Switzerland

Regions

Cities

Zürich Winterthur

Other Destinations

Getting there

Switzerland is part of Schengen Europe. Therefore a Schengen-Visa (3 Months generally) is valid.

Getting around

Public Transport (by far the most common way to get around)

Short distance: Bus/Postauto Middle and long distance: Train: Check out the SBB homepage. Prices for public transport are quite high. If you stay longer or plan to travel a lot consider buying: Halbtax (valid for 1 year, most tickets cost half price) or a tourist ticket. They are expensive but wort it if you travel a lot during a short stay.

Having no ticket and getting caught in a train: You will be asked to pay a fine of 100 Fr. (serious) If you want to sit it is nice to ask "ist hier noch frei" to the person sitting in the compartment already even though it is obvious that all other seats are free. You can expect to get a "yes" or a simple nodding as an answer.

Ride Share

If you can plan your journey try mitfahrgelegenheit.ch or mitfahrzentrale.de. There are lots of rides being offered (for money) by people doing regular trips. Especially if you travel a long way, you generally pay less than half the train fare.

There are other platforms like Couchsurfing.com and other communities where sometimes rides are offered but it is pretty based on luck if you find something

Private bus Companies

Even though trains dominate the long distance travel, there are a few bus companies serving in Europe. If booked ahead far enough they probably offer the best deal. Zürich-Germany: http://meinfernbus.de/

What to do

Main attractions are listed in every guidebook.

Hiking:

Everywhere and anytime. check http://www.wanderland.ch. There are lots of nice paths even in Urban areas like Zürich. Hiking Paths are signed yellow. There are mobile Apps available for hiking like gps-tracks

Close zu Zürich: Flumserberge, Pilatus You will see Mountains, Nature, Cows and everything you expect and not as many asian tourists as on Jungfrau.

People

Eat and Drink

Eating out

Swiss people eat out less than other nations. Why? Because it is very expensive! Expect to pay 30 Fr. and more for a meal in a Restaurant. You get meals cheaper during the weak at lunchtime (15-25) and if you go for fastfood but then you might better cook yourself Fair priced meals are also found in the Mensa at Universities and Hospitals.

Getting groceries yourself

Common shops: Migros, Coop, Denner, Spar, Aldi, Lidl, Volg (in Small Villages) Opening times of shops: Most shops in most places are open Monday-Friday 08:00-18:30 and Saturday until 16:00 Very small villages have shorter opening times. Petrolstations and Trainstations have Coop Pronto, Migrolino and Avec which are open on Sundays and longer. 24h Shops are rare.

Meals you should try in Switzerland: Rösti, Fondue...

Accomodation

Learn more

Staying connected

There are numerous providers in switzerland. Besides the big ones (Swisscom, Orange, Sunrise) there are great pre-pay plans. Big shops like Migros and Coop, Aldi, Lidl have their own simcards which often have a better prepaid deal. Check out coop if you like to go online on your mobile. There are free hotspots in some places: Some shopping centers, MacDonalds and Starbucks have them. Try this site for more: http://www.hotspot-locations.ch The SBB is currently planning to install free wifi in the biggest 100 trainstations until 2015.

Stay entertained

Learn the famous cardgame "Jassen". It can be played with normal french cards but is usually played with swiss cards (they just look a bit different) You might have heard about a game called "trump" which is similar and not as complicated as Jassen.

Souvenirs

Check the second hand shops called Brockenhaus. They are usually run by charity groups and store all sort of junk. Some of this junk is rare and unique especially when browsing rural Brockenhauses. They also have books to keep you entertained. Languages other than german are more common to be found in urban areas.