travelling in Switzerland

Here you can find some useful links if you are travelling in or to Switzerland.

Airports

• Airport of Zurich
• Airport of Geneva
• Airport of Basle
• Airport of Bern

Important airplane companies flying to Switzerland: Swiss, Easyjet

Public transportation

• Switzerland has one of the densest railway net and offers one of the best public transport systems in the world. 
• If you often use public transports, it is worth buying a SBB Half-Fare Card (Halbtax, Demi-Tarif). Half-Fare Card holder pay only half of the ordinary ticket fare. This boon is granted also on most private rail networks and mountain railways, and applies to both 1st and 2nd class. You can buy the card at each railway station. Prize: 1 year: 150 CHF, 2 years: 250 CHF, 3 years: 350 CHF.

Travelling by car

• You need a driver’s licence to drive a car. (After one year staying in Switzerland, you have to change it to Swiss drivers’s licence.)
•  Speed limits: Motorway: 120 km/h, open road, outside built-up areas: 80 km/h, town and villages: 50 km/h. (Be careful: they are implemented rigorously. Radar traps are frequent.)
• Autobahn tolls: You pay an annual motorway tax, even if you’re only using the motorways for an hour or two. A vehicle sticker (vignette) must be displayed on the windscreen by all vehicles. (If you don’t need to use a motorway you don’t need to pay.)
• Important phone numbers: police: 117, fire brigade: 118, rescue service: 144, break down service: 140.

Rent a car

• Several companies rent cars in Switzerland: Sixt, Avis, Hertz, Europcar
• Car sharing at Mobility.

Taxi

Taxis are ordered by telephone or obtained at all railway stations in towns as well as at taxi ranks. The fares are always metered (including tip). Taxis are however relatively expensive. Count up to 15 CHF for 5 km within a city.

Bicycle

Switzerland became a quite bicycle-frienly country with more and more bicycle paths in the countryside and in towns as well.

A lot of shops and organisations rent bikes. Try rent-a-bike.ch.

cycling-in-switzerland provides useful maps and routes for bikers.

Book a hotel

• Hotel booking by MySwitzerland.
• Hotel booking by tourismus-schweiz.

Map

• Enter an address to look where it is located at mapsearch.

Directories

• Find phone numbers and addresses of people and companies i Switerland at Directories or telsearch.
• Web Directories: www.eingliederung.ch
• WebSuisse

Tourism

• Useful addresses and links for holidays in Switerland: MySwitzerland.