Einsiedeln Abbey, Rapperswil and chocolate: day trip from Zurich
Nine hours from Lake Zurich to the abbey village and back: the trip combines Rapperswil, the town of roses, with Switzerland's foremost place of pilgrimage, a show dairy and the chocolate museum in Kilchberg. Travel is by coach, the guiding in English.
- Type
- Guided day trip by coach
- Duration
- around 9 hours
- Start
- Zurich, Sihlquai coach park by the main station, departure 10.15 am
- Season
- all year on several days a week, less often in winter
- Operator
- Best of Switzerland Tours AG, Adliswil
- Language
- English
What to expect
The coach follows Lake Zurich to Rapperswil. There a walk leads through the old town with its rose gardens and up to the castle on the rocky spur above the lake. After a lunch break the route climbs to Einsiedeln. The visit to the abbey is short but long enough for the abbey church and the Chapel of Grace with the Black Madonna, a limewood figure from around 1450 that has drawn pilgrims for centuries. The Benedictine abbey has existed since 934; the present baroque church was consecrated in 1735.
At the Milchmanufaktur Einsiedeln you watch cheese being made from a viewing platform and taste several varieties. Finally the coach stops in Kilchberg at the Lindt Home of Chocolate. There an audio guide leads you through the museum, from cocoa growing to tasting, past the chocolate fountain more than nine metres high.
Getting there and meeting point
The meeting point is the Sihlquai coach park behind Zurich main station, opposite the Starbucks. Check in there at the operator's desk a quarter of an hour before the 10.15 am departure, with ID and booking confirmation. Return to Zurich is at around 7 pm.
Good to know
The trip runs five days a week in the summer half of the year and three in winter. There is a separate rate for children aged six to fifteen. The day is long and includes several stretches on foot; according to the operator it is not suitable for wheelchairs or walking aids. For hygiene reasons, neither pushchairs nor anyone with a cold may enter the cheese production area. The chocolate at the tasting is not nut-free. Food and drink are not allowed on the coach; assistance dogs are welcome.
The abbey church is a place of worship where services are held daily. Quiet voices and no flash photography are part of the visit. The Salve Regina, which the monks sing every afternoon after Vespers at half past four in the Chapel of Grace, does not fall within the visit.
Tip: If you would like to spend longer in Einsiedeln, come back by train on another day: the public abbey tour at 2 pm also includes the abbey library, which is otherwise closed.
