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Switzerland

Travel to Zurich

Flying to Zurich

Flights to Zurich from the UK are offered by British Airways, easyJet, Swiss International Airlines and BMI. Cheap flights to Zurich are available in spring or autumn when the weather is moderate enough to walk around the city.

Flight times: 

From London - 1 hour 30 minutes; New York - 7 hours 45 minutes; Los Angeles - 11 hours 15 minutes; Toronto - 8 hours 15 minutes; Sydney - 22 hours 15 minutes.

Travel by road

Summary:

Swiss roads are generally good, although mountain routes can be narrow and winding. Chains and/or snow tyres may be required in winter, and after a heavy snowfall some routes close. There is a telephone number for information on national road conditions (tel: 163). Cars drive on the right. The maximum speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on dual carriageways, 80kph (50mph) on main roads, and 50kph (31mph) in towns.

On minor roads, traffic going up a mountain has priority. Road numbers on green signs indicate toll expressways, where a toll vignette (sticker) must be displayed - motorists should purchase a vignette at border points or from Switzerland Tourism before departure. Stickers are valid for one calendar year. The legal driving age is 18 and a national driving licence is sufficient documentation.

There are two motoring associations in Switzerland. These are Touring Club Suisse (TCS) (tel: 0844 888 111; www.tcs.ch) and Automobil Club der Schweiz (ACS) (tel: (031) 328 3111; www.acs.ch).

Emergency breakdown service:

TCS (tel: 140).

Routes:

The A1 passes through Zurich's outskirts on its way from Geneva and Berne to Winterthur and St Gall. Beyond this, it links up with the E43 at Lindau in Germany, and then the E54 to Munich. The A3 skirts the southwest shore of Lake Zurich from Lucerne (via the A4), Chur and Sargans. The E17 south goes directly from Basel to Zurich. The A51 connects Zurich with the airport.

Driving times:

From Basel - 1 hour; from Geneva - 3 hours; from Munich - 3 hours 30 minutes.

Coaches:

Alsa + Eggmann (www.alsa-eggmann.ch), operates in conjunction with Eurolines (tel: 08717 818181; www.eurolines.com) to provide services throughout Europe. There are regular Postauto bus services, run by Swiss Post (tel: 0848 888 888; www.swisspost.ch) to much of rural Switzerland and excursions from major towns and cities.

Travel by rail

Services:

Trains run frequently to and from major Swiss centres (including Bern, Geneva, Basel and Luzern) and there are excellent international connections too.

The busy Hauptbahnhof, Zurich's main railway station, dates from 1871 and is located on Bahnhofplatz. In addition to tourist information, it offers shops, restaurants, left luggage, banking, postal and telecommunication facilities.

Operators:

Swiss Federal Railways, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (SBB) (website: www.sbb.ch) operates the majority of services on Switzerland's rail system. On some routes there are specialised cars for wheelchair users. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and Trenitalia have taken over international rail travel between Switzerland and Italy, to replace the now inoperative Cisalpino.

Further information is available from the Rail Service (tel: 0900 300 300).

Journey times:

High-speed InterCity Express (ICE) services operate from Stuttgart (journey time - 2 hours 50 minutes), Frankfurt (journey time - 4 hours) and Hamburg (journey time - 7 hours 35 minutes), among others. CityNightLine (tel: 0800 401 401; www.citynightline.ch) trains depart from Hamburg, Dresden, Berlin and Amsterdam, arriving in Zurich in the morning. Rail Europe offers a sleeper service (tel: 08448 484 064; www.raileurope.com) from Zurich to Barcelona (journey time - 13 hours 10 minutes). There are day and overnight trains to and from Vienna (journey time - 9 hours) and Budapest (journey time - 12 hours 50 minutes), among others.

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