24 hours of City Life in Zürich, Switzerland

View from Grossmünster

Grossmünster

City Skyline

Overview - While not Switzerland’s capital, Zurich is the largest Swiss city, has the busiest airport, and is home to the country’s financial center. There is a lot to offer the casual tourist, from food to fashion.

Breakfast - Have a berry muesli at Sprüngli (Paradeplatz), a confectionary popular with locals for breakfast and for the occasional craving for chocolate.

Morning - Admire the views from the tower of the Romanesque church Grossmünster (Zwingliplatz). Another famous church is the Fraumünster (Kämbelgasse 2) with its beautiful window paintings. If you are feeling inspired, check out one of two main museums here in Zurich: the Landesmuseum (Museumstrasse 2) for Swiss history and the Kunsthaus (Heimplatz 1) for Swiss art.

Lunch - Try the ‘gourmet’ takeaways that can be found at the Migros Gourmessa at the supermarket’s branch on Löwestrasse.

Afternoon - Take the Polybahn funicular, up the steep hill views of Zurich and the countryside. Then head back down to the station and find ‘Gessnerallee’. There you will find a stairway down to a tiny river called the Schanzengraben, a canal. It is an enjoyable walk from here to the lake. Once at the lake, book in for one of the two old steam ships offering cruises.

Back ashore, you will find it easy to spend some cash on the Bahnhofstrasse, one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world. Globus and Jelmoli are the two high-end department stores and there are endless shops for fashion, watches, souvenirs, and all other sorts of purchases.

Dinner - Swiss Chuchi (Rosengasse 10) in the Hotel Adler offers classic Swiss food in a wonderful kitsch setting. It is popular with tourists so check for reservations.

After Dark - Believe it or not, Zürich has the largest number of clubs per capita in Europe. If not your style, the Grossmunster often has organ concerts during the evening.

Sleep - Hotel Adler (Rosengasse 10) has great rooms, a nice restaurant, and a free internet access terminal.

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