We all know that living in Switzerland is expensive but there are ways of saving money on a day to day basis and here are a few tips:
Public Transport:
The first thing is to ask yourself whether you are better off having a General Abonnament or not. This entitles you to travel all over Switzerland, whether by train, bus, tram or boat for a year. They sound expensive from the offset, the first class costs CHF 6300. – the second class is CHF 3860.- but a family one costs as little as CHF 2700.-, so well worth looking into if you travel regularly.
If you don’t travel by public transport on a daily basis but still do from time to time then a half tax pass makes good sense. Starting at CHF 175. – per year, this entitles you to half-price ticket on all public transports. www.sbb.ch
If you travel mainly by bus then be sure to look into the monthly pass or multiple tickets, whether for day passes, one way trips or short trips, they all offer you savings. You just need to stamp them on the day that you need them. www.passepartout.ch
Also of note if you are going to travel somewhere in Switzerland by train or as a one off then be sure to look into the Gemeinde Tageskarte, this cost CHF 48.- and entitles you to travel all over Switzerland for one day. You have to contact the Gemeinde or book them online.
Sports:
If you like using the swimming pool, the ice rink and the Lido, then consider getting yourself a Sportcard. This card offers you 20% off the entrance fees to the Allmend swimming pool, the Tribschen Lido, the Eiszentrum and the Waldschwimmbad Zimmeregg.
The card costs CHF 50. – for children and CHF 100.- per adult. www.sportscard.ch
The Museum Pass:
When you have guests in town be sure to look into getting a museum pass. Lucerne has an extensive range of museums and galleries. The Swiss Museum of Transport, Switzerland’s most-visited attraction, explores the fascinating history and development of transport and its vehicles.
Art-lovers will derive immense pleasure from the Rosengart Collection and the Lucerne Museum of Art. The fascinating Glacier Garden has giant «kettle basin» rock formations from the last ice age. The Bourbaki Panorama is one of the world’s last-remaining paintings in the round, and the Richard Wagner Museum is where the composer once lived. Other similar attractions in and around Lucerne include the Alpineum, History Museum, Military Museum, Natural History Museum and Museum im Bellpark, Kriens.
The Lucerne Museum Card is valid in the following museums:
- Swiss Museum of Transport
- Museum of Art
- Rosengart Collection
- Glacier Garden
- Richard Wagner Museum
- Bourbaki Panorama
- Alpineum
- Museum of History
- Museum of Natural History
- Museum im Bellpark Kriens
- Swiss Army Museum
Price: CHF 36 per person
Purchase at: Tourist Information Lucerne, railway station and museums.
Shopping:
Shopping for day to day things can seem quite expensive, getting a Coop and Migros fidelity card can help take some of the sting from the final bills. The Coop Supercard and Family card offers you many discount possibilities. You can often pay your goods with your points and last Christmas I was able to stock up on Champagne just using my points. The points can also go towards flight miles with Swiss. All in all it’s not a bad idea to carry your fidelity cards with you.
There are many other fidelity cards to be had around town and the tourism office has a book of vouchers to pick up which offers you deals in various restaurants and shops.
I hope that this already gives you a sense of where you can save some money, and I am sure that you will be sending me some more tips which I can put into a second post about money saving tips.
