Originally Posted by
rmc1
I did a MR to ZRH in Jan07 and thought it was a great place. I got the 24 hour city pass which covered the train to city centre along with tram transit in city as well as a boat cruise around lake Zurich. It also gave entrance to the art museum which was nice. They had a Saturday walking tour in English (and German and French as well) for not much money. I would go back but not enough miles from NY area. If someone is interested, I highly recommend a visit. I used Biddingfortravel and Priceline to get the Marriott downtown for around $85 USD.
The Zurich card is an excellent bargain; as an example the trip from the Airport to Zurich alone is CHF 6 one way. I used this on my trip this last weekend and have further news to share.
There are a few options when you buy cards and passes:
1. For CHF 17 you can purchase the ZurichCARD which (as mentioned previously) is valid for 24 hours. It covers the train ride to/from the airport, 2nd Class train travel within Zurich and some of the neighboring zones, a reduction in fare if you take the train anywhere else in Switzerland (about CHF 8 discount to Lausanne for example) trams & busses in the city zones, rides on funicular rail and boats within Zurich, admission to 40 museums, welcome drink at several restaurants with meal purchase, discounts to several attractions, and (something I didn't know, but paid the CHF 2 admission fee for) a free entrance to the Observation Deck at Zurich Airport.
2. For CHF 34 you can purchase the above mentioned ZurichCARD that is valid for 72 hours.
3. For CHF 33 you can purchase the ZurichCARD PLUS that is valid for 24 hours, and gives you all of the ZurchCARD benefits as well as additional items of about 100 offers.
4. For CHF 12 you can purchase the Airport-City Pass which gives you the transport only portion of the ZurichCARD for 24 hrs. Trains, Trams, Busses to and from the Airport and everything in Zurich City (Zones 10 & 21)
More info about ZurichCARD available here:
Zurich Tourist Page
For the Airport-City Pass, just go to the SBB ticket counter at the airport or Zurich HB Main station.