I have about 2-3 days available in Zurich next year.
Can anybody recommend a nice day trip from Zurich? I am thinking of something that I can do via public transport (train or bus). No more than an hour and a half away. I don't want to waste 1/2 day just riding back and forth. Visiting another small Swiss town or scenic place would be nice.
Are you staying in any other places in Switzerland? You can get to a lot of places by train in 1.5 hours.
Appenzell is beautiful.
One of the most popular places is Lucerne. Definitely go up to Mt Rigi or Pilatus AND take the boat trip.
If the weather is not suitable for a mountain excursion such as highly-recommended Rigi (or even Appenzell), Stein am Rhein is a beautiful village on the Rhine and is, I believe, within 1.5 hours from Zürich.
You could get to Bern or Basel in that time too. Both good places to discover.
Winterthur is nice, and very close to Zurich via train. Several good art museums.
Easy day trips from Zurich by direct train are:
Bern (1h)
Luzern (45-minutes)
Basel (1h)
Winterthur (1h 15m)
Stein am Rhein requires a connection taking 1h 15m and Appenzell is a canton (state) and is best explored by car.
Good information from Bern, but the question is "I have about 2-3 days available in Zurich next year."
I do wonder if despite the text the actual reply is in fact from Zürich. It looks more likely. But Zürich HB to Winterthur is less than half an hour (I didn't like Winterthur unlike some here and wanted to get away to Zürich) in my experience so the 75 minutes doesn't match up there...
Bern isn't an hour from Bern, although walking up the Gurten from the river might take that long. Good views from the funicular and from the top of the Gurten.
There is in my experience plenty to see in Appenzell without a car.
The Luzern should be closer to an hour from Zürich, or 1:15 from the airport. If I went from Luzern to Bern I couldn't do that in 45 minutes. I'd prefer using the secondary route through the Emmental (where the cheese comes from) operated by BLS. The longer SBB route is nowhere as scenic.
Nigel, I fixed my post because I meant to say Zurich not Bern, sorry.
There is in my experience plenty to see in Appenzell without a car.
Such as?
I appreciate all the suggestions.
The more I think about it, the more I would like to spend two or three nights in some small town near on a lake, before leaving Switzerland and returning home. Then go to Zurich and catch a flight home.
You've read Rick's suggestions, yes? Questions?
And a thought, from the crazy tourist dept., I did a daytrip to the Schilthorn from Bern. Scenic yes, leisurely no, frantic not really.
I would like to spend two or three nights in some small town near or on a lake.
Luzern may not be the smallest town with 81,000 residents but apparently it has a small town feel: https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/travel/small-towns-switzerland-guide/#:~:text=Lucerne,ll%20quickly%20fall%20in%20love.
Thanks for all the good suggestions. I will be looking into a number of them.
One of our favorite places in Switzerland is Thun. It is 1:20 train from Zurich, and the most charming, lovely, and friendly place we have visited. https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/destinations/thun-1/
