CityBuddy
English
Zurich, Switzerland
Photo made by Ömer Gülen on Pexels.com
When to visit
Attractions in Zurich, Switzerland
1. Old Town (Altstadt), Zurich
Quick facts: Cobblestone alleys hum with tram jingles and café aromas, while painted guild houses and soaring church spires make wandering feel like stepping into a living postcard. Hidden courtyards reveal artisan workshops and tiny bars, and you'll be surprised how many museums and historic homes sit within just a few blocks.
Highlights: Wandering the narrow cobbled lanes you pass painted guild halls and a church clock face that measures 8.7 meters across, the largest in Europe; from the riverbank you can spot its white Roman numerals and hear the bell clanging every hour. Every spring the local guilds parade in historic uniforms and burn an effigy called the Böögg, while residents time how many minutes it takes for the wooden head to explode as a playful forecast of the coming summer.
2. Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich
Quick facts: Golden shop windows and expertly lit displays make evening window-shopping feel like a parade of haute craftsmanship, where watchmakers and jewellers showcase miniature marvels behind glass. Tram bells and café chatter add a lively soundtrack, and the stretch commands some of Europe's most expensive retail rents, so even casual strolls reveal the city's appetite for luxury.
Highlights: Walk the 1.4 kilometer shopping boulevard and you'll pass over 60 luxury watch and jewelry boutiques, where morning sun hits window displays and makes Patek Philippe dials flash like tiny suns under warm spotlights. Locals still queue at the same corner confectioner founded in 1836 for Luxemburgerli macarons, a ritual so punctual that the noon rush forms like a neat tram line.
3. Lake Zurich (Lake Zürich promenade / Bürkliplatz)
Quick facts: Morning air blends fresh lake spray and espresso as swans glide past paddle steamers and joggers claim the wide waterfront path. On sunny weekends lively markets and street performers spill from the quayside while ferries shuttle commuters and sightseers, turning short crossings into mini city tours.
Highlights: On warm summer nights locals casually strip to their underwear and leap from the wide stone steps into water that often hovers around 20 degrees Celsius, while buskers weave lazy jazz and the city lights glitter on the surface. Old yellow ZSG boats with polished brass fittings still chug by, their horns answering the tram bells, and vendors sell warm roasted chestnuts whose smell mixes with the lake's cool, mineral air.
4. Grossmünster Church, Zurich
Quick facts: Visitors often pause at the base to feel the cool stone underfoot, then climb narrow staircases that lead up into twin towers offering a surprisingly panoramic view. Sunset light pours through medieval glass, splashing jewel-like colors across the nave and revealing a blend of austere Romanesque lines and later ornamental surprises.
Highlights: Legend says Charlemagne's warhorse reared at the riverbank, its hoof punching through sod and revealing the skulls and tombs of two martyrs, a sudden, grim shimmer of bone that prompted him to found a church on that exact spot. From 1519 Huldrych Zwingli preached fiery sermons from the stone pulpit that echoed off cool Romanesque columns and helped launch the Swiss Reformation, so standing beneath the twin towers still gives you a fizz of history against your skin.
5. Fraumünster Church (with Chagall Windows), Zurich
Quick facts: Sunlight pours through Marc Chagall's deep-blue and gold stained-glass panels, turning the nave into a shimmering tapestry that feels almost like walking inside a painting. Hidden historical quirks include the site's former role as a powerful convent with unusual civic privileges, a detail that surprises many visitors who only came for the windows.
Highlights: Sunlight pours through Marc Chagall's five stained-glass windows, installed in 1970, turning the choir into pools of cobalt, ruby and emerald that trace fish-scale reflections across the stone floor. The place sits on a foundation laid in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard, so you stand between medieval carved capitals and a flamboyant modern biblical sky, an unexpectedly joyful collision of centuries.
6. Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum Zürich)
Quick facts: Stone-towered galleries and a fairy-tale castle silhouette make the museum feel like a time-travel set, with rooms staged to showcase daily life, religion, and battles through richly detailed objects. Visitors can get close to the past through hands-on exhibits and thousands of artifacts, including ornate clocks and lacquered miniatures that surprise with their craftsmanship.
Highlights: Gustav Gull designed the building, which opened in 1898, to resemble a stone castle with copper-green turrets and a vaulted central hall where sunlight slants across 19th-century marble steps. Behind the scenes conservators perform a near-silent ritual: under halogen lamps they use beeswax and a hair-thin brush to mend a 16th-century embroidered textile, measuring every stitch to the nearest millimeter so the piece can be photographed without falling apart, the workroom smelling of warm wax and old leather.
7. Kunsthaus Zürich (Zurich Art Museum)
Quick facts: Stepping into the sunlit galleries, you'll encounter an unusually concentrated collection of Swiss modern and contemporary art with standout works by Giacometti and Ferdinand Hodler that reward close looking. A striking rooftop extension adds airy exhibition space and unexpected sightlines, while ever-rotating shows pair video, sculpture, and historic painting in inventive juxtapositions.
Highlights: After the 2021 David Chipperfield expansion there is a serene, low-lit concrete gallery where a cluster of Giacometti sculptures sit a mere arm's length from Picasso canvases, so you can actually make out charcoal flecks and individual brush hairs. On slow afternoons a guard will often unroll a single archival drawing for a small group, whispering its provenance while sunlight from a high skylight dusts the paper, turning a standard visit into a tiny secret salon.
8. Uetliberg Mountain (Uetliberg viewpoint)
Quick facts: From the summit you can sweep across a panorama of lake and city lights, while clear days reveal a dramatic Alpine skyline that feels close enough to touch. A short mountain railway plus a web of hiking trails make the climb feel effortless, and locals flock here for sunset picnics, stargazing and brisk panoramic runs.
Highlights: From the summit at 871 meters above sea level you can stand on the paved viewpoint and watch the patchwork of fields and a long ribbon of water unfurl below, while the snowy silhouettes of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau loom about 100 to 120 kilometers away on a crystal-clear day. A quirky detail locals brag about is the 3.6-kilometer Planet Trail that starts near the summit: it's a scale model of the solar system where a brass "Sun" plaque sits by the viewpoint and tiny metal planets march along the forest path, turning a short hike into a miniature cosmic walk.
9. Lindenhof Hill, Zurich
Quick facts: A shady plateau crowns the old town, offering sweeping river views where picnickers, chess players, and quiet conversations share the benches. Visitors often find the spot oddly quiet for how central it is, with the soft clack of chess pieces and the tang of roasted chestnuts in the air.
Highlights: You can stand where Roman soldiers once kept watch: archaeological digs have revealed foundations and artifacts dating from the 1st to the 3rd century, so the square's cobbles sometimes feel hollow underfoot. On warm afternoons local players set up wooden chessboards and clack ivory-colored pieces beneath a linden that perfumes the air with honeylike blossoms, while the river's gentle murmur and the red-tile roofs frame the view like a paused postcard.
10. Zürich Zoo (Zoo Zürich)
Quick facts: More than 380 species and several thousand individual animals live under one management, with active breeding and conservation programs that support reintroductions and field projects worldwide. Visitors linger in a misty, multi-level rainforest hall where humid air, blooming orchids and the chatter of frogs make the experience feel like stepping into a living documentary.
Highlights: Step into a steaming glass hall where orchids drip humidity, frogs answer each other in a booming chorus, and free-flying parrots and butterflies brush past like living jewels under a warm, humid canopy. In the afternoon the penguin colony often waddles right up to the viewing glass so you can hear their braying, feel a breath of icy air from the pool, and watch keepers toss fishy treats like tiny silver confetti.
Send attractions to your email
Get a copy of these attractions in your inbox.
Day trips
Rhine Falls (Schaffhausen)
Europe's largest waterfall and riverside walks.
Google MapsEngelberg / Mount Titlis
Alpine village with Titlis cable car and glaciers.
Google MapsKonstanz / Lake Constance
Lakeside town with shops, ferry rides and islands.
Google MapsComments (10)
Avoid restaurants around Bahnhofstrasse, walk two blocks east for lunch prices half as much with same quality.
Weather was unpredictable, sun one minute, rain the next. Pack layers and an umbrella, you can still enjoy outdoor cafes.
Buy the Zurich Card for 24 or 72 hours, it covers most trams, boats and discounts, saved us money on museums and transit.
Only stayed one day and felt rushed. Would go back for longer, especially in late spring or early fall when it's less crowded.
Felt safe and orderly, trains run like clockwork. A bit too polished for my taste, wished for more gritty local spots.
Getting there
Train stations
SBB InterCity, EuroCity, InterRegio, regional S-Bahn
Direct regional and intercity connections to Zurich HB and Swiss network
Take the frequent 10–15 min train from ZRH to Zurich HB; consider a Swiss Travel Pass.
Click to get eSim for Zurich, Switzerland
The easiest and most affordable way to get mobile internet wherever you travel.