Zurich
Zurich is considered Switzerland's most important financial, industrial and commercial center. It is also known to be the intellectual capital of the nation and particularly receptive to contemporary trends associated with younger generations. Its wealth of history, architecture and culture leaves you longing for another vacation! The pedestrian streets of the old town contain most of the major sights, including winding alleyways, 16th- and 17th-century houses, guildhalls and courtyards, and as many as 1030 fountains.

Nestling beside Lake Zurich and along River Limmat, Zurich offers splendid views of the Swiss Alps and is an absolutely charming, interesting, and beautiful place to visit. The left bank is upmarket shopping territory corralled by the curving Bahnhofstrasse. The right bank, known as Niederdorf, is a busy little tangle of bars, old-fashioned shops and traditional restaurants. A five-minute tram ride takes you into the livelier ethnic and social mix of Zurich West, centred on honky-tonk Langstrasse and the chic boutiques in reclaimed warehouses and railway arches behind Limmatplatz.

Discover Zurich
The main shopping zone is concentrated in the city center, which makes it ideal for pedestrians. The Old Town of Zurich is home to historic buildings that host numerous boutiques and antique shops. Zurich is a trendsetting city and offering eating and drinking establishments for all tastes and preferences.

Tourist Office Zurich
At the main Railway Station, Tel. 044 215 40 00

Zurich Card
With the Zurich Card you can enjoy Zurich in all its diversity and safe time and money. The Zurich CARD is the ideal ticket for culture lovers and urban explorers who would like to transform their short stay into a journey of discovery at a minimum of cost.

Highlights
Take a stroll along the Limmat River and venture into the small alley ways of the Old Town on both sides of the river. There are numerous sights in the former Roman city of Zurich at which you can marvel. You find architecture highlights, historical squares, streets and districts, churches, artworks and lots more. The Uetliberg is Zurich’s own mountain, from where you have beautiful views of the city and the lake – and perhaps even a glimpse of the Alps. From the Bürkliterrasse which opened in 1887 as the crowing finale of the Bahnhofstrasse  ou enjoy views over Lake Zurich as far as the Alps. The Kunsthaus (Art Museum) includes Swiss and international artists and at the Klein Münster you can marvel at the beautiful steam glass windows of Marc Chagall.

City Guides Zurich – Smart Phone Apps for iTunes and Android

The essentials of Zurich
1) Zurich’s Old Town and the Niederdorf
2) Bahnhofstrasse
3) Lake Zurich
4) Gross Münster and Klein Münster with Chagall windows
5) Architecture in Zurich West
6) Uetliberg

Old Town and Niederdorf
From the main station stroll south past the department stores and terrace cafés of ritzy Bahnhofstrasse. Turn off at Uraniastrasse, beneath the domed tower of the 105-year-old observatory, then cut right along Schipfe, a riverside lane that conceals a number of artists' workshops. Climb to the Lindenhof, the former site of a Roman customs post, now grassy and quiet. Behind the owlish clock face adorning St Peter's church raises the elegantly spired Fraumünster.  A plaque set into the cobbled square alongside commemorates Winston Churchill's speech calling for a United States of Europe, delivered here in 1946. Then cross the river at Münsterbrücke with views of the 17th-century Rathaus and then pick any alley to plunge you into the old town. Turn left on to cobbled Niederdorfstrasse which during the day this is a pedestrian zone and a shopper's paradise with lots of boutiques hidden away in a patchwork of alleys. At night the many bars, restaurants and street artists turn the Niederdorf into an exciting center of entertainment for a colorful public.

Bahnhofstrasse
Stretching for 1 mile from the main railway station to the lake, the Bahnhofstrasse is one of the most famous shopping streets in the world. Strung along it like pearls on a necklace are department stores, boutiques and jewellery shops; the further you stroll towards the lake, the more exclusive the shops become. The Paradeplatz is the heart of the Bahnhofstrasse and serves as an important tram junction close to Lake Zurich. Since the major Swiss banks set up their headquarters here, the Paradeplatz has made a name for itself as Switzerland’s biggest money-handling center. Along the way, alleys such as Rennweg and Augustinergasse lead off into the picturesque Old Town.

Lake Zurich
The bent, almost banana-shaped Lake Zurich is framed on the southern side by the Albis and Zimmerberg hills and on the north by the Pfannenstiel chain of hills. The lake is bordered by the cantons of Zurich, St.Gallen and Schwyz. At the western end lies Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city. The famous “golden coast” extends along the northern side of the lake, from Zollikon to Feldmeilen. This sun-soaked region is famous for its low rates of taxation and high property prices, and is therefore the stretch of coast where you can see the magnificent houses and villas of the upper echelons of society. At the eastern end of the lake is the “rose town” of Rapperswil. In the public gardens here you’ll find over 15,000 rose bushes blooming, of more than 600 different varieties. The Swiss Pass is valid on all of Lake Zurich. The Zurich Card is valid for the Small Roundtrip on Lake Zurich leaving from Bürkliplatz every 30 minutes.

Grossmünster
The Grossmünster is an Evangelical Protestant church in the Old Town of Zurich, and is one of Zurich's most famous landmarks. Construction of this Romanesque church was begun in 1100 and it has since been rebuilt and renovated several times. In the first half of the 16th century, the Grossmünster served as the starting point of the Reformation under Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger. The characteristic tops of its neo-Gothic towers were added by Johann Caspar Voegeli and John Hagge Mille from 1781 to 1787.

Architecture in Zurich West
The district in the west of Zurich is full of contrasts, boasting an unpolished charm. Where ships were once built and engines bolted together, art, design, food, culture shopping and architecture are now the center of attention. Factories have moved away, leaving their vast expanses of space that creative minds have taken advantage of. Beneath the railway arches, design boutiques and market halls have moved in at what's known as “Im Viadukt” and on the Gerolds-Areal you a city garden and catering establishment. Many second hand furniture stores are also on the spot. On the other side of the Hardbrücke (bridge) you will see the Prime Tower which is Switzerland’s second highest building.

Marc Chagall Windows - Fraumünster
Located between River Limmat and Bahnhofstrasse, the Münsterhof is dominated by the graceful, slender-spired Fraumünster, a beautiful church that boasts a breath-taking series of stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall and Augusto Giacometti that should not be missed. In 1967, Marc Chagall – then 80 – accepted the commission to make new stained glass for the five 10m-high choir windows. The stunning artistry of the windows he produced makes them one of the highlights of Zürich.

Uetliberg
The short railway journey is mainly through woods. From the arrival station, where you will have a fine view of the snowy summits of the Alps, you can walk up a steep path to the nearby terrace of the hotel-restaurant. You can go on to the top of the Belvedere Tower from where you will have a sweeping panorama of the whole Zurich district, the Limmat Valley, Lake Zurich and the Alpine range - from Säntis in the east to the Jungfrau and the Les Diablerets in the southwest - whereas the ridges of the Jura and the Vosges are faintly visible to the west and northwest on the horizon. From the Zurich main station it takes 30 minutes to reach the 874m/2,867ft summit.

Additional excursions and things to do in and around Zurich
Rapperswil – City of Roses
This makes a beautiful one-day excursion from Zurich. Rapperswil is a small town at the opposite end of Lake Zurich. It offers unique attractions for visitors – the Rose Gardens, the Castle, the deer park on the Lindenhof and the picturesque Old Town. You can take a train in the morning along Lake Zurich to get to Rapperswil. Have lunch in one of the restaurants on the quay and in the afternoon take a lake steamer back to Zurich. (Lake steamers do not operate during winter from November to March).

Swiss Science Center at Technorama Winterthur
Get carried away in this amazing world of science. The interactive exhibits at Technorama invite you to touch, to try, to play and to understand - a true feast for all your senses. Switzerland's only Science Center will leave you mesmerized, no matter how old you are and no matter how much you know (or don't know) about science, art and technology.

Swimming
Designated areas for outdoor swimming and sunbathing are open May to September. Well-known spots are Utoquai on the east shore of the lake and Mythenquai on the west shore. There are also various free swimming spots, such as the one just north of the confluence of the Sihl and Limmat Rivers.

Opera House
The Zurich Opera  is without a doubt one of the best known in Switzerland and indeed Europe. A varied program of productions has helped director Alexander Pereira to turn this late-baroque style building into the city's most-frequented cultural institution. Its reputation has grown steadily throughout the world ever since it opened in 1891.

Tonhalle
The Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, named for its concert hall, the Tonhalle which was inaugurated by Brahms in 1895, enjoys international acclaim and attracts stars of world stature on the classical music scene. There are also solo recitals and chamber programs. The season runs from September through July; tickets sell out quickly, so book directly through the Tonhalle.

Zeughauskeller
In 1927 the old armory (Zeughaus) on the Paradeplatz was converted into a restaurant. Today it is a typical restaurant, sure to please its visitors with a traditional atmosphere and excellent Swiss food.

Flea market Bürkliplatz
This established flea market is the perfect place to hunt for that cuckoo clock for the folks back home. The stalls offer a range of goods, mostly antiques, and the variety of food stalls will keep you energized for shopping. The market is open 6am-3:30pm every Saturday, May to October; it's near the northwest bank of Lake Zürich, off the bottom end of Bahnhofstrasse.

Fleemarket Kanzlei
Just a 15-minute walk from Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, this low-key flea market attracts a young artsy-kitschy crowd of bargain shoppers. Amid the piles of second-hand records, clothes, bicycles and what-have-you on offer every Saturday, there is an outdoor café with fresh pastries and kick-start coffee, and a wine bar where you can wind down at day's end.

Kunsthaus Zurich
The Kunsthaus surprises visitors with attractive exhibits and a high-carat permanent collection. It was completely renovated between 2001 and 2005 to improve exhibition room security and conditions for the artworks. The museum now also provides access to wheelchair users.In addition, the museum houses selected sculptures and panels from the Middle Ages, exquisite paintings of the Dutch and Italian Baroque period as well as highlights of 19th and 20th century Swiss painters. This includes the most famous group of works by Johann Heinrich Füssli and Ferdinand Hodler. Among the museum's international focal points are the largest Munch collection outside of Norway, important works by Picasso and the expressionists Kokoschka, Beckmann and Corinth, a significant group of works by Claude Monet, among them two water lily paintings, and the Chagall hall. Younger tendencies are represented by Rothko, Merz, Twombly, Beuys, Bacon and Baselitz.

Swiss National Museum
The castle-like building houses the most comprehensive collection of artefacts pertaining to Swiss cultural history. Especially worth mentioning are the ancient wheels, which were found in Zürich and are considered to be among the earliest ever found, the Celtic artefacts and those of the early Middle Ages. Especially worth visiting are the historical rooms as well as the monumental fresco by Ferdinand Hodler Retreat of the confederates at Marignano. Several times a year, topics relevant to society are dealt with in special exhibitions that are put together in cooperation with other museums.

Museum für Gestaltung
Temporary exhibitions, based on themes derived from the applied arts, architecture, graphic art and industrial design, are held in these galleries.

Art Galleries
Zurich includes more than a 100 Art Galleries that are spread over the entire city.

Restaurants
Zeughauskeller – Historic Restaurant (Bahnhofstrasse 28A – 044 220 15 15)
Tibits – Vegetarian, Trendy Buffet (Falkenstrasse 12 – 044 260 32 12)
Ristorante Bindella – Classic Italian (In Gassen 6 – 04 221 25 46)
Swiss Chuchi (Hotel Adler) – Cheese Fondue (Rosengasse 10 – 044 266 96 96)
Kronenhalle – Tradition, Fine Dining (Rämistrasse 4 – 044 262 99 00)