Switzerland’s largest city is on the shore of its glistening eponymous lake. Zürich is a financial powerhouse with a liveability ranking that outstrips almost anywhere in the world. You can catch trains from the Hauptbahnhof and be on a peak breathing in sparkling air in a matter of minutes, and the city’s rivers and that magnificent lake have supreme water quality for swimming. These outdoor pools, or “badis” have become nightspots in the centre of the city.
Zürich’s sights, eye-wateringly pricey shops and effortlessly cool nightspots are in the Altstadt, a historic centre cut in two by the Limmat river which flows off the lake.
Let’s explore the best things to do in Zürich:
1. Lake Zürich
This long, crescent shaped lake curves past the wooded peaks of Pfannenstiel to the east and the Albis chain to the west.
There are many ways to make the most of the lake, some we’ll go into more detail about later.
But for convenience if you’re just ambling around the city, take the scenic promenade along the east shore in the Seefeld quarter.
There you can look over to Uetliberg and see the hundreds of yachts and other craft breezing across the lake in summer.
The promenade starts at Bellevue and extends for three kilometres down to Tiefenbrunnen.
It’s one of a network of walkways plotted around the lakeshore in the 1880s.
2.Altstadt (Old Town)
Making up the entirety of Kreis 1 (District 1), Zürich’s historic centre is on both banks of the Limmat.
The medieval and early modern streets of the Altstadt are where much of the city’s culture, nightlife and shopping is concentrated.
It’s one of those places you’re happy to get lost in, to chance upon squares, cafes, quirky one-of-a-kind shops and all manner of historic monuments from the four medieval churches to 17th-century Town Hall.
The Limmat waterfront needs to be seen, and on the right bank along the Limmatquai are beautiful medieval guild houses for associations representing carpentry, merchants, spice traders and more.
On the west side of the Altstadt you can sense the colossal scale of the defensive works that took place during the 17th century, when ramparts and the Schanzengraben moat were built.
Recommended tour: Zurich Old Town Walking Tour
3.Bahnhofstrasse
Zürich’s prime shopping street is one of the priciest in the world per square metre.
And it’s fitting that most of the sleek shop-fronts should bear the logos of international luxury brands.
Think Prada, Chanel, Burberry, Gucci and Louis Vuitton.
Zürich wealth is never more ostentatious than on Bahnhofstrasse, and the street is all the richer in December when the Christmas decorations are out.
There’s no traffic, but the street is used by the tram network and these can catch you by surprise.
The plushest shops tend to be towards the south near Paradeplatz.
On this square you can pop into fabled Sprüngli confectionery shop and cafe, where Zürich’s upper crust has been coming for coffee and pastries since the 19th century.
4.Zürich Opera House
The resplendent Neoclassical Opera House at Sechseläutenplatz dates to the 1890s and was conceived by the prolific Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer.
On the square you can pass a minute or two pinpointing the busts of famous cultural figures on the facade, where Mozart, Wagner, Schiller, Goethe, Shakespeare and Weber all have pride of place.
The Opera House continues to garner acclaim, and in 2014 picked up the prize for Best Opera Company at the International Opera Awards.
There are German-speaking tours of the interior and its majestic Rococo Revival hall.
But the only way to taste its magic is at one of the 250 performances each year, by international opera stars and conductors.
5.Limmat Cruise
For a voyage down the city’s main river you go to the quay in front of the Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum). There are cruises from April to October, with boats departing every half an hour.
And in the months of July and August you can make the trip any time between 09:05 and 21:05. It’s a journey well worth doing as you’ll be granted a beautiful perspective of Zürich’s Old Town, which sprawls across both banks of the river.
The boats have been designed to pass under all seven of the city’s bridges on the Limmat and will show you sights like Grossmünster and Fraumünster in a different light.
6.Fraumünster
This church was founded by Charlemagne’s grandson Louis the German in the 9th century, although most of the architecture is from between the 12th and 15th centuries.
Since 2016 it has been possible to view stonework from the 800s in the crypt after it had been sealed off for more than a hundred years.
As with the Grossmünster, Giacometti also contributed a stained glass window for this church, which you can track down in the north transept.
Then in 1970 Marc Chagall was commissioned to create five windows in the choir, and these are titled Prophets, Jacob, Christ, Zion and Law.
7.University of Zürich Botanical Garden
Zürich is a notoriously pricey city, so you might be glad to learn that these gardens in Seefeld are totally free.
They contain more than 8,000 plant species at indoor and outdoor displays.
The garden’s main identifier is the group of three dome-shaped greenhouses from the 1970s.
Each of these has different climatic conditions: The largest contains tropical species, while the smaller two house subtropical and savannah plants.
Outside is an arboretum, Mediterranean garden and historically themed gardens growing plants for dyeing and medicine.
The university’s faculty canteen is open to the public if you’d like to cap your trip with a meal or coffee.
8.Zürich Zoo
If you’re the kind of person who demands that animal attractions should be ethical, Zürich Zoo meets the highest standards.
Close attention has been paid to the design of the habitats, synthesising whole ecosystems and allowing animals as much space to roam as possible.
This is most impressive at the Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park, where part of the habitat for Indian elephants is in modern biome; there are even underwater viewing areas so you can watch them take a dip.
In all the zoo has 4,000 animals representing 340 species, from emperor penguins that you can follow as they walk through the park, to domestic animals at the petting zoo.
