Aaron & Clare
- 22. Aug. 2021
- 5 Min. Lesezeit

Zurich

Our personal travel and photo guide for Switzerland

Zurich is the biggest city in Switzerland and has a very charming and relaxing atmosphere and lots to offer. It’s the money-capital of Switzerland (not the capital) packed with banks, jewellery & watch shops and many other designer and luxury articles shops.

This traditional city tour is a good place to start to take in most of the highlights: From the central train station you can’t miss the car-free-zone and high end shopping street, the Bahnhofstrasse. Taking a stroll down to the Paradeplatz will give you a sense of the luxury items that can found here.

The Paradeplatz is where many major Swiss banks have their main offices. Look out for the famous coffee, pastry and chocolate shop, Sprüngli, that has been there since 1859.

Turning left towards Münsterhof, you’ll find restaurants with outdoor seating and a dominant church in the background. This is the Fraumünster and has Europe’s biggest clock face which is even bigger than Big Ben’s!

From there you can immerse yourself into the small alleys of the old historic part of Zurich which is split into two parts by the river Limmat. You’ll find many cool boutiques, restaurants and art galleries.

For a special dining experience, try the Restaurant Veltlinerkeller which is one of the oldest in town, having been established in 1487. The food there is excellent as it is in many restaurants in this elite area.

Not far away and on top of the (hidden) hill is the Lindenhof. This was a former Roman fort and from here there’s a good view of the river, the bulky tower of the university and the historic town.

If you go down to the river at the Schipfe, you can enjoy another good view from a different perspective of the river and the elegant Grossmünster church. From here, head towards the old Rathaus (town hall) bridge to cross the river.

Looking backwards, you can recognise part of the former Roman fort on the other side of the Limmat.

The area on the right side of the river is the Niederdorf. Here you can find some very cool bars and restaurants. At some of the old and traditional restaurants watch out for the words ‘Zunft’ which means guild.

In April there’s a medieval tradition where they have the biggest bonfire in town: This is a sign for spring and a manmade ‘snowman’ is burnt upon the top of it. People from each of the various guilds then ride on horseback around the bonfire. It’s a truly spectacular event and experience if you can see it live.

At the end of Niederdorf, you will get to another landmark coffee shop: the Odeon. Famous people such as Lenin, James Joyce and Max Frisch used to enjoy their coffee here whilst deliberating, brainstorming and philosophising.

Mentioning James Joyce, the Irish novelist: Close to the Bahnhofstrasse and the renowned Kaufleuten bar and club, you’ll find the James Joyce Pub. The original Victorian interior comes from an old hotel in Dublin which was torn down and then transported to Zurich.

After exploring the historic town it's time to enjoy another highlight: the lake! The water’s edge starts at the Bellevue with the Sechseläuten square and the lovely opera house. Here’s where the ‘snowman’ is burnt and it’s also where the massive Street Parade – a techno party each August – is packed with up to 1 million people all dancing and raving!

From the Quai bridge there’s a lovely view back towards the historic centre of Zurich (see top photo) and the lake promenade on the other side. This area is very popular on sunny days and there are many places to enjoy a refreshing swim in the clear and clean lake water. Next is the Bürkliplatz with the main boat terminal and where they have flea-markets. When Clare was in her teens, she and her friend Christina used to sort out their old things and take them to the market to sell (her best sale was her rainbow-coloured skateboard which went for a whopping CHF 35.00 😊.)

There are many longer and shorter boat trips you can do from here. One option is the lovely short boat ride to Wollishofen. We really like this part of lake Zurich and there are many places to relax, swim, wine & dine. There’s also a cultural centre, the Rote Fabrik, which has a very relaxed atmosphere and offers nice wholesome dishes.

If you follow the lake a bit further and take the pedestrian bridge towards the Wollishofen harbour, you’ll come across the Restaurant Seerose. This upmarket place is great and the location is amazing.

Seerose means water lily and there really are many water lilies at the boat harbor. Next you can take the train from the Wollishofen station back to the Main Station and change to the Üetliberg line.

The train takes you almost to the top of Zurich’s ‘own’ mountain ‘Üetliberg’. From there there's a great view of the city, the lake and the alps. Sometimes in autumn and winter, when there is often a thick layer of fog, this mountain is just high enough (870m) to reach above the layer of fog and you can enjoy the sun and light.

A nice walk of just under 2 hours is to Felsenegg where you can take the cable car down again. On the photo below you can see that the hike is pretty flat and therefore very popular as well in winter when there’s snow.

Back at the Main Station take the exit towards the Landesmuseum and enter the park behind it called the Platzspitz. This is where the infamous Needle Park was. Between 1986 and 1992 around 2000 drug addicts were publicly using heroin. Today, it’s a relaxing place to escape the city crowds.

Continue along the river and you’ll reach the very popular quarter of Kreis 5 or Zürich West. When we were young this industrial zone was very run down and falling apart. Today, it's a trendy nightlife and artsy area. For specific recommendations you’ll have to find other blogs 😉 ‘cos we’re out of touch on the nightlife scene nowadays… 😊

For another great view of the city, lake and the alps on a clear day, there’s the lovely Käferberg. This view is from the Obere Waidstrasse, where they also have a panorama restaurant called Waid, open for lunch and dinner.