Minibus Services Across Switzerland

Zurich by Minibus: Old Town Walks, Lake Boats and Easy Day Trips

Zurich is a city to enjoy on foot, with the lake at one end of it. A minibus with a driver handles the parts in between: the run in from the airport, the hop out to Kilchberg for chocolate, and the longer days to the Rhine Falls or Lucerne.

Where your driver lets you out

Both halves of the old town, either side of the Limmat, are closed to ordinary traffic, and so are the Münsterhof and the busiest stretch of Bahnhofstrasse. A vehicle may enter only with a day permit, and only to set people down. In practice your driver uses the marked coach bays around the edge of the centre, and you walk the last few minutes.

If part of your group arrives by train, Zürich Bus Station on the Sihlquai, directly behind the main station, is the easy meeting point. It has 28 spaces and takes no bookings.

Minibus with side door open for boarding
Minibus with side door open for boarding

Chocolate, art and the lake

Lindt Home of Chocolate in Kilchberg is about 15 minutes from the centre. You reserve a timed entry slot online; group tickets begin at 20 people. Vehicles may only drop off at the bus zone by the entrance, but the underground car park takes cars and minibuses up to 2.15 m high, so ask whether yours fits.

Back in town, ZSG boats leave from Bürkliplatz for short and long round trips on Lake Zurich, and a whole ship can be chartered for up to 300 people. The Landesmuseum beside the main station runs private tours of up to 25, booked two weeks ahead, so a minibus party fits into one.

Flying in to Zurich

Favourite stops around Zurich

  • Lake Zürich boat trips (ZSG) — Lake and Limmat boats of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft leave from Bürkliplatz, where the ticket office is (about 50 m from the tram stop). Short and long lake round trips run on the timetable; whole ships can be chartered for up to 300 people. Group requests go through the ZSG group form; table reservations on scheduled trips are made by phone. The Limmat boats can be suspended at high water or during big events such as the Street Parade.
  • Zoo Zürich — On the Zürichberg (Fluntern). Open every day of the year, 09:00 to 18:00 from March to October and 09:00 to 17:00 from November to February (Masoala Rainforest from 10:00), closing at 16:00 on 24 December. The zoo recommends public transport (tram 6 from Bahnhofplatz/HB to the terminus Zoo). Parking near the zoo is limited and run by the city and the ASVZ. The city parking register lists five coach bays on Zürichbergstrasse near the zoo (in service since 2 September 2026).
  • Lindt Home of Chocolate (Kilchberg) — Schokoladenplatz 1, 8802 Kilchberg, about 5 minutes from the Thalwil-Rüschlikon motorway exit; also bus 165 from Bürkliplatz. Open daily 10:00 to 19:00 (last audio-guide slot 17:30), closed on 25 and 26 December and on two maintenance days a year (3 November 2026, 4 May 2027, 2 November 2027). Group tickets from 20 people; tickets are timed slots booked online; school classes only with a guide (10 to 26 people). Coaches use the bus drop-off zone at Seestrasse 204, Kilchberg; there are no long-stay spaces and parking anywhere on the site is forbidden. Drivers get the nearby coach parking via QR codes on site. The underground car park (entry Seestrasse 204) has a 2.15 m height limit for cars and minibuses.
  • FIFA Museum — Seestrasse 27, 8002 Zürich, opposite Zürich Enge station (S2, S8, S24; trams 5, 7, 8, 13). Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, last entry 17:30. Guided tours for groups on request. The museum has no parking; coaches set passengers down at the set-down bays on Alfred-Escher-Strasse, about 400 m on foot from the museum.
  • Landesmuseum Zürich (Swiss National Museum) — Museumstrasse 2, beside Zürich HB (tram and bus stops Bahnhofstrasse/HB and Sihlquai/HB). Open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00; closed on Mondays (except some holiday Mondays) and on Sechseläuten and Knabenschiessen days. Since 1 October 2026 it also closes at 17:00 on Thursdays. Private group tours last 60 minutes, take at most 25 people per tour, must be booked 2 weeks ahead and are also possible outside opening hours (Monday 09:30 to 18:00, Tuesday to Friday 09:30 to 19:45, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 17:00), in German, French, Italian or English.
  • Kunsthaus Zürich — Heimplatz, in the Moser building and the Chipperfield building. Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 and Thursday 10:00 to 20:00; closed on Mondays. Groups and school classes must register in advance; group rates apply from 20 people. Tram 3, 5, 9 and bus 31 to "Kunsthaus". The museum names the coach parking on Stadthausquai 3 (about 10 minutes on foot).
  • Fraumünster (Chagall windows) — Paid entry for tourist visits (includes the crypt museum and a short guide in several languages), with a group rate from 5 people; tickets are sold on site only, with no online advance sale. Open Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 from 1 March to 31 October and 10:00 to 17:00 from 1 November to 28 February; on Sundays visitors are admitted from 12:00 after the service. Last entry 15 minutes before closing; many extra closures and shorter days are published on the church's website. A combined ticket with the Grossmünster is available. Private guided tours for groups can be booked. Nearest coach parking: Stadthausquai.
  • Grossmünster — Open Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 18:00 from 1 March to 31 October and 10:00 to 17:00 from 1 November to 28 February; on Sundays a service is held from 10:00 and the church opens to visitors from 12:00. Closed on Tuesdays during organ lessons of the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, and on Saturdays from 11:30 to 13:15 (organ concert) since 15 August. The Karlsturm (187 steps, viewing platform) is open only Friday to Sunday until further notice (since 3 August 2026); last tower climb one hour before the church closes. Entry to the Schriftensammlung includes the Karlsturm; tickets are sold on site only.
  • Altstadt (Old Town) and Bahnhofstrasse — The old town on both banks of the Limmat and Bahnhofstrasse (between Augustinergasse and Kuttelgasse) and the Münsterhof lie in restricted-access zones and pedestrian zones; coaches cannot drive in. Groups walk in from coach bays on the edge, for example Bahnhofquai, Stadthausquai or General-Guisan-Quai (see the coach notes).

Good pickup points

  • Zürich Airport / Glattbrugg / Kloten
  • Altstetten (Letzigrund, Swiss Life Arena)
  • Oerlikon / Messe Zürich / Hallenstadion
  • Zürichberg / Fluntern
  • Seefeld / Bellevue / Opernhaus
  • Enge / Kongresshaus / lakeside
  • Aussersihl / Langstrasse (Kreis 4)
  • Zürich West (Kreis 5, Hardbrücke / Escher-Wyss-Platz)
  • Hauptbahnhof / Landesmuseum / Kreis 5
  • Bahnhofstrasse / Paradeplatz / Lindenhof (left bank)
  • Altstadt / Niederdorf (right bank of the Limmat)

Half days and full days out

The Rhine Falls are about 55 minutes away on the Schloss Laufen side, and Stein am Rhein, with its little old town on the river, about an hour. Put the two together and you have one of the nicest small-group days from Zurich.

Lucerne is just as close, about 55 minutes, for a lake cruise or a ride up Pilatus. For something gentler, Rapperswil is about 40 minutes and the monastery at Einsiedeln about 45.

Concerts, fairs and match nights

For a show at the Hallenstadion or a fair at Messe Zürich in Oerlikon, vehicles wait in the outdoor coach area at the Messe car park, about 500 m on foot from the arena. Agree a pick-up corner with the driver before the crowds come out.

Questions travellers ask

How long is the drive from the airport?

Zurich Airport is about 13 km from Paradeplatz, around 20 minutes in light traffic and longer at rush hour. A minibus with more than nine seats loads at stand R in the airport's bus station.

Is the Fraumünster worth a stop?

For the Chagall windows, yes. Tickets are sold on site only, with a group price from five people, and on Sundays visitors are let in from 12:00, after the service. There are coach bays a short walk away.

Can we visit the zoo?

Yes, it is open every day of the year on the Zürichberg. A few coach bays near the zoo came into service in September 2026; otherwise tram 6 runs from the main station to the Zoo terminus.

Other trips we arrange

Other vehicles with a driver

Plan your Zurich days

Send the dates, how many of you are travelling, where you are staying and the places on your wish list. The vehicle and its driver are provided by a licensed partner operator.

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