Rapperswil is a city that borders Northeastern Switzerland & Central Switzerland and lays direct at the end of Lake Zurich and Obersee. Rapperswil merged lately with the city of Jona and is a picturesque town and popular destination for hikers, bikers and families at the weekend in the vicinity of Zurich.

The municipality includes Jona, Bollingen, Busskirch, Curtiberg, Kempraten-Lenggis, Wagen, and Wurmsbach.

Get in

Rapperswil is located in the Zürich metropolitan area and served by its suburban trains (Zürich S-Bahn). The S5, S7 and S15 lines all offer 2 trains/hour, with S5 and S15 taking 36 min from Zürich city centre and S7 40 min. Several commuter trains from Zurich, e.g S5, 15, 40 and 7, pass through or terminate in Rapperswil. All connections are listed on the website of the public traffic ZVV [1]. There are trains to Rapperswil from Lucerne and Romanshorn.

A very scenic way of travelling to Rapperswil is with the steamship boats of the Lake Zurich navigation company [2]. The ships don't travel in the winter.

Get around

Rapperswil is a very compact city and can easily assessed by foot or bicycle. The tourist center rents out electric bikes. There is a public bus system if you want to go a bit further.

See

• 1 St. John's Church (Pfarrkirche St. Johann). built around 1253. rebuilt after a fire in 1882. 
• Rose Gardens. 15,000 plants of 600 different kinds may be viewed between June and October. 
• 2 Rapperswil Castle. Built around 1220. Home to the Polish National Museum. 
• 3 Reconstructed Wooden Bridge. across the lake to Hurden with bridge chapel Heilig Hüsli. 
• Medieval Old Town. with many restaurants, cafés and boutiques 
• Harbour Front. take a boat trip on the lake (to Zurich or round trip). Rent a boat. 

Do

• Watch a game of the ice hockey team
• Walk across the Seedamm to the other side of lake to Pfäffikon
• Take the train Voralpen-Express from Rapperswil to Arth-Goldau if you like very scenic train rides
• Alpamare. across the Seedamm the Alpamare is located - a large water entertainment park for the whole family. 
• Jona Bowling, Feldlistrasse 9, 8645 Jona. a nearby bowling center 
• Boat trip. take a boat trip on the lake of Zurich 
• Zoo. Knie's Kinderzoo (Circus Knie's Children's Zoo) is not only for children and very the center of town (walking distance with kids from the center). Open from March to October. 
• Bier Factory, Schönbodenstrasse 3 (10 mins walk from the train), ☏ +41 55 210 96 22. Rapperswil's only microbrewery! Take a tour of the brewery. Stop in for drinks. Groups can schedule a day of brewing. More info on the website. Open Wed/Fri 5:30p-8p, Sat 2-8p. 

Buy

There are many boutiques in the old-town and many clothing shops in Rapperswil.

Eat

There are many nice restaurants by the lake-side and in the old-town. You will find Swiss food, Spanish, Indian, Italian, Thai and Chinese restaurants, kebap shops and McDonald's.

• Manolos, Rathausstrasse 2, ☏ +41 55 214 22 22. until midnight. Spanish restaurant & bar with moderate prices. 
• Dieci, Fischmarktplatz 1. By the lake this pizzeria serves delicious food. Often full and the waiters are sometimes a bit arrogant. Has a high chair and coloring sheets for the kids. 
• Thai Orchid, Engelplatz 4. Good and expensive. 
• Johanna, Johannisbergstrasse 2 (Jona). good swiss food, moderate prices 

Drink

• mojo bar & lounge, Untere Bahnhofstrasse 5. Small, modern, trendy cocktail-bar and lounge near the train station. 
• bottéga club & lounge, Neue Jonastrasse 72. Nicely designed club/lounge to relax. 
• La Corona, Kluggasse 1. until 7pm. Small bar in the center of the old-town of Rapperswil. 
• Starbucks, Schmiedgasse 30, ☏ +41 55 210 36 45. on the main road very near the center of town 
• Nelson Pub, Bahnhofplatz 1. across the road from the train station. 

Sleep

• 1 Bed & Breakfast Rapperswil, Untere Bahnhofstrasse 18 (Near old-town and lake, 2 minutes walk from the train station), ☏ +41 78 824 51 92, info@bed-breakfast-rapperswil.ch. Nice room with view to mountains. Free WiFi. Very near old-town, train station and lake. Help-yourself breakfast (but many cafés in near walking distance). 6 direct trains per hour to Zurich (36 mins travel time). Double room 59 chf per person. 

• Bed & Breakfast sea view, Lenggisrain 5, 8645 Jona (30 minutes walk from the town), ☏ +41 55 210 60 66, v.schaltegger@swissonline.ch. View to the lake. A bit in the outskirts of town - you can reach town by public bus or 30 minutes walk. Double room 57 chf per person. 
• Bed & Breakfast oasee, Staffeln 14, 8715 Bollingen (On the main road Rapperswil-Jona to Schmerikon), ☏ +41 55 212 65 45, peter.vonlanthen@bluewin.ch. Comfortable rooms, nice view of Lake Zurich. Lakeside path for walking and biking. Free parking. Double room 55-60 chf per person. 

Go next

• Zurich is about 20-25 minutes away
• direct trains to Zurich main station every 10-15 minutes. Trains take around 38 minutes.