About this route
Route overview
Zurich is Switzerlands largest city (430000 inhabitants), a global capital of private banking and finance (UBS, Julius Bär, Pictet, Lombard Odier), home to FIFA and several UN bodies, and one of the worlds highest-quality-of-life cities (top 3 Mercer for 15 years running). Bahnhofstrasse (a 1.4 km pedestrian zone between Hauptbahnhof and Bürkliplatz, the worlds most expensive shopping street — Bucherer, Beyer, Bulgari, Cartier, Chopard, the Patek Philippe Salon, Rolex), Paradeplatz with UBS, Grossmünster (12th-century Romanesque basilica, Zwinglis cathedral), Fraumünster with Chagall windows, Kunsthaus Zürich (Munch, Giacometti, Picasso), Lake Zurich (28 km long, an Alpine panorama from Bürkliplatz), Lindenhof, and ETH Zürich (the federal institute of technology, 21 Nobel laureates). Most clients fly Vienna-Zurich ZRH (Swiss International, Austrian, 1 h 25 min), but the private chauffeur transfer over 750 km Vienna-Zurich is regularly chosen by private banking clients (cross-border movement of documents, valuables and jewellery without customs scrutiny), Lombard Odier and Pictet meeting guests (absolute discretion), watch-handover clients at the Patek Philippe Salon Bahnhofstrasse 31 (reference watches at CHF 250000-3000000 carried door-to-door), Art Basel Zürich Edition collectors (June) and couples travelling to a Klosters or St. Moritz wedding (a Zurich connection). Route: A1 Vienna-Linz-Salzburg (300 km, 3 h), A8/A12 Salzburg-Innsbruck-Bregenz Bodensee (350 km, 3 h 30 min, the Tirol and Vorarlberg Alpine panorama), A1/A3 the AT-CH border at St. Margrethen-Zurich (100 km, 1 h). Total 750 km, 7 h 30 min. The service runs 24/7 with VIE flight tracking. Switzerland is not in the EU — entry requires the motorway vignette (CHF 40, paid in the price) and a Schengen and customs check (passport scan, 5-15 min). A standard plan: 07:00 Vienna pickup, 13:00 lunch in Innsbruck (Hotel Schwarzer Adler), 16:00 Zurich arrival and a drop-off at Baur au Lac (Talstrasse 1, family-owned since 1844, with the Kronenhalle bar), the Dolder Grand Forbes Travel Guide 5 stars (Kurhausstrasse 65, on the Adlisberg overlooking the lake), The Dolder Grand Spa, Park Hyatt Zurich (Beethovenstrasse 21), Widder Hotel (Relais & Châteaux) or Storchen Zürich. From EUR 2400 in a Mercedes E-Class for 1-3 passengers, from EUR 2800 in a V-Class for 4-6.