I have the opportunity to visit Switzerland during the last week of January 2020. I’ll be arriving in Zurich on a Tuesday, and I’ll have a few days at liberty before needing to be back there for a conference Friday-Sunday.
I’m interested in recommendations for things to see and do in the winter in Switzerland; I’m not a downhill skier, although I do enjoy cross-country skiing. I’m considering a side trip to Geneva to see CERN, although the odds of getting a slot on a tour are poor, and can only be done 15 days in advance. I’d generally like to go hiking but I suspect that most trails will be closed due to winter snow. In other places I’ve enjoyed food markets, mine tours, hot springs, folk history museums, and science/technology sites. I’m not so big on shopping. I’ll be using public transportation; I wouldn’t mind a daylong train ride if the scenery was good.
The landesmuseum (just off of Bahnhofplatz) is very nice, as is the Rietberg Museum. But for something truly different, get a Tageskarte (day ticket) for the tram system and a map and try to tour the syetem. But there really isn’t much to do in January. It can get pretty cold, although there is not likely an awful lot of snow on the ground.
There are many nice day trips you can take from Zürich (e.g. Lenzerheide, Einsiedeln (Monastery), Rigi if the weather is good. Even if you do not ski, you can take a cablecar to the mountain top to enjoy the view, have a walk on reasonably well-cleared winter trails (packed snow) or can rent snowshoes. Public transport serves very well, you can get combined train/postbus/cablecare tickets at the train station on the day you want to do the excursion, as these things are very dependent on the weather. Make sure you bring suitable clothing and good shoes! If the weather is too nasty, have a look at a Madagascar Jungle hall at the Zoo or have a good soak at the Thermalbad (spa). You might like the Science museum in Winterthur, just a short train ride from Zürich. The Traffic museum in Luzern is another possibility. Send me a personal mail closer to the actual date. If your visit does not collide too badly with my exam schedule, I might give you an exclusive tour of the department of Biochemistry at Zürich University.