Zurich to Lugano runs about 7 times a day, with the first departure around 06:33 and the last around 16:44. One passenger pays between €16.84 and €31.41, every fee included, depending on the operator and the way you travel. The fastest door to door is 1h 51m over 156 km, on services run by 2 operators across 2 modes.
What one seat costs
The spread between the cheapest and dearest typical fare on this corridor, across 2 operators and 2 ways of making the journey. The operator sets the price on the day.
Typical fares
€16.84 to €31.41
- 118%Moves across the booking window
When it runs, leaving Zurich
No operator has filed a timetable for this direction yet, so the first and last departure below follow the pattern of the corridor. Read them as the shape of the service day rather than as times to turn up for.
- 06:33First departure
- 16:44Last departure
- 7Services per day
- 43%Run direct
SBB runs this service and does not sell it here. Bookaway takes the payment.
Buying this journey
Bookaway lists departures for Zurich to Lugano on your date, and you pay on their side.
See Zurich to Lugano on Bookaway
Or compare on TrainlineOr compare on 12Go
Partner link. We do not sell this ticket, and we earn nothing from this one.
Fares by date
What this journey usually costs, by departure date. It shows which days run dearer.
Typical fares
- about €32.79Tue15
- about €36.13Wed16
- about €36.64Thu17
- about €31.14Fri18
- about €34.95Sat19
- about €36.13Sun20
- about €26.19Mon21
- about €26.74Tue22
- about €22.34Wed23
- about €29.49Thu24
- about €27.29Fri25
- about €26.74Sat26
- about €27.29Sun27
- about €18.49Mon28
- about €20.69Tue29
- about €19.04Wed30
- about €23.44Thu1
- about €20.14Fri2
- about €26.19Sat3
- about €22.89Sun4
- about €16.84Mon5
Based on what this route has cost recently. The operator sets the price on the day, and the live fare is confirmed when you book.
The flight gets you into Lugano. It does not get you a bed, and neither do we.
A room in Lugano for the night the flight gets in
Sort by distance from Mendrisio and you can see which places are ten minutes on foot and which are not.
Search Lugano on Booking.comOr compare on Expedia
Partner links. We do not sell accommodation. We earn a commission when a booking completes, and it never changes what you pay.
When to book Zurich to Lugano
The same search run across the whole booking window, so the shape of the curve is visible rather than described.
- €22.3490 days
- €18.4960 days
- €20.6945 days
- €16.8430 days
- €16.8421 days
- €18.4914 days
- €26.197 days
- €36.643 days
- €32.791 days
- Cheapest lead time
- Fares bottom out around 30 days ahead, at €16.84.
- How much it moves
- The gap between the cheapest and dearest lead time is 118 percent. The dearest point is €36.64, 3 days out.
- What that means
- Today sits inside the cheap window, which closes about 30 days before departure. Waiting from here has usually cost money on this corridor rather than saved it.
Book now Fares on this route are lowest around 21 days ahead. You are inside that window.
This corridor, specifically
Facts that apply to Zurich to Lugano and to no other route on the site.
Clocks
Both ends keep the same time, so the arrival is the departure plus the journey.
The shape of it
156 km
154 km as the crow flies, 1% further by the route services actually take. The bearing runs south.
Who lives at each end
415,367 → 63,185
Population at the departure city and at the arrival city, which is usually what decides how often anything runs.
How we know
2/4
2 of these connections were inferred from service-area overlap rather than observed in a timetable. We would rather say so.
The route
What the journey actually looks like
Direct or connecting, how far the route really runs, and what happens when a connection is missed.
- Direct or connecting
- 56% of the services we sell on this corridor run through without a change. The remaining 44% involve one connection.
- How far it really runs
- The route covers 156 km against 154 km in a straight line, a detour of 1 percent. Track and road geometry account for the difference.
- Where the change is
- Connections are made at Legnano, Thun, Busto Arsizio, Bern. The gap between arriving and leaving is 54 minutes, of which about 5 is walking.
- If the connection is missed
- The tightest connection we sell here has a 17 percent chance of not being made on the timetable alone. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is ours to fix and you are rebooked at no charge.
The fare from LUG into Lugano is the one price on this journey we cannot show you, because it is not ours.
A car waiting when you land in Lugano
Settled in advance, so the ride into Lugano costs what it said it would rather than what the rank says.
Book a transfer from LUG with Welcome PickupsOr check Daytrip
Partner links. We do not operate transfers. We earn a commission on a booking, and the fare is the same as going direct.
Who runs this route
Lugano is small enough to see in an afternoon, which is easier without the luggage. Storing it is not our business.
Left luggage near Mendrisio
Most of the points near Mendrisio open before the first train and shut after the last one.
Check Lugano on StasherOr try Bounce
Partner links. We do not run these networks. We earn a commission on a booking, and the price is the same as going direct.
Questions about Zurich to Lugano
The questions people actually ask about this journey, answered from the same prices and times the page above is built on rather than written once and left to go stale.
How long does it take to get from Zurich to Lugano?
The fastest journey from Zurich to Lugano takes 1h 51m door to door, of which 1h 9m is spent moving, on the train. Most services take around 2h 41m, because that average includes slower stopping services and journeys with a connection. Times include reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end.
How much does it cost to travel from Zurich to Lugano?
The cheapest fare from Zurich to Lugano is €16.84, as of 14 September 2026. A typical fare across the next three weeks is €31.41. Both figures are the total for one passenger, including taxes, supplier fees and our service fee, so nothing is added at checkout.
What is the cheapest way to get from Zurich to Lugano?
The cheapest way from Zurich to Lugano is by train, at €18.49 for one passenger on 5 October 2026. That journey takes 1h 53m door to door. Cheaper is rarely faster on this corridor, and the comparison table on this page shows what each mode costs against what it saves.
What is the fastest way to get from Zurich to Lugano?
The fastest way from Zurich to Lugano is by train, at 1h 53m door to door. Only 1h 9m of that is spent moving; the remaining 44m is reaching the terminal and leaving it at the far end. The cheapest fare on that mode is €18.49.
When should I book Zurich to Lugano?
Fares from Zurich to Lugano bottom out around 30 days before departure, at €16.84. Across the whole booking window the gap between the cheapest and the dearest lead time is 118 percent, measured on 14 September 2026. Booking inside the last week has consistently cost more on this corridor.
Which day of the week is cheapest for Zurich to Lugano?
Monday is the cheapest day to depart from Zurich to Lugano, at €18.49. That is the median of 21 priced departure days across the next three weeks, as of 14 September 2026. Shifting a departure by one day is usually worth more than shifting the booking by one week.
Which month is cheapest for Zurich to Lugano?
December is the cheapest of the next 6 months to travel from Zurich to Lugano, at €16.84 for one passenger. Each month is priced on its fifteenth, so the comparison is like for like rather than a mix of weekends and midweek departures.
Who runs services from Zurich to Lugano?
2 operators sell services from Zurich to Lugano across 2 modes: SBB, Swiss International Air Lines. Journey times, fares and fare conditions differ between them, and the operator table on this page compares all of them on speed, flexibility and what is provided on board.
Is there a direct service from Zurich to Lugano?
56 percent of the services we sell from Zurich to Lugano are direct. The rest connect at Legnano, Thun, Busto Arsizio, Bern, with about 54 minutes between the two services. Both legs are sold on one booking, so a missed connection is rebooked at no charge.
How much CO2 does the journey from Zurich to Lugano produce?
Travelling from Zurich to Lugano by train produces about 5.1 kg of CO2 per passenger, the lowest of any mode on this corridor. The same journey by Flight produces about 39.1 kg, roughly 8 times as much for one passenger.
Which station or terminal do services from Zurich to Lugano use?
Services from Zurich to Lugano by train leave from Zurich Hauptbahnhof and arrive at Mendrisio. Allow about 44m in total for reaching the departure terminal and leaving the arrival one, which is already included in every door to door time on this page.
Can I change or refund a ticket from Zurich to Lugano?
1 of the 2 operators we sell from Zurich to Lugano allow a change or a refund. A change on a changeable fare costs €5.00. The operator table on this page names which is which, and the condition is shown again before you pay.
Where these numbers come from
Places, coordinates, operators, which operator serves which pair, and every distance on this page are real and come from open data. Where a corridor has a filed timetable the departure times are real too, and ferry fares are the prices the operators publish themselves.
Observed service A carrier record shows this named operator serving this named pair, and we carry that through unchanged.
Where no operator publishes a fare for a corridor, the price here is our own estimate, worked out from the real distance and the real operator through a fare curve that follows lead time, day of the week and season. It tells you roughly what the journey costs. It is not a seat anyone has agreed to sell, and the payment step will not take it.
Defined in full at Door to door, Fares, The booking window, Carbon, Distances
- On this page
- Every figure above was computed for Zurich to Lugano on 14 September 2026: 156 km of route against 154 km in a straight line, 9 services a day, 2 operators a cheapest fare of €16.84, and 1h 51m door to door on the fastest mode. The return direction is computed separately and its numbers are not these numbers.
Being on the water gives Lugano a set of days out that do not start at a station. We do not sell those either.
Day trips out of Lugano and across Switzerland
Day trips that leave Lugano in the morning and cover a good part of Switzerland by evening.
See Lugano on GetYourGuideOr browse Viator
Partner links. We do not sell tours or tickets. We earn a commission on a booking, and it never changes the price.
The two ends, compared
Zurich reaches 297 places in 74 countries on services we hold, over distances from 22 to 10,301 km. Lugano reaches 24 places in 2 countries, from 41 to 218 km.
Other ways to make this journey
Leaving Zurich
- 297Places you can leave for
- 74Countries
- 80Operators
Arriving in Lugano
Leaving Lugano
- 24Places you can leave for
- 2Countries
- 4Operators