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https://www.wsj.com/articles/switzerland-by-train-ultimate-3-day-itinerary-11650569904
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EVERY SEASON in Switzerland is a good season, but this three-day itinerary, focusing on dynamic cities and the rail routes between them, is optimal for long spring and summer days. You can align with Art Basel, one of the country’s most famous cultural exports happening June 16-19, or you can dodge that weekend’s surcharges and still get hefty doses of innovative art and rich cuisine. An upfront investment in a three-day
Swiss Travel Pass, from about $245 a person, covers unlimited intercity travel by train, most public transit networks, water taxis and admission to more than 500 museums.
Zurich’s airport greets you with concrete International Style terminals linked by a peppy tram playing the sounds of yodelers yodeling and cows mooing. From there it’s a little over an hour to Bern, Switzerland’s capital, aboard the SBB intercity express train. Once you arrive in Bern, stow your bag in one of the station’s lockers and saunter over to the medieval center (about 10 minutes away), built on a hill overlooking a crook of the Aare river. Wide pedestrianized streets framed by sandstone arcades lead to the gold-flecked face of the Zytglogge clock tower, where mechanical puppets animate every hour, as they have for centuries. Down the street, descend into the cavernous Kornhauskeller for early lunch. Frescoed, vaulted ceilings rise above plates of Bernese pork and cheese.
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This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.