I will be alone for two days in Zurich, what is a women to do? I love to shop and would love to see some sites but only have two days. I'm open to suggestions from you travel pros.

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Well, Zurich is known for its shopping. The Banhoffstrasse is one of the best shopping streets in the world.

Explore the Old Town, around Niederdorfstrasse. There are some good antiques shops in that area.

I didn't do it myself, but look into boat rides on the Zurichsee.

Hopefully, Cicerone will see your post and can provide a link to her excellent threads on Zurich and all there is to do there.

I love to shop the Bahnhoffstrasse! I do it at least two/three times a year. If you are in Zurich during warm weather, I think a boat ride on the Zurichsea would be lovely. I've not done it because I'm always in Zurich when it's colder. Otherwise, I'd have been out on the lake.

The old town is nice to explore as well. Wear some comfy shoes because the walking is up and down and there are cobblestones in some places.

There is just a ton of stuff to do in Zurich, you really will not be at a loss, and if it is cold or rainy there are many excellent museums. The level of English is very high, so if you get lost or something don’t have any worries, also in restaurants don’t have any worries about menus in English or English-speaking staff. The city is extremely safe to wander on your own at basically any time of day or night (certain areas very late at night I would avoid but you probably want be in the Neiderdorf after 2 am or in Langstrasse either.) It’s a great walking city on your own, many lovely cobblestone pedestrian-only areas, and lots of little cafes (with wonderful hot chocolate or coffee).

I have done some pretty extensive posts over the years, some links to threads are below, including some restaurant reccos. The Fodor’s guide on this site is good (click “Destinations”), as is the Frommers.com site. The portion of the Fodors book on Switzerland for Zurich is very good too.

For shopping, it’s kind of relative for me, because I now live in Hong Kong (and did before I moved to Zurich) so it’s hard for me to get really excited about the shopping. There is some very good handicraft work, and some very good antique shopping, esp books and maps, but boy oh boy do you need to bring lots of money. The Bahnoffstrasse is Prada and Gucci and Cartier and then the local equivalents like Bally leather and Madler leather; it’s astonishing in a city of 450,000 the number of high-end boutiques that they have. I just have a hard time buying the lovely hand made leather bags on Schipfe when I know I can get the same thing made here for a lot less....in any event for shopping, some areas to try are below. If one of your two days is a Sunday, all shops except those in train stations are closed, so you will be out of luck.

Kirchgasse – this is a street with many antique shops, esp bookshops, on the right bank of the river. From here, you can walk to the Grossmunster and the streets leading off the Oberdorf which are also full of antique shops and interesting shops.

Schipfe – this is a lovely very narrow pedestrian-only street right along the water on the left bank of the river. There are several antique shops (Vock Antique at #10 has some Asian pieces) and artisan studios here, including a leather shop which makes beautiful leather bags at #29 (go to http://www.ledersack.ch/).

Augustinergausse – I think this is the prettiest street in Zurich, its off the Bahnofstasse; there are many old houses with the oriel windows. No shops of real note (there is a Laura Ashley), but just a very pretty street.

Some particular shops to try:

Schweizer Heimatwerk - very good quality Swiss handicrafts. They have a shop in the main train station (open on Sundays), and two in the old town. There is one at the top of the Schipfe and one near Burkliplatz. For locations, go to their website at http://www.heimatwerk.ch.

Madler Leather, 26 Bahnhofstrasse - beautiful leather wallets, handbags and luggage. Much, much bigger selection than Bally IMO.

Teddy's Souvenir shop, 34 Limmatquai - a great kitschy souvenir place on the river on the right bank of the old town, below the Grossmunster church. My favourite thing is the CD of Swiss music, you cannot help but laugh every time you listen to it, it is so jolly. They have Swiss knives and all kinds of other gift items. They open at like 7 am.

There are department stores, but I don’t see the point in going to a departement store in Zurich, they have the same stuff as at home, only more expensive, plus 7.5% tax....

Also, as my threads mention, there is a farmers market every Tuesday and Friday morning from 7 am – 11m in the Burkliplatz right near the lake. This is a very good market for great Swiss cheeses, and to gawk at the vegetables, meat, etc. You may find it enjoyable just to see the freshness, quality (and prices) of the stuff and the fact that Zurich women actually shop with wicker baskets...it’s also a very short walk from there over to the Fraumunster church to see the Chagall windows as the morning light hits them when they are at their best.

You don’t mention when your trip is, but from April 1 there is a flea market every Saturday in Burkiliplatz from about 8 am – 4 pm. Lots of stuff on offer, I like it for the wooden alpenstock walking sticks (no Swiss wants them anymore they all want the telescoping waling poles) old Swiss maps and prints, etc. Its worth a walk round if you are there on a Saturday.

Ferries run on a very very abbreviated scheduled between October 1 and April 1, generally not more than about 2 times a day and mostly just down to Thalwil about halfway down the lake, but check the schedules or ask at your hotel. If you get a warm sunny day, a ferry trip down the lake is quite nice, see my threads above on some places to go.

Finally, if you are in Zurich on a Saturday evening, at 7 pm all the church bells in Zurich ring for 15 minutes. For some strange reason I always found this strangely moving. I would not rearrange your schedule around it, but if you are in the old town area, it is a lovely thing to hear as there are many churches in the old town.


Otherwise, please search for my threads, and let me know if you have any particular item you are looking for, or anything in particular you want to do. What hotel are you staying at?


http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...hText=utliberg


http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...rchText=zurich

Cicerone, I will be staying at the Park Hyatt. It looks rather nice. I do appreciate your response to my post you have a wealth of information. Would you suggest taking home to the States Swiss Chocolate as a small affordable gifts for friends and family?

I think Swiss chocolates make a very nice gift and you can get them in all sizes; although these days you can even order them for delivery in and to the US and can save yourself some of the trouble of having to carry them back with you....take a look at http://www.spruengli.ch, or www.teuscher.com, two of the best chocolate makers in Switzerland, IMO.

My favourite chocolate shop in Zurich is Teuscher, it has great chocolate, is a wonderful little shop, and is on a lovely street in the old town. The address is Storchengasse 9. (They also have a shop quite close to the main train station at 104 Bahnhofstrasse (Cafe Felix) and one further down toward the lake 64 Bahonfstrasse, that are open on Sundays.) Take a look at www.teuscher.com.

Another very good place to go, because in addition to chocloate it has wonderful pastries and excellent hot chocolate, is Cafe Schober/Cafe Felix, which is also operated by Teuscher and is across the river in the Niederdorf section of the old town. It is at Napfgasse 4. It’s a beautiful tiny shop and tea room cafe in a restored mediavel building. This is a great place to stop for a pastry in the afternoon (bring money).

The most famous shop which touists know is the Sprungli shop on the Bahnhofstrasse, at 21 Bahnhofstrasse. They have a large shop insdie selling choclate and their famous Luxemburgerli (you might want to try these instead of chocloates for a gift). This also has an outdoor cafe with ice cream, coffee, etc and also a restaurant upstairs that is good if the weather is bad. It is not far from the Fraumunster, is just a few blocks up from the lake, and is across the street from the Madler leather shop I mentioned in my first post. It is at Paradaplatz, a major tram intersection. It is a pleasant place to sit outdoors and have a hot chocolate or an ice cream and watch the street life in Zurich.

Many Swiss would consider chocolates that are more than 2-3 days old to be no longer “fresh”, up to you whether you would too. If you want to get them really “fresh” before you leave, there are several Sprungli outlets at the airport, they are open every day from early in the morning until late in the evening, and there are two in the main train station in Zurich as well, they are also open on Sundays. (There is one at the Zurich Enge station that is open on Sunday as well.)

The Hyatt is a very nice hotel, it is not in the charming old town area, but Zurich is quite small, and you can walk or tram to these areas quite easily. It is very close to the lake which is nice, and is an easy walk to the Burkliplatz farmers market. If you are arriving at the airport and your husband’s company is paying for the taxi from the airport, then no worries about the exorbitant cost; however, if you are paying for your own transport and are arriving by train or at the airport, I would suggest you take the train to the Zurich Enge station and walk from there, this is much closer than going to the main train station in Zurich (the Hautbahnhof; there are 4 train stations in Zurich, most tourists only know about the main one). I can give you directions if you want to do this, the walk would take something more than 5 minutes. If you have a lot of luggage, you could also take a cab from the Zurich Enge station in about 2-3 minutes, this would cost about US$15, versus the US$30 from the main train station or the US$75 from the airport for the 15-minute trip (welcome to Switzerland). (Train fare from the airport to Zurich main station or to Zurich Enge is the same.)

Based on your hotel location, you probably will want to get a Zurich Card for your stay as you will probably be using the tram quite a bit. This card includes a round- trip to and from the airport on the train, free use of all public transportation in Zurich (trams and certain ferries), free admission to many museums, 50% off the walking tour I mentioned on my first thread, and the rail trip to Utlieberg. The Zurich Card costs CH15 (US$12) for a 24-hour card and CH30 (US$26) for a 72-hour card. You can buy them at all the train stations in Zurich, at the airport, and at the Bellevue tram stop. As the fare to and from the airport is CH11.60 (US$9), and individual tram trips are US$3 each, the Zurich Card is a usually good deal as you get all that plus the walking tour (which is US$16) and museum admissions. For further information on the Zurich Card, visit the city's official website at: http://www.zuerich.com/zurich_az/en/zuerichcard.php

Cicerone,

Thank you once again for your time. I am impressed with all the information you have passed on to me. I will be on my way Thurday, after Zurich I will go to Cairo for four days. I am looking forward to my travels.