Classic meets cool in Switzerland
In some ways, Zurich is just what you’d expect – an appealing, industrious city with fine museums and a great riverside setting. But Switzerland’s biggest city is also a fresh, surprising place, brimming with energy and an infectious sense of fun. On Zurich holidays you can expect to find cool food halls, daring modern art and wild nightlife.
The Old Quarter, with its cobbled alleys, churches, twisting lanes and swish shopping streets is the place to experience classic Zurich. Here you’ll find the Fraumunster – an elegant 13th-century church – and cafés offering macaroons, fondue and frothy beers. Just east of here, the Kunsthaus has an impressive selection of fine art, with works by Monet, Van Gogh and Rodin. Zurich’s success was built on merchant guilds and banking, but many former industrial sites have now been taken over by bars, clubs and markets. In Zurich-West, you can enjoy street food and art installations by day, before settling down to cocktails amid fairy-lit shipping containers at night.
Outdoors, holidays to Zurich can include scenic river and lake cruises, and the nearest ski resorts are only an hour away. Uetliberg, the city’s own mountain, has trails for hiking and mountain biking, or sledging, and an observation tower at its summit – perfect for gazing back at a city that bubbles with life.
Need to know
GER/FRE
Swiss Franc
GMT +1
1hr 20mins
* Average time from London Gatwick to Zurich
Explore our map of Zurich