Zurich is a gem of a city packed with rich culture, including world-class museums, concert halls, opera and ballet, beautiful, natural landscapes, historical architecture, a fantastic food scene, and superior hotels. The city is geographically situated on the green hills of the Swiss Plateau and flanked by two waterways—the sparkling clean Lake Zurich, measuring 34 square miles, and the scenic Limmat River.
We recently visited Zurich for three days from Paris, which is a pleasant four-and-a-half-hour train ride from the Gare de Lyon station. Here’s our report:
Lake Zurich Activities
Lake Zurich still has pure water and locals love to use the lake for boating, swimming and cruises.
Zurich designates parts of the lake for swimming during the summer and there are bathhouses where you can rent a locker and a towel for a nominal fee. You can also warm up after your swim in a sauna on the Enge section of the lake.
There’s also a wide selection of cruise boats that cross Lake Zurich and voyages range from a “get-acquainted” cruise for 50 minutes to a full day. Zurichsee (www.zsg.ch) is the premiere company that organizes cruises on Lake Zurich and offers specialty voyages, such as a literary cruise, brunch cruise, cheese fondue cruise and a murder mystery cruise.
Another option is to rent a motorboat (you don’t need a boating license to rent a motorboat), kayak, or paddleboat, or charter a private yacht with a skipper. For the more adventurous, SUPSWISS rents paddle boards to glide away on the lake.
Museums and Culture
Kunsthaus Zürich
Housing a vast collection of fine art and sculptures, ranging from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, Kunsthaus Zürich (www.kunsthaus.ch) is the most significant art museum in Switzerland. Earlier this year, the Kunsthaus Zürich added a new wing, focusing on art works from the 1960s; it also features the Emil Bührle Collection, which is one of the most prized private art collections in Switzerland. The combination of both structures now constitutes the largest art museum in the country.
Zurich Opera House
The Zurich Opera House (www.opernhaus.ch) is set in a handsome neo-classical building with rich architectural details and located on the Sechseläutenplatz, the main town square in downtown Zurich. The multi-purpose theater is used for opera, ballet, concerts and recitals. Don Giovanni, Die Fledermaus, Cossi Fan Tutte and Rigoletto are just a few of the operas scheduled for the current season, along with the Zurich Philharmonic performing Bach and Handel, Mozart and Mahler. The opera house also offers lunch and brunch concerts.
Le Corbusier House
The innovative, Swiss French architect Le Corbusier (www.pavillon-le-corbusier.ch) designed his last building in Zurich before his death in 1964. Heidi Weber, a Swiss interior designer, gallery owner and art patron, requested Le Corbusier to build a museum in Zurich, personally financing the construction herself. Opened in 1967, over the next 50 years Weber maintained its upkeep and curated exhibitions. The formidable steel and glass building with bright, primary-colored panels is situated on manicured grass and surrounded by tall trees. After visiting the museum, stroll around the neighborhood and marvel at the Art Nouveau mansions and apartment buildings.
The Old Town
One of the great highlights of Zurich and a must-visit is the Old Town. Explore the hilly, cobblestone streets, with 13th-century buildings and homes with colored façades and towers painted with flowers, old stone water basins and fountains with potable water, old world cafés and restaurants, boutiques with artisanal merchandise, and gourmet food and chocolate shops. Covering both sides of the Limmat River, the Old Town consists of four compressed villages: Hochshulen, Lindenhaus, Hochschulen and City. The original City Hall of Zurich, Rathaus, from the 1300s, was reconstructed in the 1700s, incorporating Baroque and Renaissance architecture.
Chocolate and Pastry
There’s no way to avoid the almost ridiculous number of chocolate and pastry cafés and shops in Zurich—so don’t resist, just indulge.
Sprungli
Locals and visitors flock to Sprungli (www.spruengli.ch), the popular chocolate and confectionary store on the Paradeplatz. Glass showcases and shelves are stocked with boxes of truffles, pralines, caramels and milk, white and dark chocolate bars with varying degrees of cacao percentages. Luxemburgerli, bit-size macaron in over a dozen flavors, is the signature specialty at Sprungli. Adjacent to the shop is the Sprungli café and restaurant, serving savory dishes, pastries and desserts.
Lindt Museum and Chocolate Factory
Another must-do and -see in Zurich is the Lindt Museum and Chocolate Factory (www.lindt-home-of-chocolate.com). Opened in 2020, the vast, 65,000-square-foot space on three floors is the largest chocolate museum in the world. Entering the white marble lobby with towering ceilings, you are greeted by a 30-foot-high chocolate fountain, where every day, 1,500 liters of liquid chocolate drips off an enormous gold whisk on to a truffle.
Walking through the interactive museum you learn about origins of the cacao bean, discovered thousands of years ago; how chocolate was first invented in South America and the Amazon; the history of chocolate in Europe; how the chocolate industry started in Switzerland; and how milk chocolate was invented in Switzerland in 1879. The museum displays the latest technology in how chocolate is produced, and there are vats of individually wrapped chocolates for tasting. Chocolate treats and hot chocolate along with savory lunch dishes are available at the café, and the 5,500-square-foot flagship shop sells every variation of Lindt chocolate; plus, you can customize your own chocolate bar.
Schobert
A delightful café, tea salon and confection shop, Schobert has been making sumptuous cakes, chocolates and pastries since 1842. Thick, sinful hot chocolate is accompanied by a mound of fresh whipped cream.
Restaurants and Cafés
Zurich has an excellent selection of world cuisine restaurants in addition to traditional Swiss fare.
Zunfthaus Zur Waag
A guild house from 1315 on a pedestrian square in the Old Town is now the Zunfthaus Zur Waag Restaurant (www.zunfthaus-zur-waag.ch). The versatile menu has classic Swiss specialties such as Wiener Schnitzel and Kalbsgeschnetzelte Zürcher (sliced veal Zurich style) plus modern-day vegetarian dishes.
Café Odeon
Café Odeon (www.odeon.ch), a Zurich institution since 1911, is one of the oldest surviving coffee houses, and was frequented by artists, musicians, poets, intellectuals and writers such as Albert Einstein, Somerset Maugham, Erich Maria Remarque and Toscanini.
Razzia
An Art Deco cinema from 1920 has been transformed into a chic, cosmopolitan restaurant, Razzia, serving Asian fusion cuisine with Thai touches. The adjoining lounge and bar serve signature cocktails and wine.
Hotels
La Réserve Eden au Lac
Hôtelier Michel Reybie continues to expand his small but burgeoning, top luxury hotel empire. His latest entry is the La Reserve Eden au Lac (www.lareserve-zurich.com), a 40 room, five-star hotel overlooking Lake Zurich. Reybie enlisted Philippe Starck to design the hotel in a more modern Swiss style than the customary French style Starck usually works in. Most of the luxuriously appointed but understated rooms have views of the lake, a separate dressing room, a Nespresso machine and luxury toiletries. The Eden suite, measuring 850 square feet, has a king-size bed, separate living room and four balconies with lake views. On the top floor of the hotel is La Muna restaurant with wood floors, beams and walls, designed to look like the inside of an old wood boat. It has 360-degree views of Lake Zurich and the city, and in the warm weather months, La Muna opens an outdoor dining space with a tree lined terrace.
Ameron Zürich Bellerive au Lac
Part of the Ameron group of luxury hotels throughout Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, Ameron Bellerive au Lac Hotel (www.ameroncollection.com), facing Lake Zurich, is an ideal location, in the center of the city, near the opera house and walking distance to the Old Town. The rooms and public areas are an eye-pleasing combination of Art Deco and contemporary design. Room amenities include a king-size bed, heated bathroom floors, and a Nespresso machine.
B2 Boutique Hotel + Spa
A former, 150-year-old beer brewery is now the setting B2 Boutique Hotel + Spa (www.b2boutiquehotels.com), a contemporary hotel and spa close to the Hauptbahnhof, the main train station. Fifty-one rooms plus eight duplex suites are smartly outfitted with crisp white linens, parquet floors, rain showers, workstations and leather ottomans, plus complimentary minibars. The cozy Library Lounge has over 33,000 antique books lining its shelves and serves a Swiss, small plates menu and Hürlimann beer, the former namesake of the brewery.
Note: Swiss-German is the official language of Zurich, but English is spoken in shops, restaurants, hotels and cultural institutions.
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