How to travel from Cologne to Zurich, Switzerland

There are several options for getting from Cologne to Zurich by train, bus, car, plane and ferry. The cheapest option is to take the bus which costs around CHF 34 ($35) and will take around 10h 10m. If you need to get there more quickly, you can take the train, then fly and then take a ferry and arrive in approximately 3h 35m, though it is a bit more costly at approximately CHF 320 ($325).

The distance between Cologne and Zurich is around 543km (338 miles). In a direct line (as the crow flies), the distance is 413km (256 miles)

It takes around 5h 15m to get from Cologne and Zurich by train. If you are travelling by car it will take around 4h 55m to drive there.

The quickest way to get from Cologne to Zurich is to take the train, then fly and then take a ferry which takes around 3h 35m and will set you back approx CHF 320 ($325).

The cheapest way to travel between Cologne and Zurich, if you exclude driving, is to take the bus which will typically cost around CHF 34 ($35) for a standard one-way ticket.

Yes there is a train service that runs between Cologne and Zurich. It typically takes around 5h 15m and departs every 4 hours.

Yes there is a direct train service that runs between Cologne and Zurich with no changeovers required. The train runs twice daily and takes 8h 10m.

Deutsche Bahn, Swiss Railways, SBB GmbH, TGV inOui, Dutch Railways, Nightjet and Austrian Railways (ÖBB) run train services between Cologne and Zurich. Trains depart every 4 hours and will take around 5h 15m, however, this may vary depending on the particular service and whether it runs express or stops all stations.

Yes there is a bus that runs regularly from Cologne and Zurich. It typically takes around 10h 10m and departs twice daily.

There are no direct bus services that runs from Cologne to Zurich. However, you can instead can take several connecting buses with changeovers in Leverkusen Leverkusen Mitte Bf. These services run twice daily and will take a minimum of 10h 10m.

FlixBus run regular bus services between Cologne and Zurich. Buses run twice daily and take around 10h 10m on average but will vary depending on you book with.

It doesn't look like you can fly directly from Cologne to Zurich. We recommend that you take the train to Frankfurt then fly from Frankfurt (FRA) to Friedrichshafen (FDH) then take a ferry to Romanshorn Autoquai then take the train to Zürich HB. instead which will take 3h 35m.

The closest major airport to Zurich is Zurich Airport (ZRH) (ZRH) which is approximately 9km (5 miles) from Zurich. Altenrhein Airport (ACH) (ACH) and Geneva International Airport (GVA) (GVA) are also nearby and might be a better alternative airport depending on where you are flying from.

Yes it is possible to drive from Cologne and Zurich. The distance is around 573km (356 miles) by road and it will take around 4h 55m in normal traffic conditons.

If you don't have a car, the easiest way to get from Cologne to Zurich is to take the train which takes, on average, 5h 15m and will usually cost around CHF 170 ($175).