Top 10 things to do in Zurich

weather in Switzerland

1. Get a panoramic View of Zurich

Uetliberg is a mountain rising above the city. It is easily reached by S-Bahn - S10, which usually runs every half-hour from Zürich Hauptbahnhof. On the Uetliberg’s plateau there is a look-out tower, TV-tower and hotel named “Uto Kulm”. For a 360° degree view of Zurich and Lake Zurich climb the look-out tower. Where the train stops arrows are pointing where to go for the Uetliberg plateau. On the way up there are other trails for bikers and hikers. If you head to the plateau at night there are maps showing the night sky, the solar system and the planets. Gaze at the stars while Zurich lights reach high on the night sky.

2. View from the Town’s Hill

Walk through the street where history was created and it is still present there. Altstadt or the old town consists of 4 parts: Rathaus, Hochschulen, Lindenhof and City. Lindenhof hill is the first fortification from pre-Roman period, later renamed Carolingian castle. The castle within the hill had been ruined in 13th century and later converted to a place where people build stone bricks to build houses. The river separating the town, the bridges, and the city square are visible from the top of the hill as well as the old city walls. Back in the medieval time the Rennweg street was the most famous street passing under the Rennweg gate. This street passes below the castle and ends at the town’s Hall.

3. Walk on the Münsterbrücke connecting Grossmünster and Fraumünster

It is amazing to walk on the Münsterbrücke and see the Swiss Reformed church on one side and Protestant church on the other side while the river Limmat passes under. The two churches are important because of the political power they had. In 853 Louis the German founded the Fraumünster abbey. In 1234 the power of abbess rises to a level of duchess. Today this church belongs to the Swiss Reformed church. There is a very interesting story of how Marc Chagall agreed to design and install the church stained glass windows. Each glass window panel had a different picture portraying different Biblical theme. The names of the 5 breathtaking glass windows are: Prophets, Jacob, Christ, Zion and Law. Augusto Giacometti designed and painted the extraordinary 9 meter tall glass window, which is on the north part of the church. Grossmünster today is known as a Protestant church. The legend says that the church was founded by Charlemagne (Charles the Great), grandson of Louis the German. His horse fell down to its knees and on that place this church was built. Grossmünster is the most famous landmark of Zurich because of the two twin towers and the Romanesque style. The interior of the church is plain due to the sanctions in 1523/1524. The towers are open for visitors and the view from the top is magnificent.

4. Buy the ZurichCARD

The first of the top things to do in Zurich is to buy ZurichCARD. Due to a recently survey on Worldwide Cost of Living, Switzerland is the world’s most expensive city. In addition, Switzerland is the second country amongst the biggest users of train services. The first place belongs to Japan. The town sells so called ZurichCARD which can be bough at the train station, any service point and airport. This card for 24 hours costs 24, 00 CHF. One can enter in over 50 museums, board on any tram or train in the Zurich canton and even take a boat ride. Some of the shops and restaurants give a discount too. The round-boat cruise around Lake Zurich lasts for 90-minutes and it departs from the Burkliplatz on the waterfront. Some of the places to enter for free with this card are: Botanical Garden, City hall, Ethnographic museum, Kunsthaus, Money museum, museum of Design, National museum, Toy museum and many more.

5. Visit the HauptBahnhof

HauptBahnhof is the Zurich Central Station and it is the largest and busiest train station in Switzerland. This central station building is a historic building with architectural value, high walls, ceiling, decorated lobbies and atriums. Under the station, there is a shopping centre Shopville, which is open on Sunday when all other stores in town are closed. The train station was opened in 1874. The triumphal arch with the statue or Alfred Escher is the main entrance of the station. Alfred Escher was the railway pioneer.

6. See the Biggest European Clock Face

St. Peter Church was the only church before the reformation. The rest of the churches were monasteries. It is located on the Lindenhof Hill and it was built on the ruins of Jupiter’s temple. The steeple’s clock has a diameter of 8.7 meters which is the European largest clock face. What is interesting about this church is that the steeple belongs to the city of Zurich and the church’s nave is owned by the Swiss Reformation Church.

7. Chocolate Shopping

One of the sweetest top things to do in Zurich is to try Swiss chocolate. In 1845 Sprüngli has been opened. David Sprüngli-Schwarz and his son are the founders of Lindt & Sprüngli chocolate and confectionery factory. The headquarters are in Kilchberg, Switzerland. Lindor is the most famous Lindt & Sprüngli brand designed in 1955. It is characterized with hard chocolate shell and smooth chocolate filling. Typical for Lindor are the wrappers which are different for different chocolate flavors. The Gold Bunny, hollow milk, white or dark chocolate rabbit is also produced by Lindt. It was designed in 1952 and since then it is the most famous chocolate for Easter. Kirschstengeli is also another famous and delicious Lindt chocolate. There is an outlet factory at Seestrasse 204, Kilchberg. Catch S-Bahn 1 or 8 from the main train station to get in this store and sweeten your life. Do not forget to shop also for the world’s famous Swiss pocket knife and Swiss watches which. They be found on the most prominent shopping street, Bahnhofstrasse.

8. Zurich Zoo

The only rainforest in Europe is at Zurich Zoo. Masoala Rainforest Hall is a re-creation of a real Madagascar rainforest. Zürich Zoologischer Garten was opened in 1929. Penguin parade is the mot popular event which takes place at afternoon every day. This parade to he held the outside temperature need to be below 10°C. The Zoo is a home of 2200 specimen and over 360 species.

9. Explore the biggest Museum in Switzerland- Landesmuseum

Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum) is the country’s biggest museum with stunning architecture, impressive towers and amazing park. The museum building dates from 1898. It represents the French Renaissance castles back in that period. What is impressive for this museum is the: Coin Cabinet (collection of coins dating from 14th century), Armory tower and Collection Gallery (Swiss furniture).

10. Where the Brighter Engineer Mind was Studying

Zurich Polytechnic University (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich) produced some of the world’s brightest and genuinely greatest scientists. Albert Einstein graduated at this university and afterwards became a university professor. The institute is located up the hill. Take a tram to there and explore the campus enjoying the view. Sit and relax while looking at the river Limmat and the city square. Imagine that Albert Einstein back in that time was sitting somewhere around you.