Baden (Switzerland)

Baden is a town in the Zurich region of Switzerland. It has a lively shopping centre, and a beautiful old town with traditional Swiss buildings, and small castle, all on the banks of the river Limmat which flows from Lake Zurich. Half of the town is dominated by the industrial/office complexes of General Electric, ABB and Ansaldo and the local economy is dependent upon their power plant manufacturing, but historically people were attracted to Baden for its thermal baths.

It is a nice town of 19,00 people (2018) to stay in while visiting the larger and busier cities in the region, such as Zurich. In addition to Baden the neighbouring villages of Wettingen, Ennetbaden, Obersiggenthal and Neuenhof are covered in this guide.

By plane
Zurich Kloten airport is within easy reach by train. There are 5 connections between Baden and the airport per hour. One of them is a direct connection, with the others it is necessary to change trains at Zurich main station respective Zurich Oerlikon. The ride takes about 35 minutes.

By train
Baden is served by rail. is right in the heart of the town. Located just outside Zürich, it is served by the S6 (37 min) and S12 (30 min) lines of the Zürich S-Bahn commuter rail network. If you have an all-zone Zürich transport card and are coming from Zürich, you should buy a single ticket from Otelfingen (for S6) or Dietikon (for S12). Connections westwards are available by Aargau local trains S23 and S27 to Olten and Waldshut as well as interregional trains to Basel and Berne. For Zürich S-Bahn map, tickets and timetables see the Zürich local transport website. For Aargau local rail map, tickets and timetables see (German only). For interregional train connections see the SBB website.

By car
Baden is near the major A1/E30 motorway. Use either exit 55 Neuenhof or 54 Verzweigung Baden. Between those two exits, you drive through the Baregg, a famous tunnel. Famous, because it was a major source of traffic jam before the 3rd tunnel was built.

Get around
The town centre is small enough to walk around, with a pleasant pedestrianised shopping street, and riverside walkways.

To explore further afield you might like to take a bus from the main station. Pay with coins in the machine on board, or at certain bus stops. Alternatively, buy a 6-journey strip card from the train ticket office for the price of 5 journeys.

Note with all trains and buses the "halbtax" option ('1/2' button on the machines) is for local people who have spent Fr. 150 on an annual half fare pass.

Do






Splurge




Go next
Hop on a train into Zurich, or in the other direction to Basel or to Bern (via Olten).

There is one direct and one change-over train to Waldshut in Germany every hour.