs zone 150 as well; Uetliberg also lies outside zone 110. Check the complete route rather than assuming a city ticket covers every excursion.

City journeys and payment

ZVV single fares · 24-hour fares. Buy or activate the correct ticket before boarding. Ask the journey planner for the complete route or a valid zone extension instead of buying an unrelated second ticket. Within city zone 110 alone, the adult second-class 24-hour ticket is CHF 9.40.

Uetliberg rail works

The S10 is running from Zürich Selnau during the Zürich HB SZU closure. The operator has extended the closure through 12 December 2026, with reopening planned for 13 December; older October dates remain on some pages. From HB, the operator's signed walking connection to Selnau is about 12 minutes, plus the train wait. Use the live timetable rather than arriving at HB platforms 21/22 expecting a direct S10. S10 replacement routing.