The most beautiful sights in Zurich in one weekend
Zurich is one of the world's most liveable cities. The city may not be the capital, but with 400,000 inhabitants it is the largest city in Switzerland (with a region of 1.3 million). That's why we've listed the most beautiful sights in Zurich that you must visit on a weekend.
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Sightseeing tip in advance.
Theideal starting point for a city tour of Zurich's most important sights is the main railway station. Switzerland's largest railway station is located at the northern end of the city centre. The 25hours Hotel Zürich Langstrasse, which we also booked during our stay, is ideally located next to the station.
Sights to the left of the Limmat
Lindenhof (view)
The Lindenhof is a slightly elevated park on the western bank of the Limmat, which gives you a great view of Zurich's absolute landmark right at the start of our tour: the Grossmünster with its two towers.
The wall and numerous benches invite you to take your first break. Thanks to the eponymous lime trees, you can find a shady spot or two.
By this point, I was thinking one thing in particular: I've waited far too long to explore this beautiful city.
View of the Limmat from the Lindenhof in Zurich.
St Peter's Church and tower
St Peter's is one of the four churches in Zurich's Old Town. From Lindenhof, you can reach the church and the St Peter-Hofstatt square in front of it via Strehlgasse and Pfalzgasse. The latter already offers you more than nice views of St Peter's with its striking clock. So get your camera ready.
Back to the clock on the tower of St Peter's: Its clock face reaches a proud diameter of 8.64 metres, making it the largest tower clock face in Europe.
The tower of St Peter's already looked as it does today in the Zurich sky around 1500. However, the nave in its current form was not consecrated until 1706. The first documented mention of a church building on the site of St Peter's dates back to 857.
Augustinergasse
From St Peter's, it is best to continue your Zurich sightseeing tour through the medieval Augustinergasse to Bahnhofstrasse.
Colourful facades, bay windows, shutters and Swiss flags straight out of a picture book await you in Augustinergasse. Which is hardly surprising against this backdrop: Augustinergasse is considered one of the most colourful alleyways in the whole of Zurich. It is lined with cafés, restaurants and tourist shops.
Fancy an interesting fact about Zurich's bay windows? They were placed slightly offset above the front door of a house so that the owners could spot unwanted guests before they opened the door. In their basic function, the bay windows are therefore nothing more than door viewers elaborately built onto the house. That has style!
The chic façades are also due to the fact that it was mainly wealthy factory owners who settled in Augustinergasse at the beginning of the 17th century. This gave rise to a kind of competition: who had given their house the most beautiful façade?
Bahnhofstrasse with Paradeplatz
The approximately 1.4 kilometre long Bahnhofstrasse (the Swiss don't seem to know ß) is Zurich's boulevard and one of its main shopping streets. It also plays a special role among shopping streets worldwide. Alongside world-famous upmarket shopping streets such as New York's 5th Avenue or the Champs Elysées in Paris, it is one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world.
(Incidentally, this ranking does not mean that you will necessarily have to pay the most expensive prices for your favourite products on these streets. Rather, it is about the amount of rent that the shop owners have to pay for their shops on these streets. And that's probably why I won't be able to find the rancour bars I adore on Bahnhofstrasse).
If you want to shop: With its department stores, luxury boutiques (Chanel, Bulgari and co.) and jewellery shops, Bahnhofstrasse certainly offers enough of a target for that.
Bahnhofstrasse also leads directly past Paradeplatz. This is considered the centre of the famous Swiss banking industry. So if you fancy staring at a few clichéd evil Swiss bankers with a death stare, then you're probably in good hands here.
I'm actually not a fan of putting mainstream institutions centre stage as tips here on the blog. However, I can hardly get past Confiserie Sprüngli, which is located on Paradeplatz and Bahnhofstrasse, without mentioning it.
Confiserie Sprüngli has been producing chocolate, pralines and pastries since 1836. Incidentally, this was initially done under the even better-known international name Lindt & Sprüngli, before Confiserie Sprüngli was spun off as a separate company. Today, both companies are still subsidiaries of Lindt & Sprüngli Aktiengesellschaft.
But now to the practical knowledge about Confiserie Sprüngli: it is best known for its Luxemburgerli biscuit creation, which has been around since 1957. These are available in various flavours, including chocolate, vanilla, hazelnut and champagne. Even if - like me - you're not too much of a sweets fanatic, it's worth trying them.
If you are also interested in Switzerland's position as a centre of power in watch production: The Beyer Watch Museum is located in Bahnhofstrasse. I will go into more detail about this and other museums further down in the article in my Zurich tips on the most famous museums.
Fraumünster and Münsterbrücke
A visit to the Fraumünster is a must if you want to see the most important sights in Zurich in one day. The church, which is not considered one of the city's landmarks for nothing, is impressive from the outside alone. But so are all the other churches in the centre of Zurich.
The absolute speciality of the Fraumünster is only revealed inside the church. There you can admire the famous Chagall windows at the back for free. And do you know exactly who missed out on this because they didn't make sufficient preparations for their trip? Me. But it won't be the last time I've been to Zurich.
A church was consecrated on this site as early as 874. One tower was built in 1150, another in 1250, one of which was demolished in 1728 and the other raised in 1732. The church had previously been remodelled in the Gothic style from around 1250. The five Chagall windows in the choir were added in 1967. In 1978, another Chagall window was added to the rose window of the south nave.
Lake Zurich
At its southern end, Bahnhofstrasse leads into Bürkliplatz, which in turn lies on the northern shore of Lake Zurich. And this is not just any lake, but a particularly beautiful example of its kind!
On the shores of Lake Zurich, which is around 40 kilometres long, you can watch more than just swans on the numerous benches. Taking part in a small or large boat tour across Lake Zurich is almost a must for tourists in Zurich.
You will see many luxury villas on the shore belonging to the rich and famous, who presumably settled in Switzerland not only because of the breathtaking natural surroundings (including Tina Turner and - before his death - Udo Jürgens).
A short one-and-a-half-hour round trip from Bürkliplatz takes in the following stops: Kilchberg (with the Lindt chocolate factory) - Erlenbach (former wine-growing village) - Zürihorn.
Journey times in summer: between 9:10 and 18:40 every thirty minutes (from May to September until 19:40)
Journey timesin winter: daily departures at 12:40 and 14:10 (there are additional journeys at weekends and on public holidays)
If you want to share your time on Lake Zurich with fewer other tourists, then a pedalo trip is a good option. You can easily hire one from the Lago boat hire company on Utoquai.
Incidentally, the full size of the lake only really becomes apparent on a map or satellite image (or on an eastbound train journey along the shore).
Sights to the right of the Limmat
Bellevue and Utoquai
Bellevue is one of the main squares and transport hubs in Zurich. Three Zurich sights are located in its neighbourhood.
One of these is the Opera House, which opened in 1891 and seats 1,100 spectators. It is considered one of the world's leading opera houses. Of course, there is little time for a visit to the opera house if you want to see the most important Zurich sights in one day. However, a look at the magnificent building from the outside doesn't hurt.
Another interesting address on Bellevue is the Café Odeon - especially if your stomach has started to make itself known. Not only are the prices for typical local dishes said to be lower here than in many other places in Zurich. The Odeon also used to be a meeting place for intellectuals such as Albert Einstein, Friedrich Dürenmatt and Thomas Mann. Who wouldn't want to join this illustrious circle?
We also recommend taking a last look at Lake Zurich from nearby Utoquai before continuing on the Zurich sightseeing tour towards Niederdorfstrasse and the like.
Water church
Consecrated in 1486, the Wasserkirche owes its name to its former location on a small island in the middle of the Limmat. However, its island location was lost due to embankments. In addition, the Wasserkirche was temporarily misused as Zurich's first city library. It was not converted back into a church until 1928.
The Wasserkirche is also located directly on the Münsterbrücke bridge, so you can enjoy good views of the Fraumünster from here.
Grossmünster
The Grossmünster with its two large and unmistakable towers is Zurich's absolute landmark. These two towers are said to watch over the city as patron saints.
The church was built between 1100 and 1220 and the characteristic neo-Gothic spires have adorned the Grossmünster since 1787. 1824 saw further significant remodelling. Inside the church, a window inserted in 1933 by the artist Augusto Giacometti is particularly worth seeing.
You can climb the Karlsturm for CHF 4 (children for CHF 2). The only requirement is that you climb 187 steps in a narrow staircase. The view over the city and Lake Zurich definitely justifies the climb.
Opening hours for the ascent to the Karlsturm: from Monday to Saturday between 10 a.m. and 4.45 p.m., Sundays from 12.30 p.m. to 4.45 p.m.
Town hall and Cabaret Voltaire
Zurich Town Hall, built between 1694 and 1698, is definitely worth a visit. The building is unique in that it was built over the Limmat. From the south side, you can see the vault under the town hall through which the river flows.
The Cabaret Voltaire (Spiegelgasse 1) is also just a two-minute walk east of the town hall. This is known worldwide as the birthplace of the art movement with the evocative name Dadaism.
The background: during the First World War, artists from all over the world fled to neutral Switzerland. The Cabaret Voltaire became their main meeting place in 1916 and this gathering of many artists in turn gave rise to the Dada art movement.
Even today (and again since 2004) there is life in the place. Marilyn Manson, for example, has already exhibited his own watercolour paintings here. The café and bar also attract guests. Specialities include the in-house Dada absinthe and sizzling sandwiches.
The Niederdorf around Niederdorfstrasse
Niederdorfstrasse begins just a few metres north of Spiegelgasse with the Cabaret Voltaire. In this central promenade and its side streets in Niederdorf, you can once again experience Zurich's charm for yourself.
At the same time, you are in one of the city's entertainment areas. Accordingly, the alleyways of the neighbourhood, also known as Dörfli by locals, are mainly lined with bars, clubs, restaurants and snack bars.
For a long time, Niederdorf was notorious among locals as a tourist area. In the meantime, however, this attitude has changed again with the arrival of new establishments, so that you can also meet genuine Zurich locals in Niederdorf.
Places of interest near Zurich
Uetliberg
The Uetliberg is Zurich's local mountain, 871 metres high and car-free, and probably offers the best view of the city and its surroundings. It is just over three kilometres by air from the city centre, so the best way to get there is from Niederdorf to the train station.
If time is limited, the easiest way to get to the Uetliberg from the city centre is to take the S-Bahn, or more precisely the S10, which runs every twenty minutes from the main station (platform 22). The journey to the "Uetliberg" terminus takes about half an hour and costs CHF 8.80 each way (single ticket for 4 zones).
However, if you also want to travel back this way, it is worth buying a so-called Albis day ticket. This special offer is valid for six zones, including the important zone 110 for the centre of Zurich. The Albis day ticket costs CHF 17.60. The journey from the railway station to the viewing platform then takes a further 15 minutes.
If the view from the viewing platform isn't beautiful enough for you, the 72-metre-high observation tower is accessible for CHF 2 and provides the perfect view over the city, Lake Zurich and the snow-capped mountain ranges visible on the horizon.
There is plenty to do on the Uetliberg - at least if your one day in Zurich is not already coming to an end. You can take a walk along the Planet Trail, explore the hiking trails, simply enjoy the view or have something to eat and/or drink in one of the restaurants.
In winter, the Uetliberg is also popular for sledging. And the view is said to be particularly spectacular when the summit of the Uetliberg emerges from the high fog that often occurs in autumn.
Of course, the mountain is also wonderful to climb on foot. The Uetliberg railway station "Uitikon Waldegg" or the tram station "Albisgütli" are good starting points for this.