Family Travels: a day trip to Rapperswil

Stadt Rapperswil steamboat cruising on the lake of Zurich

Where is it?

It is 23 miles from Zurich on the eastern side of the Lake. Rapperswil cuts the lake in two with a dam.

How to get there?

• By car, it takes about 30 minutes on the A3 and a bit longer if you use the seestrasse, street along the lake. Nevertheless if you have the time, it is beautiful. You can use the public parking when entering the city.

To plan your route:

Google Maps

• By boat it takes you over 2 hours from Zurich-Bürkiplatz but you can take it in other places along the lake. Be careful from mid October to April there is only one boat a day going to Rapperswil at 1h30 pm. Otherwise boats leave regularly.

For schedules check http://www.zsg.ch/

• By regional train, it takes between 35 to 40 minutes with the S5, S7 or S15.

For train info please check this: http://www.zvv.ch/en/
Recently we brought our son over the weekend for some fun activities.

Here are things to do with your children in Rapperswil:

• Start going along the promenade to look at the swans and ducks. Children will love feeding the animals.

• Go toward the old castle of Rapperswil, on the hill. Follow the signs, you can’t miss it. Use the tiny passages with many steps every where you can. If your children love cats as does my son, they will be very happy. Cats are everywhere in the old city streets and on the hill next to the vineyard. You will notice many carry red necklaces with a tiny bell.

Rapperswil vineyards near the castle

• After the climb, there will be a lovely deer park, the Lindenhof Hircshgarden, which has been there since 1871. There are about 10-15 deer.

• Now go back down to the city and follow the signs to the train station.

From there head toward the Jacobs bridge. You will go under the train station and pass by the university. It is only a short walk from the station. The wooden bridge is the perfect place to see the beautiful mountains and observe flora and wildlife. You will see many ducks, goose and bird nests.

The bridge was used by the pilgrims of Jacob of Compostella. It is the longest wooden bridge in Switzerland. It takes about 15 minutes to cross and is 2657 feet long. It is stroller friendly.

• If you are hungry you can find many picknick areas near the university or you can go back to downtown at a restaurant.

Jacob’s bridge in Rapperswil

Children’s Zoo

• Take your car to the children’s zoo called the Knie Zoo or take the bus.
• It is 3 CHF for 6 hours to park there. Now you have to know that the zoo has everything that will make your child happy. They will not want to leave. You could also plan to spend a full day there.
• The zoo is free for kids till 4 and from 4 to 8 years they pay 4 CHF.
  Adults pay 12 CHF. Now what really gets expensive are all the rides they can do (poney, elephant, horse and camel). You need to buy the rides in advance and each cost 2 CHF. If you accompany your child, you have to pay as well.

What did our 2 year old son enjoy at the zoo?

• Elephant ride; he loved it; it is better not to sit in the back of the elephant and accompany your child if he is small. It only lasts 5 minutes. It is a little bit expensive as the elephant just goes around 2 or 3 times.
• Horse drawn tramway ride. It goes almost all around the zoo. It is quite enjoyable. The carriage is quite large.
• The sea lion show. This lasts 20 minutes and it is shown three times a day. He liked it so much we did the 11am and 14pm performance.

Sea lion show in Rapperswil at the Knie Zoo

The performance is just as good as similar shows in Florida. Get a seat early as it was so popular, it was full. The music accompanying the show was very upbeat. Parents had as much fun as the children.

• Feeding the elephants with carrots. In the morning, zoo keepers give a sack of carrots to the children and parents so that they can feed the elephants. It was quite fun.
• The 1000 square meter playground and pirate boat.
• The monkeys. They come really close to you and can jump into nets.
• The beautiful poneys. The zoo has many kind of poneys you can feed and pet.
• The giraffes and camels. One can go up to touch the animals. With the steps and platforms, the children can get up to the animals heads. We loved it.

Giraffes at the Knie zoo in Rapperswil

I hope you and your children will have a great time in Rapperswil, if you decide to go.

• boat
• castle
• family travels
• Knie zoo
• lake
• Rapperswil
• Switzerland
• Zurich area