Excursions
For a Half Day
Winterthur: The canton’s second largest city is 25km (15.5 miles) northeast of Zurich and can be reached in just 20 minutes by train from the Hauptbahnhof. There are a number of intriguing things to be seen and experienced in this Swiss city on the River Tss. The Sammlung Oskar Reinhart ‘Am Rmerholz’ (Oskar Reinhart Collection at Rmerholz), Haldenstrasse 95 (tel: (052) 269 2740; website: www.kultur-schweiz.admin.ch/sor) houses important works from European Old Masters and French Impressionists. The collection is open Tue-Sun 1000-1700 (Wed 1000-2000). The Fotomuseum Winterthur, Grzenstrasse 44 (tel: (052) 233 6086; website: www.fotomuseum.ch), has a good series of special exhibits available for viewing on Tue-Sun 1100-1800, and Wed 1100-2000.
Open from Tue-Sun 1000-1700, one of the country’s foremost interactive industrial museums, Technorama der Schweiz, Technoramastrasse 1 (tel: (052) 244 0844; website: www.technorama.ch) is also located in Winterthur. The Winterthur Kunstmuseum, Museumstrasse 52 (tel: (052) 267 5162; website: www.kmw.ch) is open Tue 1000-2000 and Wed-Sun 1000-1700. Visitors can view major 19th and 20th-century art. Tempo-drom und Block, Lagerplatz 17 (tel: (052) 204 0700; website: www.block.ch), Europe’s largest indoor sports park, which includes a 3,000sq metre (10,000sq ft) rollerpark and beach volleyball court, is a five-minute walk from the main train station. The complex is open Mon-Sat 1000-2400 and Sun 1000-2200. Winterthur Tourismus (tel: (052) 267 5151; website: www.stadt-winterthur.ch) is located in the train station and provides further information.
Rapperswil: The beautiful little ‘City of Roses’ has a medieval character dating back to 1229, with romantic lanes and restaurants on the lakeside. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Zurich, approximately 28.5km (18 miles) from Zurich. Zrichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (see Tours of the City) offers round trips to this little town (tours take approximately two hours). Rapperswil is also accessible from Zurich by S-Bahn S5 or S7 (journey time – 50 minutes). The Tourist Information Office, Fischmarktplatz 1 (tel: (055) 220 5757; website: www.rapperswil.ch) provides further information.
For a Whole Day
Jungfraujoch: From this mountainous location in the Bernese Oberland (often referred to as ‘the top of Europe’) one can see Switzerland’s largest glacier and the spectacular Alpine scenery of this region. The cogwheel mountain train from Lauterbrunnen climbs to the highest railway station in Europe at 3454m (11,333ft), on the Jungfraujoch. A 11-hour bus excursion can be booked through the Tourist Information Office (tel: (01) 215 4000; website: www.zuerich.ch) the last part of the journey is by train. The tour starts at 0830 Wednesday-Sunday from 24 April to the end of October. Alternatively, the train journey from Zurich to Jungfraujoch station, with changes at Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen and Kleine Scheidegg, takes 4 hours and 20 minutes, however, the Alps are always just outside the window.
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Excursions