Hello,

I have seen that there are a few posts on what to do around Switzerland.

My question is does anyone have any ideas that won't cost the earth to do?

My sister and her other half are coming in September for a WEEK . They don't have lots of money and I can't afford to pay for everything. She is happy to go out walking etc so I can show her some wandering tracks but they want to sight see.

I have only been her just over a month myself so I haven't really seen much.

Any ideas??

I'd recommend getting the Zurich Card (http://www.zuerich.com/en/Visitor/In...rich-card.html) for a few days. We got that when we first arrived, and it seemed like a good deal - got free public transportation around Zurich, admission to museums, the short boat ride around Zurichsee, up to Uetliberg and Felsenegg.

Otherwise, I've only been here two weeks, so not much more to offer!

That sounds like a good start. Thank you !

Well you can always buy some of those cheap one day travel tickets from the communities, if memory serves me, they cost 25 - 30 Francs and cover the whole of Switzerland, so they could easily some long distance stuff as well.

Jim.

That's right. Pop down SOON to your Geminde office and reserve some "Tageskarte Gemeinde" - the price is nearer 40 Franks each these days.

You could go: Zurich to Locarno, Locarno FART to Domodosola, Domodosola to Brig. Brig to Lausanne, Lausanne to Biel, Biel to Zurich.

Ittigen thanks that seems very interesting

You can reserve the tickets online and check availability here:

http://www.tageskarte-gemeinde.ch/Ka...aspx?Kanton=ZH

Just find the gemeinde that is closest to you.

You could take a trip across the causeway to Rapperswil. The wooden bridge alonside the nature area is the longest in Switzerland. Rapperwil should keep you occupied for some time with the old town and castle area. If the weather is not so good, there are museums and boat trips.

If you are around on 17th September, there is the Ploughman's at the Rappi Brewery

I dont really understand the Germinde card thing. I have been on the website and its all in German. After a quick Google translation I believe you ahve to reserve tickets? Are these 4 tickets the only ones available and its a first come first serve? Also, thats just for one day right?

Finally it says you have to be a resident...I am not registered yet as they said I can't register unless I have a job. No job yet. My partner is registered though so could he get the tickets for me but not come with us, as he is working? I.e. does he have to travel with us in order to use them.

Sorry I don't fully understand this card thing..

Yes the Gemeinde gets 4 tickets for every day of the year, to be sold to residents. It's first come, first serve, therefore you have to reserve before picking them up. You have to buy them for a specific day, which can not be changed afterwards.

Strange, you should be registered anyway, also without a job. Especially if you are married. I would re-check that.

Gemeinde tickets are meant for residents of a certain town/Gemeinde, and to avoid people from other towns scooping them up, some Gemeindes have restrictions. In this case it sounds as if they only sell to residents. This means your husband would need to buy them, but as the tickets are not personal, anyone can use them (on the specified date).

Hope this helps...

Just make sure they leave on a Sunday so you're not all sitting around the house staring at each other. Maybe if you paint a wall together you could watch it dry. That would be fun.

By the way, as far as I know you can use the Gemeinde ticket to go up the Rigi for free. After that they can go to Luzern or take a boat trip on the Vierwaldstättersee. Tourists love that

Another idea is to buy a ZVV all zone day pass, for about 23 CHF. With this they can roam around kanton Zurich and beyond, for example Rapperswil + boat trip, Uetliberg, Rheinfall.

There are plenty of things to do, even on a small budget.

Some smaller museums and exibithions in Zurich are free, and if the weather is nice they can just chill in some park (have a bbq), or China Garden for example. It is also possible to rent a (free) bike and cycle to Greifensee (does 'Züri rollt' still exist?).

There are nice walking trails in the Zürcher Oberland and Pfannenstiel, both close to Zurich.

We are not married just boyfriend and girlfriend but that sounds like school. He has spoken to them and they have definately said no registration without a job. Although, I haven't been myself........could my partner be wrong?

Thank you for the suggestions. Need to get my planning cap on..

I just got these tickets in Basel. When I reserved them online I needed to enter my address - then I got a confirmation email which I brought into the office to collect and pay for the tickets. I never had to show my permit - I think just having the local address was enough - I got 4 tickets for when my parents come to visit in October.

Another alternative is to rent bicycles from various spots around Zurich city and explore it. Its free, but you do need a deposit of 20CHF where you can get back when you return the bike within the day:

http://www.rentabike.ch/

Rapperswil is do-able for a day trip. The town's beautiful and quaint with many nice charming restaurants on the lake front. So is the Grifensee.

The other alternative is the gemeinde tageskartes (day cards) as mentioned above. For 40CHF, it works like a GA (General AB) for the day where you can travel to anywhere within Switzerland, within any city, on any form of transport, unless specified otherwise (like those up to Jungfrau).

I'd suggest going to Lucerne and/or our lovely Cham lake park (Zug lake).
Pack a lunch or buy some sandwiches, fruit and chocs from the supermarket, so you save a bit of money for train fare.

I agree with Argus re picnics as there are so many places to go here: lake, mountain, parks and barbecue spots for a cheap day out. September usually has good weather too, so getting out and about should be easy.

I sent you a PM did you get it?

You could go to the Rheinfall (it's a quite big waterfall, very nice to see). It's about 30 min. from Zurich by car (don't know about public transport). You can make a walking tour around the waterfall and the lake.

You can do a day-trip to Germany (over there it's very cheap to have a diner etc).

In addition, you could go to a concert in Zurich (or nearby city like Luzern). If you book on time and go for a cheap ticket, you would pay about 30 CHF per person.

I was just on this site and perhaps my German is failing me, but I'm missing the part where it's free. I was looking at a pricelist:

http://www.rentabike.ch/dynasite.cfm?dsmid=101068

and although quite reasonable, not the even more appealing free that you mentioned. Any insight? Would love to give this a go - for free