Time to explore Zurich, in this blog we will inform you about the top things to do in Zurich. The city is known as the city with the best quality of life in Europe. The cosmopolitan city located near the water combines creative life with nature.
Summer or winter, Zurich buzzes with life, day and night. Countless winter and summer events, several beautiful museums, and Switzerland’s most vivid nightlife. Whenever you come to relax or have an active visit, you’re in the Swiss Alps in less than an hour. Ready to experience Zurich?
Top sights in Zurich
Truly, there are more than 6 tourist sights in Zurich, but in this list, you will find the absolute highlights, which nobody should miss. Explore the history of the city, the beautiful parks, museums, and the old town, or enjoy the breathtaking views. Let’s start with the top sights in Zurich.
1. The Grossmünster
Starting with The Grossmünster for a reason, this is a true landmark for Zurich.
If we believe the legend, Charlemagne discovered the graves of the city’s patron saints Felix and Regula and had a church built as a monastery on the spot. The Grossmünster is a Protestant Reformed church and it is located in the old town.
Together with St. Peter’s Chruch and the Fraumunster, these are the most famous and well-known churches in the city. But the characteristic twin towers make this the landmark of Zurich.
We recommend taking a guided tour, this tour takes around 60 minutes.
What are the costs for a guided tour in the Grossmünster Chruch?
- Travel group: 200 Swiss Francs
- Congregation: 150 Swiss Francs
- Company: 250 Swiss Francs
- School: 150 Swiss Francs
What are the opening hours of the Grossmünster Church?
The opening hours of the Grossünster Chruch are from 10 am to 5 pm between November 1st and February 29th.
Between March 1st and October 31st, the opening hours are from 10 am to 6 pm.
Openings hours on Sundays after 12 noon/12.30 pm.
Can you climb the Grossmünster Church?
Yes, you can climb the Grossmünster tower, it takes around 30 minutes to go up and down. If you go with your family for example with 5 people, then the costs are 25 CHF.
2. The Old Town
Things to do in Zurich Old Town
The top things to do in Zurich Old Town are:
- Stroll around the Old town, explore the history
- Explore the Grossmünster Church, the famous landmark of Zürich
- Discover the Fraumünster Church, the stained-glass windows created by Marc Chagall, a truly worth a visit.
- book a tour of the Lindt & Sprüngli Chocolate Factory, really interesting, and the perfect activity for kids.
- Discover the paintings of Munch at the Kunsthaus Museum, there are over 4000 works displayed in this museum.
- Classic music at the Tonhalle, this concert hall is one of the most prestigious in Europe, a magical experience.
- Visit the St. Peter Church, the oldest church in Zurich with the largest tower clock face in Europe.
- Lindenhof offers you a viewpoint, where you can see the Grossmünster from above.
- The charming part of the Old Town, the Niederdorf, is a carfree part of the city. Perfect to have coffee.
- The Augustinergasse, grab your camera, this street is perfect for a picture to share with your friends.
Zurich Old Town walking tour
Book a guided tour through Zurich’s old town, full of historic sights and colourful history. This tour guide has extensive knowledge. Discover hidden gems. The tour takes around two hours through the old town. The offered languages are English, German and French. On private request, several other languages are available too. The price for the tour is 25 CHF for an adult and 12.50 CHF for a child.
Best Fondue Zurich Old Town
Highly recommended, for Swiss Fondue, Le Dézaley. This restaurant is a typical Swiss restaurant opened in 1903 serving typical Swiss delicious like fondue and herb sausages. It is located quaintly in an old town right next to the famous Grossmunster Church. The location of the fondue restaurant: Römergasse 7/9, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland.
Best Bar in Zurich Old Town
The Old Crow bar is a bar, located in Oldtown Zurich. They also have a great choice of cocktails. Perfect place for a romantic date or a small group of friends. The location: Schwanengasse 4, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland.
3. The Fraumünster Church
The Fraumünster Chagall windows
In the Framünster Church, you can see 5 works by Marc Chagall. He created 5 windows for the Fraumünster church in Zurich. Today the windows are world-famous and captivate visitors.
In 1970 Marc Chagall was born, Belarussian-born Marc Chagall created a five-part stained-glass window series and a rosette for the chancel of the Fraumünster church in Zurich. This world-famous masterpiece by Chagall still impresses visitors from around the world today.
Mr. Chagall has a unique and remarkable motto: “When I create something from my heart, almost everything goes well” throughout his whole life. He created the windows at a very advanced age and he enjoyed excellent health right up to his death in 1985, just before his 98th birthday. A worth visit, if you are in Zürich.
What are the opening hours of the Fraumünster Church?
Important: The Fraumünster Church is closed for groups during the coronavirus crisis.
For individual visitors, for personal prayer, the church is open as follows:
Monday – Friday: 13.00 – 18.00
Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: 10.00 – 18.00
Guided tours in the Fraumünster Church
There are audio guides available in the Church. They will provide you with everything you need to know about the Fraumünster church: its meaning and history, the Reformation in this city, the Chagall and Giacometti stained-glass windows, and much more. The audio guides will also lead you through the exhibition in the newly opened crypt. Interesting and an awesome experience.
What are the costs for guided tours in the Fraumünster Church
The costs for a guide and entry for the Fraumunster Chruch are 5 Swiss francs/euros/dollars. The price includes an audio guide or an illustrated leaflet (both available in 8 languages).
No deposit is required for using our audioguides. You can return them at the exit of the church next to the shop.
Good to note down, with the Fraumünster entrance ticket you will get a reduction of five francs for the entrance to the Marc Chagall Collection in the Kunsthaus Museum.
Admission is free for young people up to 16 years, as well as students and trainees.
4. Lake Zürich
Our third recommendation is Lake Zurich. Lake Zurich is in our opinion one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland. The lake was early on a popular transport route, nowadays the lake is a super popular lake for tourists to swim, and enjoy a boat trip or have a delicious picnic on one of the lake’s banks! Around the lake, many restaurants offer dinner with a fabulous view.
Things to do at lake Zurich
To get a different view, we advise taking a boat trip, with lovely views from the lake. We recommend visiting one of the four islands in the lake. The Saffa Island connects to the mainland by a footbridge, this island is a popular sight for Tourists. During Summer you can enjoy the sun while bathing at the lake.
The best restaurants at Lake Zurich with lake view
These are 5 restaurants directly located at Lake Zurich, with a stunning view over the lake. Enjoy a romantic sunset directly at the lake or simply enjoy the spectacular view over the Lake and the delicious food.
- Lake Side, location: Bellerivestrasse 170, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
- Seerose, location: Seestrasse 493, 8038 Zürich, Switzerland
- Fischer’s Fritz, location: Seestrasse 557, 8038 Zürich, Switzerland
- Frascati, location: Bellerivestrasse 2, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
- Fischstube, location: Bellerivestrasse 160, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
5. Lindenhof
Lindenhof is full of history, the 4th century Roman Fort was situated at the Lindenhof, on the same site, the grandson of Charlemagne built a regal palace on this particular site. Today Lindenhof is the place to take a step back, relax and enjoy the peach of this place. In the heart of the city, where chess players meet, highly recommended place to visit while visiting beautiful Zurich.
If you visit Switzerland, especially Zurich during winter, check out our other blog about the top places to visit during winter in Switzerland.
6. The Bahnhofstrasse
What are the opening hours of the Bahnhofstrasse?
The opening hours for almost all shops on the Bahnhofstrasse are from Mon to Fri 09:00 – 19:00 / 20:00. Good to know, that the smaller shops and most jewellers, outside the centre close at 18:30.
Some shops are closed on Monday mornings, check this on the specific shop’s website you are looking to visit. On Saturdays, most shops open from 09:00 – 17:00 (or 18:00, department stores until 20:00).
Which popular shops can be found on the Bahnhofstrasse?
The Bahnhofstrasse is Zurich’s main downtown street, with one of the world’s most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues. On this street, international well-known brands like Burberry, Brequet, Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Hermès, Gucci, Mont Blanc, Prada and many more can be found.
Zurich Bahnhofstrasse parking
The best place to park your car is the City Parking place, located in the heart of the city. It is a multi-level car park. It even holds the international Gold Award for extraordinarily high-quality standards. There is an advanced guidance system to easily navigate to a parking place. The maximum parking duration is 96 hours.
The parking costs are CHF 4 per hour from Monday to Saturday. There are a total of 620 parking spaces. The location: Gessnerallee 14
CH-8001 Zürich.
How do I get from Zurich airport to Bahnhofstrasse?
The distance between Zurich airport and the Bahnhofstrasse is only, 10 kilometres. We advise taking the train, which takes you around 24 minutes and costs approximately 9-45 CHF. You can also travel by town car, tram or taxi.
What is the weather like in Zurich?
Zurich lies in the temperate climate zone and has four distinct seasons. In winter, temperatures occasionally drop below zero, while on hot summer days, temperatures can go over 30 degrees Celsius or 86 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you are looking for warm-weather activities on Lake Zurich for example, try to visit Zurich from late June until early September, these are the most comfortable months.
Conclusion
This blog is about the largest city in Switzerland. Zurich has a lot to offer, from the historic centre and the famous Fraumunster to the Lindenhof. Many well-known shops can be found in Bahnhofstrasse. Zurich offers something for everyone. We hope you enjoy your visit to Zurich!