Travel on Public Transportation with the Zürich Card
Zürich Card holders enjoy unlimited travel on all forms of public transportation in the city of Zurich (fare zone 110) and surrounding region (Zones 111, 121, 140, 150, 154 and 155). This also includes:
- transfer between Zurich Airport and Zurich city
- an excursion up Zurich’s home mountain, the Uetliberg
- mini lake cruises, short lake cruises and Limmat river cruises
- the ride with the Polybahn, the Rigiblick cable car as well as the Dolder cable car
The Zürich Card must be validated at a ticket machine before the first journey. E-tickets and Zürich Cards purchased via the Zürich City Guide app must be presented as a QR code when asked to do so by a ticket inspector.
Pro Tip:
With the Zürich Card, travel from the airport to the city center is already included.
Using the Zürich Card
The physical Zürich Card must be validated. This can be done at the orange-colored SBB ticket validators on railroad platforms or at the ZVV ticket machines at many bus and tram stops.
Travel in 1st Class
The Zürich Card is valid for 2nd class travel. If you would like to travel 1st class, you can obtain a class upgrade at a ticket counter or an automatic ticket machine. It is not possible to purchase class upgrades in the Zürich City Guide app.
In Zurich, a choice of classes is offered on the S-Bahn and SBB trains, as well as on certain boats. There is just one class on trams and buses.
Travel Outside the Validity Area
All the public transportation services in the canton of Zurich belong to the Zurich Transport Network (ZVV). The area covered by the ZVV network is divided into various fare zones. If you are traveling outside the area covered by the Zürich Card, you will need to buy a zone upgrade. When combined with a zone upgrade for four zones, your Zürich Card is valid for all zones on the ZVV network.