There are 8 ways to get from Zurich to Essen by train, bus, car, or plane
Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2Rio's travel planner.
Train
best- Take the train from Zürich HB to Basel SBBtrain Ice / ...
- Take the train from Basel SBB to Essen Hbftrain 43
6h 35m€109–276Bus, train
cheapest- Take the bus from Zurich Bus Station to Leverkusenbus FlixBus N11
- Take the train from Leverkusen Mitte to Essen Hbftrain Re
11h 11m€58–96Bus
- Take the bus from Zürich Bus Station to Kölnbus Ivano-Frankivsk
- Take the bus from Köln-Ehrenfeld Gleis to Südviertel, Essenbus Mykolayiv
8h 45mDrive 592.9 km
- Drive from Zurich to Essencar 592.9 km
5h 54m€104–151Fly to Düsseldorf International Airport, train
- Fly from Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS)plane ZRH - DUS
- Take the train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Essen Hbftrain
4h 8m€77–222Train via Stuttgart
- Take the train from Zürich Stadelhofen to Schaffhausentrain S9 / ...
- Take the train from Schaffhausen to Hauptbahnhoftrain 87
- Take the train from Hauptbahnhof to Essen Hbftrain 47 / ...
8h 11m€111–304Fly to Cologne Bonn Airport, train
- Fly from Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN)plane ZRH - CGN
- Take the train from Köln Hbf to Essen Hbftrain
4h 40m€86–254Fly to Frankfurt, train
- Fly from Zurich Airport (ZRH) to Frankfurt (FRA)plane ZRH - FRA
- Take the train from Frankfurt to Essen Hbftrain
5h 27m€124–282
Zurich to Essen by train
Questions & Answers
The cheapest way to get from Zurich to Essen is to bus and train which costs €55 - €100 and takes 11h 11m.
The fastest way to get from Zurich to Essen is to fly and train which takes 4h 8m and costs €75 - €230.
No, there is no direct train from Zurich to Essen. However, there are services departing from Zürich HB and arriving at Essen Hbf via Basel SBB. The journey, including transfers, takes approximately 6h 35m.
The distance between Zurich and Essen is 664 km. The road distance is 592.9 km.
The best way to get from Zurich to Essen without a car is to train which takes 6h 35m and costs €100 - €280.
It takes approximately 6h 35m to get from Zurich to Essen, including transfers.
Zurich to Essen train services, operated by SBB GmbH, depart from Zürich HB station.
The best way to get from Zurich to Essen is to train which takes 6h 35m and costs €100 - €280. Alternatively, you can bus, which costs and takes 8h 45m.
Zurich to Essen train services, operated by SBB GmbH, arrive at Basel SBB station.
Yes, the driving distance between Zurich to Essen is 593 km. It takes approximately 5h 54m to drive from Zurich to Essen.
What companies run services between Zurich, Switzerland and Essen, Germany?
You can take a train from Zürich HB to Essen Hbf via Basel SBB in around 6h 35m. Alternatively, you can take a bus from Zürich Bus Station to Südviertel, Essen via Köln, Köln Hbf, Köln Ehrenfeld Bf Ehrenfeld, and Köln-Ehrenfeld Gleis in around 8h 45m.
- Website
- swiss.com
Flights from Zurich Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 16m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €60–190
Flights from Zurich Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €65–200
Flights from Zurich Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 4m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €70–300
- Website
- lufthansa.com
Flights from Zurich Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 56m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €70–320
Flights from Zurich Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Munich
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 9m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €45–330
Flights from Zurich Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 4m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €70–300
- Website
- eurowings.com
Flights from Zurich Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 15m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €60–180
Flights from Zurich Airport to Cologne Bonn Airport
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- When
- Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday
- Estimated price
- €65–200
- Website
- condor.com
Flights from Zurich Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 1h
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €75–150
- Website
- klm.com
Flights from Zurich Airport to Düsseldorf International Airport via Amsterdam Schiphol
- Ave. Duration
- 3h 20m
- When
- Every day
- Estimated price
- €45–280
- Website
- airdolomiti.it
Flights from Zurich Airport to Frankfurt
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- When
- Monday and Friday
- Estimated price
- €80–290
- Phone
- +49 (0) 7531 915109
- info@sbb-deutschland.de
- Website
- sbb-deutschland.de
Train from Zürich HB to Basel SBB
- Ave. Duration
- 53 min
- Frequency
- Every 2 hours
- Estimated price
- €8–11
- Schedules at
- sbb-deutschland.de
Train from Zürich Stadelhofen to Schaffhausen
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €6–8
- Schedules at
- sbb-deutschland.de
- Phone
- +49 30 311 682904
- Website
- bahn.de
Train from Zürich HB to Basel SBB
- Ave. Duration
- 53 min
- Frequency
- 3 times a day
- Estimated price
- €16–40
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Basel SBB to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 4h 42m
- Frequency
- Every 4 hours
- Estimated price
- €100–240
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 21 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €6–14
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Schaffhausen to Hauptbahnhof
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 16m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €30–75
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Hauptbahnhof to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 2h 56m
- Frequency
- Every 3 hours
- Estimated price
- €75–180
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Köln Hbf to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 47 min
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- €15–35
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Frankfurt to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 41m
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Estimated price
- €45–110
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
- Phone
- 0221 13 999 444
- Website
- nationalexpress.de
Train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 24 min
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Schedules at
- nationalexpress.de
Train from Leverkusen Mitte to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 46 min
- Frequency
- Hourly
- Schedules at
- nationalexpress.de
- Phone
- +49 30 2970
- Website
- bahn.de
Train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 37 min
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- €8–13
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Leverkusen Mitte to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 15m
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- €17–25
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
Train from Köln Hbf to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 35m
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- €21–30
- Website
- https://int.bahn.de/en
- Phone
- +44 343 218 6186
- Website
- eurostar.com
Train from Duesseldorf Flughafen to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 22 min
- Frequency
- Twice a week
- Estimated price
- €10–17
- Website
- https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en
Train from Köln Hbf to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 58 min
- Frequency
- Twice daily
- Estimated price
- €24–45
- Website
- https://www.eurostar.com/rw-en
- Phone
- +41 848 446 688
- Website
- sbb.ch
Train from Zürich Stadelhofen to Schaffhausen
- Ave. Duration
- 1h 5m
- Frequency
- Every 30 minutes
- Estimated price
- €17–50
- Website
- https://www.sbb.ch/en
- Phone
- +49 9126 301 90 70
- fahrgaeste@train-rental.com
- Website
- train-rental.com
Train from Leverkusen Mitte to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 43 min
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Schedules at
- train-rental.com
Train from Köln Hbf to Essen Hbf
- Ave. Duration
- 57 min
- Frequency
- Once a week
- Schedules at
- train-rental.com
- Phone
- +38 098-888-11-08
- igoruzhanskyi@grandbus.com.ua
- Website
- grandbus.com.ua
Bus from Zürich Bus Station to Köln
- Ave. Duration
- 6h 50m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Website
- https://www.grandbus.com.ua/en
- Phone
- +38 (050) 010-01-04
- orionbilet@gmail.com
- Website
- orionbus.net
Bus from Köln-Ehrenfeld Gleis to Südviertel, Essen
- Ave. Duration
- 45 min
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Website
- https://orionbus.net/en
Rome2Rio's guide to FlixBus
Contact Details
- Phone
- +49 30 300 137 300
- service@flixbus.com
- Website
- flixbus.fr
Bus from Zurich Bus Station to Leverkusen
- Ave. Duration
- 10h 15m
- Frequency
- Once daily
- Estimated price
- €40–75
- Website
- https://www.flixbus.co.uk
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