Originally Posted by
LHSEN
Better to assume the worst, if this changes for the better, then, a good surprise and relief … rather than the other way around to hope this rule will go away or exemption will be announced and ended up ruining your vacation.
Ask the hotels for a list of places where you can get tested and if they know the price … to be prepared and planned into your itin & budget.
Remember here, it is not the US, shops don‘t open till late, latest 8pm, but given the current situation and esp. if you are not in big city, likely to be closed by 6pm or even earlier during weekday. Saturday usually has shorter opening hours, and Sunday everything closed … unless you are at Zurich Airport then, they‘re all open daily and regular hours. Hospitals are opened 24x7, but that does not mean you can get a test 24x7 if asymptomatic.
Do take note there will be a few regional holidays in CH between now and Christmas depending on the canton/city you are in … For example, tomorrow Sep 13 in ZRH, it is a 1/2 day working day (tomorrow afternoon is a holiday for most businesses and gov‘t offices).
In case you do need/plan to test frequently, consider these aspects as well.
While Switzerland has strict closure rules, (major) rail stations and airports are in a different “universe”
, shops in these venues are open 365 days/year and some as late as 11 pm. In the NYC area where I live few stores are open on Christmas Day, especially tourist attractions; for transportation purposes Christmas in SW counts as any other Federal holiday. I was in ZRH on Christmas a few years ago, boats on Lake Zurich were running on a (Federal) holiday schedule = MORE service than on (normal) weekdays. Several museums are open 365 days a year and/or Christmas Day.