Visting Zurich during layover
 

Hi all,

next February I will be flying BOM-BCN through ZRH and I would like to visit Zurich. The flight from BOM arrives at 6.15 am and the other flight is at 5.20 pm.

My question is if Swiss will keep the luggage like if I do a short connection or what would I have to do with it?

How is the connection between ZRH airport and the city?

Thanks,

Is there any reason why you can't check your luggage through to BCN or are you talking about hand luggage?

Check this thread for how to go into the city and what to do.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/swiss...r-zhr-lhr.html

Check in the luggage in BKK and Swiss will load it on connecting the flight booked.

Railway station is within the aiport, trains leave for Zurich main station every 7 minutes, ride is approx 10 mins, trains run like a Swiss clock, Zurich main is right in the city center. You can buy a ticket which in addition to the return train ride includes free rides on all trams, buses and even the boats for the whole day ( Kombiticket). If the weather is nice, having lunch on the boat might be a great experience. Public transport is clean, safe and on time.

Left off the railway station is the Swiss National museum, should the weather prevent you from strolling through the old town.

And visit Lindt & Sprüngli close to the Central Station for Coffee and sweets.:)

Hey fanofmumbai,

I had almost a similar routing to you just last Christmas, going from BOM-ZRH-YUL. My flight landed at 6:15 in the morning and my outbound flight left at around 13:00. Since both legs are on Swiss they will most definitely check your baggage through to BCN as its a just a really long layover, so you shouldn't have to worry about your checked baggage.

As for traveling to downtown Zurich, its very easy using public transit. Here is some useful information directly from the Zurich Airport site that helped me get to downtown:

"If you have a wait of more than 4 hours, it’s well worth paying a visit to Zurich. There are 6 trains an hour from the airport to Zurich main station. The journey takes 12 minutes and costs CHF 12.40 (return fare).

Follow the “Exit Zurich/Baggage Claim" signs, observing the entry and customs regulations."

Also I believe the frequency for the trains back to the airport is the same, my advice is to just check the timetable when you get into downtown just to see what times the train goes back.

As for when you get into downtown(hopefully you're not flying in on sunday as most if not all the shopping stores are closed) it will be a short walk to Lake Zurich, and you can indulge in whatever else you want.

I hope I was able to help
(PS I thought my first post on FT was definitely going to be a question not a response lol)

It is possible(we did BCN-BKK via ZRH as well). Your luggage should be tagged all the way to your final destination. Any hand luggage can be stored at the airport lockers on arrival in zurich. But make sure you have a plan of what to do and see otherwise you will be just wasting time roaming around. We also took the train into the city, took the ferry and the funicular up the hill to the University(there is a tram which brings you to the airport from there). We toured the old part of town and had a lively lunch before taking the street tram from outside the university to the airport. At the airport went into the lounge showered, ate something and got ready for our flight to BKK. There is a thread here somewhere that gives you an itinerary for touring if you wish to follow it.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/swiss...r-zhr-lhr.html

Welcome to FT!
Nice first post!

It will indeed be easy to visit ZRH on this trip for the OP.

Public transit is really excellent all over Switzerland. I cant wait to get back!!

Eat lots of chocolate!!
Plenty of things to do in ZRH for a few hours.

Thank you all,

I asked about the luggage because to BCN there are two flights previous mine, one at 7.20 am and the other 12.20 pm but I want to spend a few hours in ZRH and I take the 5.20 pm one.

Hi Fendant,

The OP is flying from BOM. Are you sure it is worth going all the way to BKK to check in the luggage? ;)

Oops:rolleyes:

I'm considering doing this myself when I fly TXL-ZRH-BOS in two weeks. I have five hours to kill in ZRH, so I'm thinking seeing ZRH could be fun. What would I do with my carry-on bags? I don't want to drag them around ZRH. Can I leave them in the Swiss lounge?

According to an earlier post, there are luggage lockers at ZRH. There is also a left-luggage office, which according to the ZRH website is open 06:00 - 22:30.

There are also most definitely lockers at the main train station as well. *edit* did a search, and the lockers at the train station are 6 or 9 CHF, depending on size.

I am heading to Zurich next Sunday Jan 29th and have a long layover. Arriving at 6:25AM but not flying out until 22:40. Both are on LX F so I won't mind getting back to the airport early for the lounge and a meal, but even with that I have 12 hours to spend in the city.

I see stores are closed? Not that I am a big shopper but they would have killed a little time. If anyone has any suggestions how to spend an entire Sunday in late January, I would love to hear them. (First time in Zurich).

Hi mapleg,

It is correct, most stores are closed on Sundays - but you can still spend some hours in Zurich, it's about 12 minutes of a train or 15 minutes of a taxi ride from the airport to Zurich.

Things to do:
- Walk from the Zurich Main Station along the Bahnhofstrasse to the lake and back on the other side of the river through the old town called "Niederdorf"

- During this walk you have various possibilities to get some good coffee or something to drink e.g. here (this places are often quite crowded, especially on Sundays but might still be worth a visit if you like chocolate and deserts):
- Spruengli at Paradeplatz (http://business.spruengli.ch/spruengli-filialen.php)
- Cafe Felix at Bellevue (http://www.cafefelix.ch/)
- Conditorei Schober (http://peclard-zurich.ch/)

- If you like to try the "Swiss Bradwurst", go to the Bellevue just next to the lake and try one including the mustard at "Sternen Grill" - the one with this American trailer

- If you walk through Niederdorf e.g. the gallery lumas is open during the afternoon (http://ch.lumas.com/galerien/zuerich/)

- If you like to go for a proper dinner, there are a lot of good restaurants, let us know if you need recommendations (if you should be a vegetarian you have to try Hiltl (http://www.hiltl.ch/en/) - I'm very much into meat but still enjoy the good food there quite often to be honest)

- If you are into horse sports (show jumping) one of the biggest events is on in Zurich, the Mercedes Benz CSI (http://www.mercedes-csi.ch/en-sonntag.phtml)

- If you are into movies, many of them are shown in the original language (look for the sign E/d/f) - Corso, screen 1 at Bellevue is e.g. a nice one (www.kitag.com)

- Apart from that there are also some museums like the Kunsthaus (http://www.kunsthaus.ch/en/) or Landesmuseum (http://www.musee-suisse.ch/e/index.php)

Above ideas are just some random picks - let us know if you are interested in a specific topic. Have a nice Sunday in Zurich and a good flight.

cheers,
tom

Thanks Tom, you have given me some ideas to think about. I suppose my desire to wander through town may be partially dependent on the weather, but it really does not look any different than where I am now (Toronto). Just hope for no rain!