How to reach Switzerland — and where to land.
A practical orientation for first-time visitors: airports, cross-border trains, the road system, and which gateway makes sense for which region.
By air: four international airports
Switzerland is small enough that the choice of airport mostly determines which region you start in — and the train network is dense enough that no choice locks you out of the rest.
| Airport | Code | Best for | To city centre |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | ZRH | Central, eastern, Graubünden | 9 min train · 6.80 CHF |
| Geneva | GVA | Western, Lake Geneva, Valais | 7 min train · 3.00 CHF (free with hotel card) |
| Basel/Mulhouse | BSL | North, Jura, Alsace day trips | 15 min bus · 4.90 CHF |
| Bern-Belp | BRN | Limited; capital region only | 30 min bus + train · 6.20 CHF |
Zurich and Geneva carry almost all intercontinental traffic. The Basel airport is technically on French soil but operates a Swiss exit — leave through the Swiss side if your accommodation is on the Swiss side, otherwise the customs queue will be longer than the flight.
By rail: the European backbone
Direct international trains run from Paris (TGV Lyria, 3 h 45 min to Geneva), Frankfurt (4 h to Basel via Stuttgart), Milan (3 h 20 min to Zurich through the Gotthard base tunnel), Munich (3 h 30 min to Zurich, scenic Lindau route) and Vienna (a Nightjet to Zurich, ten hours). All ICE/EC trains terminate inside the Swiss national network — you step off and your Swiss Travel Pass is already valid.
By road: borders and the vignette
Switzerland is in the Schengen Area, so customs checks at land borders are perfunctory. The catch is the road vignette: every car using the Swiss motorway network must display an annual sticker — 40 CHF — or face a 200 CHF fine. The vignette is sold at every border crossing, post office and most petrol stations. There is no short-term or weekly version. If you are driving in for fewer than ten days and plan to stay off the motorways, you can technically skip the vignette, but the network is dense enough that staying off it costs more time than the sticker.
By water: Lake Geneva, Lake Constance, Lake Lugano
Three Swiss lakes carry international ferry traffic. CGN runs scheduled boats between Évian (France) and Lausanne or Vevey in about 35 minutes, and between Yvoire (France) and Nyon. On Lake Constance, ferries connect Romanshorn with Friedrichshafen (Germany) and Konstanz (Germany) with Kreuzlingen — the border literally crosses the dock. On Lake Lugano, smaller services link Italian shore communities. All accept Swiss Travel Pass.
Entering with documents
Schengen rules apply: most non-EU nationals have a 90-day visa-free allowance within any 180-day window. From 2026 onwards the new ETIAS authorisation is required for visa-exempt non-EU travellers — apply online for €7, valid three years. A passport with six months of remaining validity is the safe rule; ID cards are accepted from most European nationals.
Switzerland is the only country where the train timetable and the customs queue are roughly synchronised. Both work — and both reward travellers who plan with a margin of ten minutes.
Once inside
Every airport and major border railway station hands out free city transport tickets on arrival if you book a hotel locally — keep the email confirmation, it doubles as a transit ticket for up to 80 minutes. From Zurich Airport you reach the main station in 9 minutes, then Bern in 56 minutes, Basel in 53 minutes, Lausanne in 2 hours 11 minutes. The country fits inside a half-day's connections.
Plan the entry once, and the rest opens up.