One Zürich day - Appenzell, Rapperswill or Bern?

Rapperswil is a lovely lakeside town with a small children's zoo-circus.

It does depend a bit on the time of year, but if your family likes outdoor pursuits then I would say Appenzell - you could go hiking or there is the zipline park:

https://kronberg.ch/de/erlebnisse/sommer/zipline-park.html

As mentioned above Rapperswil has the Kinderzoo, I took my kids there when they were about 4 and 5 years old, and have not been there since (a very long time ago), so not sure if it is age appropriate for your family or not, perhaps you can find some online reviews.

https://www.knieskinderzoo.ch

Bern has a fun Museum of Communication that is very hands on, if they like that kind of thing. I am not that sure what else the city might have to offer of interest to them. What do they like to do?

https://www.mfk.ch/en/

We were in Appenzell earlier this month with our grandkids 7 and 10. They loved the Kronberg Park which has a train stop a few minutes before you reach Appenzell from Zurich. In addition to the zip lines, there is a toboggan run and a tram up to the top of the mountain. A day trip may not be enough time to do all but we also hiked down the ridge line from the top of the tram, lots of cows, meadows and beautiful views.

https://www.appenzell.ch/en/service/freetimeprovider/toboggan-run.html

Another vote for Appenzell. :)

Bern - great for kids that age. Bears, arcades, fountains, roses, river, Einstein, great atmosphere - great for adults and kids.

Take them up the Gurten.. Bern's own mountain complete with funicular and tons of things for kids of that age including a ride-on railway. Kids love it. Me too. Great views too. https://www.gurtenpark.ch/en/

Nigel, would you know if the funicular in Bern is covered by the Swiss Travel Pass? I didn’t see any information about whether it were. Thank you.

I don't know. I expect so.

It certainly has always been covered, like the buses and trams, and local trains, by the Bern local transport card given by hotels in Bern.

I would check with SBB because it states that gondolas and funiculars are not considered public transport and not covered but usually 50% off. As we saw several times, it’s always better to ask then just assume and get fined.

Better, check at the funicular, since it is part of the Libero Tarifverbund. Website says not covered by the network day pass, but is covered by a monthly network pass. It is also covered by the Half Fare Card. Does not say a thing about the STP or GA card. Round trip is only 12.60 CHF full fare, so it is not a big item.

To see the STP area of validity go to this map:

https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/travelcards/ga-travelcard/ga-travelcard-area-validity.html

• In the top left corner expand the drop-down menu
• Click on “Swiss Travel Pass”
• It will now be highlighted, you will notice a change regarding the lines on the map as you do so
• Zoom in on Bern until you can see “Gurten Kulm.” Notice the dotted black line, which indicates that the journey is half-price with the STP.

We just lifted the two-week train trip through Switzerland from the RS guidebook, and started in Apenzell. In addition to the Kronberg Park, from there you can walk back into Apenzell. We did the hike barefooted -- and it was fantastic. I have no idea what the weather will be like when you're there, but what a gentle, downhill walk! And if the kids -- or you -- get really bored, there are train stations along the way to take you back into town.

Also, I don't know when you're gonna be there, but I saw on Instagram, they march the cows through Apenzell on October 8. That looks fun!