For overseas travelers planning to attend ECCV 2012 in Florence (Oct. 7-13), Zürich can function as an efficient hub with direct connections to many places worldwide, as well as three daily flights to Florence.
Here are different ways to reach Zürich from Florence. While you are in Zürich, reaching ETH is very convenient, please see: http://www.3dimpvt.org/venue/ .
Flying From/To Zürich/Florence
There are three daily flights to Florence using SWISS, and Zürich airport is ideally located, with many international connections worldwide. From the airport, it is very convinient to reach ETH and the center of Zürich (The tram line 10 directly goes to ETH and city center).
You can find more information at http://www.zurich-airport.com/ .
Reaching Zürich by train
A possibility is to take the scenic train between Zürich and Florence. The total journey takes about 6 hours. It goes through the Alpes, with beautiful scenery and mountains. See for example some pictures at: http://jpohnlimages.com/milan_zurich/index.html
Tickets may be found at: http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html
Driving / Renting a car
There is still the possibility of driving from Florence to Zürich. You will cross amazing scenery and will drive through many worth visiting cities such as: Bologna, Modena, Parma, Milan or Lucerne.
The total drive takes about 6 hours.