Multi Day Plans from Zurich

October 29, 2026

Zurich has no organised multi-day tours of its own to speak of. What it offers is a good base: a compact city that fills two days, and a rail network that puts Lucerne, Rigi, Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein within about an hour. This page sets out how to string those together using public transport. Prices are in Swiss francs (CHF).

A two to three day shape

Spend the first day in the city: the Old Town, the churches, a lake cruise and one museum. Give the second day to Lucerne and Rigi, which are close enough by fast train (41 to 50 minutes to Lucerne). A third day can go to the Rhine Falls and Schaffhausen, or to Stein am Rhein, or stay in Zurich for the Kunsthaus, Zürich-West and a thermal bath.

Zurich plus Lucerne and Rigi

Base yourself in Zurich and take the train to Lucerne, or spend a night in Lucerne if you want an early start up Rigi. Rigi is free with a Swiss Travel Pass, including the cable car from Weggis and the Lake Lucerne boat. Without a pass the Vitznau to Rigi Kulm return is about CHF 55.

Zurich plus Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhein

These two work well together on one day or over a night. The falls take about 50 minutes by train, and Stein am Rhein, in the canton of Schaffhausen, is about 1 hour 10 minutes from Zurich. Entry to the Schloss Laufen viewing path and lift is CHF 5 for adults.

The Jungfrau region

Jungfraujoch can be done as a day from Zurich, but it is long and costly, with packaged tours from about CHF 290. A better plan is to move your base to Interlaken for a night or two and treat it as a separate stop, rather than a leg of a Zurich stay.

Which pass, if any

The Swiss Travel Pass covers trains, many boats and many museums, and it makes Rigi free. It tends to pay off when you take several long rail journeys in a few days. The Zürich Card (CHF 29 for 24 hours, CHF 56 for 72 hours) is a city pass for transport and museums, and it pays off only on a day with several paid sights. It does not cover the long Rapperswil cruise.

City days in detail

For sample day-by-day plans, see the Zurich 3 day itinerary . Fares rise slightly on 13 December 2026, so allow a little extra for transport after that date. For a city stay, you can compare hotels through a hotel search for Zurich , and check train times on sbb.ch .