Visiting Zurich: Switzerland’s Biggest City

Zurich

Zurich’s got a lot going for it. It’s Switzerland’s largest metropolis, sprawling along the Limmat River on the northern tip of Lake Zurich and surrounded by glorious Alpine scenery. It’s the powerhouse that turns the cogs of Switzerland’s banking system and has recently been awarded the ambiguous accolade of most expensive city in the world – just surpassing Tokyo.

Things to do in Zurich

River boat cruising through Zurich

This is an affluent city with an appealing medieval heart and hundreds of restaurants, bars and clubs. The high-end shopping on the main drag of Bahnhofstrasse – stop off at Café Sprüngli for hot chocolate and delicious macaroons – is second to none, as are the lake views from the bars clustered around the Baroque Rathaus (city hall) on Limmatquai; across the river bridge on Sankt Peterhofstatt stands St Peterskirche, Zurich’s oldest church with origins in the ninth century. Although its interior is plain, the church’s spire is a local landmark by which visitors can orient themselves.

A couple of days can easily pass by exploring the decorative arts at the Swiss National Museum; the gorgeous stained-glass windows by Giacometti and Chagall in the Fraumunster (Church of our Lady); art by Picasso and Mondriaan in the Kunsthaus (Museum of Art); and Asian and African art in the Museum Rietberg. If you’re traveling with kids, Zurich Zoo has an excellent international reputation for conservation and has successfully bred rare snow leopards and red pandas.

Clamped between mountain and lake, the city is small enough to discover on foot, although coach tours of varying length offer the perfect introduction to Zurich’s main attractions and can be combined with a ride on the cogwheel Dolderbahn railway up to Zurichberg for fine panoramas across the lake, romantic cruises up the lake on a traditional steamer or rail trips skirting the lake on the Gold Coast Express.

For something a little out of the ordinary, trams rattle along all the main streets of Zurich, so what could be more appropriate than a trundle around the Aldstadt (Old Town) on a gaily painted traditional streetcar with open-air seats at the back for sunny days? In fact trams are so dear to the Zurich psyche that a tram museum has opened on Forchstrasse to celebrate their importance to the city.

Switzerland is synonymous with chocolate and Lindt is its finest exponent; visit their factory outlet in the Zurich suburb of Kilchberg for the chance to make some candy yourself at the new Chocolateria. Cheese ranks pretty highly on the list of Swiss exports too; take a food tour combining an afternoon’s tasting session at the Appenzeller cheese factory in pretty lakeside Stein with a walk around nearby Rapperswil for its medieval castle and rose gardens that swathe the streets with color in early summer.

Day Trips into the Alps from Zurich

Rhine Falls

With the mountains of the Alps and the waters of the Rhine as a backdrop, Zurich’s rural environs are begging to be explored. By summer the local mountain of Uetliberg, which towers 2,850 feet (869 m) above the city, is criss-crossed with scenic cycling and hiking trails. By winter the trails become sledding runs as temperatures drop and the snow falls. Further afield are the Rhine Falls at Schaffhausen, at 75 feet (23 m) high and 500 feet (152 m) wide they are the largest, most spectacular and most powerful waterfalls in Europe. Cruise boats nudge right up underneath the falls for some unforgettable photo opportunities.

View of Jungfrau from the Grindelwald Village.

The towns of Interlaken and Grindelwald in the Bernese Oberland offer day-trippers breathtaking Alpine peaks, snow-covered all year around, and impossibly pure mountain air. In summer a cable car runs up to Mount First at 7,113 feet (2,168 m) for peerless views of the Grindelwald Glacier and several peaks reaching over 13,100 feet (4,000 m). Grindelwald is also the jumping-off point for jaunts up the Lauterbrunnen cogwheel railway to Jungfraujoch, which is Europe’s highest railway station at 11,330 feet (3,454 meters) above sea level. Here on the very rooftop of Europe the snow lays thick on the ground even in summer so dress accordingly (boots or heavy shoes are a must) to reach the Sphinx Observation Terrace for views of the Europe’s longest ice flow, the sparkling Aletsch Glacier. Tucked just below the observation deck, the Ice Palace is carved into the ever-moving glacier itself.

Trips to Lucerne from Zurich

Famous wooden bridge in Lucerne, Switzerland.

A lovely old lakeside town a quick 40 minutes south-west of Zurich through undulating valleys and mountain passes, Lucerne is famous for its iconic wooden Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge) across the Reuss River and stone Water Tower but also boasts some striking futuristic architecture in the lakeside Congress and Concert Halls, which act as counterbalance to its chocolate-box cuteness.Lucerne is compact enough to explore on foot and if you want to familiarize yourself with a few traditional Alpine musical traditions, take in a lunchtime show of Swiss yodelling and Alpenhorn-blowing. If that’s not your bag, journey on to Engelberg for a ride 10,000 feet (3,020 m) up to the summit of Mount Titlis on the world’s first revolving cable car for panoramic restaurant lunches and a walk through the glacier’s Ice Grotto.

A two-day stay around Lucerne allows enough time to ascend Titlis and also spend a night cradled high in the Alps on Mount Pilatus at 7,000 ft (2,132 m) at the Summit Hotel. After all the outdoor activity, spa fans can relax in the healing, mineral-rich indoor and outdoor pools at Rigi Kaltbad Mineral Baths and Spa near Lucerne.

Two countries in one day from Zurich

Vaduz Castle, Liechtenstein. Courtesy of Pixelchecker on Flickr

Thanks to its geographical position in eastern Switzerland, Zurich also makes a good base for exploring across the border. Head off into southern Germany to explore the heavily forested mountains of the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) and visit the cuckoo-clock makers at Drubba in Titisee-Neustadt; on the way back to Zurich pose for photos at the Rhine Falls. The tiny German-speaking principality of Liechtenstein is also a short day trip away from Zurich via the Ricken Pass and the waterfalls, gorges and alpine meadows of the photogenic Toggenberg region; once there explore the fairy-tale royal castle that perches in the foothills above the minute and ridiculously twee capital of Vaduz, with its profusion of medieval, Gothic and Baroque architecture.