Vines on the slope behind, and a ferry across the lake at the front.
Meilen sits on the eastern shore of Lake Zurich with vineyards on the slope behind it and a car ferry running from its shore straight across the water. It is further out than Küsnacht and the character changes with the distance.
The slope behind the town is planted, and the roads through it were laid out around the vineyards rather than around traffic. They are narrow, they turn between low walls, and in places there is nowhere at all for a large vehicle to stop. Meilen is the eastern terminal of the vehicle ferry that runs across to Horgen on the far shore. A vehicle arriving from the west can cross in minutes rather than driving round through Zurich or Rapperswil, which depending on the traffic is a real saving.
Whether it gets used depends on where the lorry started. Arriving from the north down the eastern shore, it is irrelevant. Arriving from the west, or working both banks, it can decide the shape of the day.
The town itself climbs from the shore through terraced vineyard slopes towards the ridge, and the height of your address matters more than the distance from the water.
Meilen also appears as Pfannenstiel and Right bank. Whichever version you searched for, this is the same city and the same page. Give the mover the address exactly as it appears on your Swiss lease.
The lake is long and the crossings are few, so getting between the two shores usually means going through Zurich or out to Rapperswil. The ferry from here cuts straight across in minutes.
That is worth knowing but not worth insisting on. It runs to a timetable, has finite room for a large vehicle, and costs money, so it only pays when the alternative is a long detour.
Ask the mover whether it is part of the plan. If your lorry is coming down the eastern shore from the north, the answer will be no, and that is the right answer.
These are the neighbours, each with its own road leg and access.
Küsnacht · Horgen · Zurich · Rapperswil-Jona · Uster · Lachen · all Swiss towns
Worth reading before you send an enquiry about Meilen, in this order.
Sharing a lorry, and the transfer up the slope.
What the slope and the crossing do to the number.
Furniture up a terraced vineyard road.
Küsnacht is closer to the city and denser with it. Meilen is further along, with more open ground, the vineyards behind and a quieter shore. The two share the eastern bank and little else.
A quote for one tells you little about the other, and both are separate communes with their own administration for registration and parking permissions.
Everything is German speaking. The name Meilen is unambiguous, unlike Küsnacht along the shore, so the address itself gives no trouble.
The slope behind Meilen is planted, and the roads through it were laid out around the vineyards rather than around traffic. They are narrow, they turn between low walls, and in places there is nowhere at all for a large vehicle to stop.
Properties up there often have stepped approaches or a private track from the road. Where a lorry cannot reach, a smaller vehicle shuttles up, which is routine on this shore and priced as its own stage.
The flat ground along the shore is ordinary and comfortable. The two are a few hundred metres apart and quite different to work in, so send the street rather than the town.
Straight across Lake Zurich to Horgen on the western shore, carrying road vehicles, in a few minutes. Driving round instead means going through Zurich at one end or out to Rapperswil at the other, which depending on traffic can cost an hour.
Only if the vehicle is coming from the west or working both shores. Arriving from the north down the eastern bank it is irrelevant, and that is the right answer rather than a missed opportunity. It runs to a timetable, has finite room and costs money.
Because the slope behind the town is planted with vines and the roads through it were laid out around the vineyards rather than around traffic. They are narrow, turn between low walls and in places offer nowhere for a large vehicle to stop.
A smaller vehicle shuttles up from the nearest practical point. It is routine on this shore and crews here do it regularly, but it is a separate stage with its own cost and needs raising at enquiry rather than at the bottom of the slope.
Distance from the city, mostly. Küsnacht is closer and denser. Meilen is further out with more open ground, vineyards behind and a quieter shore. They share the eastern bank and not much else, and each is a separate commune.
No. Meilen is unambiguous, which is a relief on this shore given that Küsnacht along the way is one letter from a town in another canton. Send the postcode as a matter of habit, but the name itself will not misroute anything.
Yes. The ground along the shore is ordinary and comfortable to deliver into, with the usual question of where a vehicle may stand. It is the terraced slope a few hundred metres behind that changes the job entirely.
Collection address, the Meilen delivery address, a room by room list and the window you can work with. One vetted moving company from our network checks the route and the access, then comes back to you.
Send your move detailsOperated by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company number 07425576, ICO registration ZB022743, registered at Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London SE1 3DH. Running since 2010. We work with vetted moving companies in the AGM Group network.
Written by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies, who has run the business since 2010. Last checked 5 August 2026.