Day Trips from Zurich

Consider Lake constance straight non stop train from Zurich. lindau is the beautiful town on the lake.
Ck it out online.

Is Luzern off your list because you've already been there, or because you didn't like it, or another reason? That will help others give better answers.

We are joining a tour and will be spending a whole day in the Lucerne area to would like to see some other sites/scenery.

thank you for the response though

I've been to the Black Forest and to the Jungfrau(Berner Oberland). For me, no question, the Jungfrau. The Black Forest was pretty and interesting, but honestly, I've seen very similar terrain in the U.S. To go to see the stunning Berner Oberland area, you could take a train to Luzern and then the scenic train (Golden Pass) from Luzern to Interlaken and then take another train into the beautiful Lauterbrunnen Valley. It is a bit of changing trains, however, they make it super easy in Switzerland. They will give you an itinerary of sorts that will tell you arrival, departure times and from what platform. If the weather is favorable, just the time on the train would be delightful. In Lauterbrunnen, you could enjoy sometime at a restaurant or take a ride on the city bus through the valley. There are some stops for waterfalls, as well.

Daytripping to the JUngfrau from Zurich would be foolish for several reasons...including the 8+ hours of just sitting on the train to get there and back in a single day.

@Tim, for me, yes, a lot of time with little pay out. However, I noted lots of folks in Switzerland riding on the scenic panoramic trains as their activity for the day. The views were incredible.

Perhaps it will be a Rick Steves Tour that already includes the Berner Oberland and perhaps you'll also have his Switzerland guidebook. I really like the architecture, cheese, and folk museums around Appenzell and Urnaesh 2 hours each way from Zurich (or the town of Stein requires an additional leg by car). See the map and chapter starting on page 216.

The Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen are doable.

We do have the Rick Steves' travel books for Switzerland and Germany to accompany us on our trip. Thanks for the input.

We enjoyed the small town of Stein am Rhine which sits on the Swiss side of the Rhine on the border of Germany. Train ride is slightly over an hour. It is really more of a village with a farmhouse museum in the center of the town. We bought take out sandwiches and ate at a bench overlooking the Rhine. It is not the mountains or forest but you will not be disappointed.

Appenzell is an easy train ride from Zurich (less than 2 hrs, 1 connection). The town is quaint and their cheese is phenomenal (albeit stinky lol).

Both the Rheinfall and Stein am Rhein are attractive, but I don't view them as full-day fillers. Aarau is a slightly more unusual "old-town" center, but also not a full day. (I'm 67 but ) do you have any walking limitations? The BF and both towns involve walking. How about the Lake Konstanz with a boat ride? (Haven't done that, but I did go to the outdoor opera stage in Bregenz, Austria.)

Basel is pretty effortless, if you get the fastest trains.