Winterthur ★ 4.2
Twenty-five minutes north: Winterthur old town, museums, the Doppelleu brewery and a quieter cafe scene than Zurich. Easy half-day from Hauptbahnhof.
More food day trips in Zurich
Rapperswil ★ 4.1
Forty minutes by S-Bahn along the lake: Rapperswil's medieval old town, castle, rose gardens and easy lakeside restaurants for a half-day's lunch.
Appenzell ★ 4.3
Two hours east into the canton of Appenzell: hill-country cheese country, Appenzeller and chaeshoernli, dollhouse village, traditional houses and dairies.
Stein am Rhein ★ 4.3
Sixty minutes north: one of the most preserved medieval old towns in Switzerland on the Rhine, river-side restaurants, painted facades, easy lunch.