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Stay one night in Bern or Zurich before flying out?

Posted by on

We are staying 5 nights in Murren and then flying to Sarajevo. There is a direct flight from Zurich at 1pm. I don't think (please correct me if I'm wrong!) that it makes sense to try to get from Murren to Zurich airport for a 1pm flight in the same day - so therefore I think we need to leave and spend the night somewhere first. The RS guidebook seems to prefer Bern over Zurich and there's a direct train from Bern to ZRH in 1.5 hours .... so would it make more sense to just go to Bern, enjoy the town for the afternoon/evening, and then take the train to ZRH the next morning? Or better to go onto Zurich and spend the night there?

(This is in July 2024; day of week will be somewhere between Mon-Weds).

thank you!

Posted by
17418 posts

We have stayed overnight in Zurich a number of times after landing around 6 pm, but last September we had a mid-afternoon arrival and took the direct train straight to Bern. We liked the city so much we are flying into Zurich this next September on our way to Italy, just so we can head straight to Bern and enjoy the city more.

The attractive oldtown area, nestled in a horseshoe bend in the river, has friendly, laid-back ambiance. Very different from business-like Zurich, the financial and business center of Switzerland.

Most direct trains from Bern to ZRH take less than 1.5 hours; more like an hour 10-12 minutes.

Posted by
3287 posts

We have been to both Bern and Lucerne for overnights. If we get a chance to return to Switzerland we will hit Bern for the night before our flight. Lucerne is way too touristy for us.

Posted by
612 posts

We’ve gotten to the Zurich airport from Murren for a 1 pm flight many times. Just leave Murren around 7 am and train to the Zurich Flughafen, no big deal. See sbb.ch for train time options.

Posted by
2298 posts

In 2022, I was staying in Spiez and had a 1:20 departure from Zurich airport to come home. I took the train from Spiez leaving just after 8:00 am and had no problems. Of course, there could always be problems, but it's Switzerland and they are fewer. Do whatever you need to do to lower your stress level.

Posted by
165 posts

Thank you all, this is great information. sbb.ch does show it's possible, so now I need to decide if that's stressful or good to avoid a 1 night stop, given all new train stations, airport, etc. If we do a 1 night stop, it will be Bern. Thank you all!

Posted by
1888 posts

Lucerne over Bern for an overnight for me. More picturesque setting on a lake with mountains in the background. Due to construction you do have to change trains in Zurich to get to the airport though.

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