A plan for Zürich

While Zurich is Switzerland's biggest city and a cultural centre of German-speaking Switzerland, Bern is the Swiss capital. It has a population of some 430,000 (2022) in the city, and 1.8 million (2011) in the metro area. Zurich is on Lake Zurich, where the lake meets the river Limmat, in the north of Switzerland.

Despite it not being the administrative capital of any more than its Kanton, Zurich punches well above its weight in terms of major media and business headquarters and due to it being at the heart of Switzerland's excessively punctual and meticulously maintained train network and being home to Switzerland's most important airport, it is often the first part of Switzerland that visitors get to see.

While Zurich can be expensive, it is also clean, efficient and blessed with a high standard of living, which together with the high wages, explains why people bear with the high prices. Zurich has drawn people from the rest of Switzerland for centuries, but in the 20th and 21st centuries it has also begun to draw both people and companies from outside Switzerland and in some cases even outside Europe. This means that you will hear a lot more languages than just Swiss German and the overall atmosphere is a lot more cosmopolitan than you might think.

Zurich is home to ETH Zurich, one of the world's leading technical universities, which has produced a number of Nobel laureates and numerous innovations and due to Switzerland's long history of neutrality it also houses headquarters of the likes of FIFA and the International Ice Hockey Federation. Zurich is also home to a number of large banking and insurance conglomerates that grew on the fabled Swiss banking secret and still enjoy good reputations in the financial sector.

Most shops and supermarkets are closed on Sundays. Travellers should plan their shopping for Saturday.

Most of the interesting sights are in the old town around the river and lakefront.

1 Bahnhofstrasse. One of the busiest and best-known shopping streets in the world. Highly refined. Certainly a must-see for every tourist in Zurich!

2 Lindenhof. The hill in the heart of the old town. A beautiful view of the city and one time location of a Roman fort.

3 Lake Promenade (Utoquai, Seefeldquai). Especially during summer, the lake is a beautiful place to spend the evening or the weekend. Starting from Bellevue, the boardwalk goes for about three kilometers along the lake towards Tiefenbrunnen. About halfway from Bellevue there is a meadow where you will find thousands of people on a sunny day.

4 Grossmünster, Zwingliplatz. Nov-Feb 10:00-17:00, Mar-Oct 10:00-18:00. Old Romanesque church, symbol of reformed Zurich, where reformer Huldrych Zwingli was appointed the people's priest in 1519. Go up the tower for a great view of Zurich, though the stairs can be quite small and steep. Tower Fr. 4, Fr. 2 for students. (updated May 2017)

5 Fraumünster, Kämbelgasse 2. November-February 10:00-17:00, March-October 10:00-18:00. Old Gothic church (former convent) with window paintings made by Marc Chagall. No photos or videos allowed inside. Fr. 5. (updated May 2017)

6 Schanzengraben. A small canal that used to be part of the city fortifications between Limmat and Sihl. From the main station, go to Gessnerallee, find the stairways down to the tiny creek, and walk all the way to the lake.

7 Langstrasse. Red light district of Zurich, with more drug dealers and police than usual, but interesting because even this most notorious spot in Switzerland is so clean and safe. The area is the most overtly multicultural spot of the town. Ateliers and stylish bars sit side by side the strip clubs.

8 Friedhof Fluntern. cemetery with lots of famous people most notably James Joyce who lived in Zurich for quite some time, the writer Elias Canetti and a few nobel prize winners are also buried there (updated Dec 2017)

Take the 1 Polybahn, Central 1. Operates Mon-Fri 06:45–19:15, Sat 07:30–14:00, closed on Sun and public holidays. A 19th-century funicular, up the steep hill for a fine view. Starts at tram station Central and goes up to the ETH. Nice terrace up there. During the week, the student cafeteria below the terrace is also open to the public. Fr. 1.20, free with Zürich Card or a valid ZVV ticket for Zone 110. (updated Aug 2015)

2 Oberer/Unterer Letten. If you go to Zurich during summer take your swimwear with you. The clean river at both the public river baths "Oberer Letten" (mainly youngsters) and "Unterer Letten" (also families) is used by the locals to cool down after hot days. Jump in upstream and the river will carry you down. Right in the middle of the town there is also a wooden floating bath for women only Frauenbad Stadthausquai at the start of the Limmat. Showers and free lockers are provided but you must bring your own lock. Free. (updated Dec 2017)

Go skiing by train — Buy a snow'n'rail ticket (train & skipass) at the Hauptbahnhof during winter months, train out in morning, back in evening. Flumserberg is the closest large ski-resort, popular with people from Zurich, with a good range of runs for beginners and intermediates. Retreat to the right side of the resort if the rest gets busy.

Take a 3 trip on the Zürichsee. With one of the two old steam ships. There are a few different routes you can choose from, which will vary mainly in the distance. Journeys usually start from Bürkliplatz. Steam ships operate between April and mid-October. ZVV tickets valid. (updated Aug 2015)

Rent a small rowboat or pedalo.

Take a 4 Limmat river cruise, Landesmuseum Pier, contact@zvv.ch. Offers views of the old town and Lake Zurich. Operates between April and October. Fr. 4.30, free with Zürich Card or a valid ZVV ticket for Zone 110. (updated Jul 2015)

The quintessential Zürich dish is Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (Swiss-German: Zürigschnätzlets), sliced veal in a cream and wine sauce. Various kinds of grilled wurst (sausages) are also popular. These are most often accompanied by boiled potatoes, rösti, a Swiss potato pancake (grated potato, formed into a pancake then pan fried until crisp in butter or oil similar to hash browns) or chnöpfli, in German sometimes called Spätzle (small noodle dumplings).

Veal is still very popular, though the use of turkey and other meats as a substitute is growing.

While fondue (melted cheese in a central pot, dip bread into it) and Raclette (cheese melted in small portions, served with potatoes and pickles) are not really local to Zürich (they come from Western Switzerland) they are commonly available at restaurants aimed at tourists. Swiss people usually eat those dishes at home and only during winter.

The bread available in Zürich is generally delicious. There are many varieties, and your best bet is to go to a bakery or a supermarket in the morning or just after work hours, when most people are doing their shopping and bread is coming out fresh.

Try grilled bratwurst from street stands, served with a large crusty roll of sourdough bread and mustard, or sandwiches made with fresh baked bretzeln (large, soft pretzels). A typically Swiss bread is the zopf, a braided soft bread that is commonly served on Sundays (the other name for it is Sonntagszopf).

For breakfast, try a bowl of müesli, which was invented as a health food in Switzerland. The Sprüngli confectionery store tea rooms serve a deluxe version of this fiber-filled cereal with whole milk, crushed berries and cream.

There are a huge variety of cheeses available at the supermarkets, specialty stores and markets, as well as all kinds of hams and dried sausages. Dairy products are generally delicious, especially the butter. Do not miss the supermarkets! You should take a thorough look through Migros or Coop and maybe even assemble your own lunch or dinner some time. Even the cheap, budget prepackaged desserts in the supermarket exceed the quality of what you may be used to.

Zurich has a lot of places to go out. There are a lot of clubs, restaurants, cafés, bars but also many museums and theatres. Few of them are particularly wild, but there are certainly many options. The most common drinks in Zurich include: Beer, Swiss white wine (e.g. Fendant), Swiss red wine (is delicious), and Spanish red wine (is generally good value here). At apéro time (after work), you will find many people drinking a Cüpli (glass of sparkling wine).Tap water in the city is of high quality and safe to drink. Bring a reusable bottle to save money and reduce plastic waste.

Bars

1 Bar & Lounge 42, Neumühlequai 42 (5 walking minutes from Zurich HB (Main Train Station)), ☏ +41 44 360 73 24, info@barandlounge42.ch. Daily 09:00-00:30. New York in the middle of Zurich. Exclusive whiskey, unique cocktails, premium liquors, snacks, a homemade gin and an elegant smoker's lounge with a broad selection of cigars. (updated Apr 2018)

Centre

2 Bierhalle Wolf, Limmatquai 132 (At the northern end of the old town, facing the river), ☏ +41 44 251 01 30, info@bierhalle-wolf.ch. A lively beer hall often with live music. In addition to the beer selection, they serve great local food.

3 Edi's Weinstube, Stüssihofstatt 14. nice wine bar in Niederdorf where you can get the cheapest okay wine in Zurich (updated Dec 2017)

4 Federal, Main Station (Tram 3,4,6,7,10,11,13,14, Bus 31, Main Station). A big brasserie-like bar inside the Main Station with a choice of 100 Swiss beers.

5 Nachtflug, Stüssihofstatt 4 (Niederdorf). Stylish, coffee and some snacks during the day, large choice of drinks at night.

6 James Joyce bar, Pelikanstrasse 8. Where the writer used to drink. Now mostly frequented by bankers.

7 Oliver Twist, Rindermarkt 6, ☏ +41 44 252 47 10. An Irish/British pub with a good atmosphere, and many English-speaking foreigners. Has English ales on draught.

8 Öpfelchammer (apple chamber), Rindermarkt 12, ☏ +41 44 251 23 36. Not a real pub or café, they only serve wine or water. But if you succeed in climbing over the roof beams, you get a free glass of wine to drink hanging upside down and you can mark your name into the wood afterwards.

9 Widder Garage, Widdergasse 6, ☏ +41 44 224 25 26. By far the best stocked whiskey bar in town, with a separate whiskey menu containing 250 single malts. In the famous hotel of the same name. (updated Dec 2017)

Public transport

Zurich is famous for its highly efficient, clean and safe public transport system, managed by the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) which covers the entire canton of Zurich and extends into nearby regions. The network includes trams, buses, S-Bahn (suburban trains), cable cars, and boats. The size and complexity of the network may be daunting at first, but you will soon realize that there are many ways to get from one place to another, all efficient.

Tickets and timetable information for Switzerland is available on sbb.ch or can be obtained using the SBB Mobile (iOS, Android apps) (requires a working internet connection). Alternatively, use ZVV's own timetable app or purchase tickets with the ZVV-Tickets app. The free Wemlin App (iOS, Android) gives you offline access to timetable information and network maps for the canton of Zurich area without internet connection and is therefore ideally for on the go usage in case you don't want to use data roaming.

You may want to consider using the EasyRide function of the SBB Mobile app, which allows you to "check-in" to rides and calculates the cheapest ticket charge at the end of the day.

The Zurich transit system is divided into numerous fare zones. A ticket for zone 110, which covers the city proper, will suffice for most travelers. The more zones you pass through, the more you'll have to pay for your journey. Each zone has the same price, except Zurich (110) and Winterthur (120), which cost double. There are single tickets, punch cards (Mehrfahrtkarten, these provide six rides for the price of five), day cards (these are designed for round trips and valid for 24 hours), monthly cards, and annual cards. The monthly and annual cards are collectively referred to as ZVV NetzPass.

You should buy tickets using the SBB app. Tickets can also be purchased from a ticket vending machine before boarding or from one of the ticket selling kiosks in major train stations. The ticket vending machines are in German, English, French and Italian and offer almost all regular tickets available (not personal tickets though). Simply enter your destination and pick a ticket. The machine may suggest several routes, of which you generally want to pick the cheapest one – never pick the "All zones" option unless you actually intend to pass through eight or more zones!

Zürich, like all cities in Switzerland, is relatively safe. Nevertheless, be on guard for thieves and pickpockets. Carry your wallet or purse in a secure way, not in your hip pocket or a backpack outer pocket. In particular, thieves are known to operate around the Zurich main train station. Do not let your bags out of sight for even a moment.

Certain areas along the lakefront are frequented by young people who sometimes try to pick a fight when they are drunk. Do not let them provoke you, as they are likely to be there in numbers and will use any excuse to go at you. You may also notice many of said young people smoking something that isn't a cigarette. Switzerland is surprisingly lenient about such things but it is hardly a cause for alarm.

Public transport is very safe. You can use it without any special precautions.

If you decide to bicycle in the city, understand that Zurich is a city of public transport. Beware of tram tracks which can get your wheel stuck and send you flying into traffic, of the trams themselves which travel these tracks frequently (and may scare you into getting stuck into the track), and the buses, which make frequent stops in the rightmost lane. In short, bicycling downtown should be only done by those experienced with cycling with such traffic.

Gay and lesbian travellers

Being Switzerland's most liberal city (the socialist and green parties now fare extremely well here), Zurich is the favourite place to live for Switzerland's (German-speaking) gays and lesbians. The Canton of Zurich was the second canton, after Geneva, to allow registered partnerships for same-sex partners for example. The city of Zurich is probably the place in Switzerland that offers the most open environment for gays and lesbians. Gays and lesbians need not take special precaution for their safety on the streets. It is always possible for random homophobic behaviour to happen, though.