2009-11-04

Zurich: The Best Sights

Financial center, cultural metropolis, shopping paradise: Zurich is Switzerland’s secret capital city (and the country’s biggest). It was voted the city with the highest quality of living in the world seven times in a row up until 2008. On the one hand Swiss traditions are upheld here with great devotion, but at the same time Zurich is the place were many trends are born; the legendary Freitag bags, for instance. Modernly designed cafes, hotels and shops exude a cool chic here which provides a zesty contrast to the mountainous backdrop towering above Lake Zurich.

The Escapio Team was on site and put together five of the best sights and tips for you to try out:

1) The best way to get acquainted with that Zurich-feeling is to head to Buerkliplatz and enjoy the fantastic panorama the city and Lake Zurich provide. The traditional flea market takes place here every Saturday from May until October and is definitely worth a visit.

2) Then it’s off to the upper Bahnhofstraße on Paradeplatz to try Vermicelles or little macaroons at the head office of the Sprüngli sweetshop. Half of Zurich’s society crowd stops by the coffee house for a chitchat. And on your way out you can have your favorite pralines packed up to take home. Another locale near Paradeplatz is the restaurant Zum Kopf, a 120-year-old establishment serving its customers traditional Swiss cuisine in baroque atmosphere. The giant dining hall is always crowded, and even those who don’t wish to order meat or other hearty plates can enjoy modern, seasonal dishes from the restaurants menu.

3) While taking a walk through the city’s old quarter along the left bank of the Limmat, you should definitely have a look at the Fraumünsterkirche with its beautiful Chagall windows and the Peterskirche, whose tower has the largest clock face in Europe (a clock which all other clocks in Zurich used to be set to).

4) The Kunsthaus on Heimplatz (easily reachable with the Bellevue tram) hosts a permanent collection of art works well worth seeing, the collection’s emphasis being on works by Picasso, Monet, Chagall, and Pop Art and modern artists such as Baselitz and Rothko. The special collection of works by George Seurat runs through January 2010.

5) Those who might like to spend the night in a small but elegant hotel should book a room at Hotel Helmhaus. Not far from the Limmat wharf and located directly in the old quarter, the cities smallest and most centrally located 4 star hotel reflects for me the spirit of Zurich: Everything is dignified, carefully arranged and very well looked after while at the same time exuding its distinct combination of tradition and modernity.