How to spend 4 hours 20 minutes in Zurich?

Hello, Everyone:

I will fly from the US to Berlin next week, and my itinerary has a 4-
hour-20-minute stopover in Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH). To be exact, I
will arrive at Zurich at 08:25 am, and my connecting flight to Berlin
departs at 12:45 pm. And I travel with a Schengen Visa.

I have never been to Zurich or Switzerland, and I wish to spend this
period for a little sightseeing, maybe around the city center.

How can I efficiently use this 4-hour-20-minute period in the city,
considering that it will also take time get out of the airport and
back again early enough to check in for my connecting flight?

I will appreciate any suggestions and ideas.

Thank you!

--Roland

qquito wrote on Mon, 7 Sep 2009 11:48:12 -0700 (PDT):

I will fly from the US to Berlin next week, and my itinerary
has a 4- hour-20-minute stopover in Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH).
To be exact, I will arrive at Zurich at 08:25 am, and my
connecting flight to Berlin departs at 12:45 pm. And I travel with
a Schengen Visa.

I have never been to Zurich or Switzerland, and I wish to
spend this period for a little sightseeing, maybe around the
city center.

How can I efficiently use this 4-hour-20-minute period in the
city, considering that it will also take time get out of the
airport and back again early enough to check in for my
connecting flight?

I will appreciate any suggestions and ideas.

Thank you!

There are trains every 10 minutes to Zurich railroad station (duration
10 mins) but what I don't know is how long it wll take to go thro
security on your return and board the plane..

--

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not

On Mon, 7 Sep 2009 11:48:12 -0700 (PDT), qquito wrote:

my itinerary has a 4-
hour-20-minute stopover in Zurich, Switzerland (ZRH).

Put your carry-on luggage in a locker in the train station. Pick up a free
map in the tourist office at the front of the train station. Walk around.
The old section of town is right across the Limmat. Walk along the Limmat.
Walk along the Zurich See. If you want to see even more, they have free
bicycles up along track 18.

You should also walk over to the Landesmuseum. It is next to the station,
along the Limmat, in the opposite direction of the old town. You won't have
any time to go inside for the exhibits, but it is set in a nice park, and
there may be an outside exhibit you can check out. (The fascinating Earth
From Above was on display when I was there.)

You can buy the train ticket into Zurich with a credit card. But you are
going to need a few Swiss Francs. There are cash machines somewhere at the
airport and at the end of the tracks in the main station. You will then
need some coin for the locker. I did not stow any luggage in Zurich, but
possibly downstairs, where the lockers are, there is someone that can break
up the bills that come out of the machine. Or buy something small like a
beverage.

In the old section there are fast food restaurants that only take cash. And
fancier places that take credit cards. If you do get a free bike they will
want a small deposit. I don't remember the amount. Maybe 20 Swiss Francs?
So it is possible the $3 transaction fee to get cash from the machine may
exceed what cash you actually need!

Don www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).