Hi everybody!

I am going to spend two days in Zurich over Christmas (making the best of a connection to Paris!) I am a young single woman traveling alone, so I'd like to stay in a safe area that's walkable to sights, shops, etc.

1. I am planning to do 4 days in Paris and two in Zurich.. but would you recommend Zurich? (I have options.)
2. Where would you recommend I stay? I can't seem to determine if downtown or City Center is the area I am seeking.
3. Any inexpensive hotel suggestions? (at/around $100 USD per night.)

Thanks so much!!

Zurich is really expensive and not many hotels in the $100 range, of course I'm thinking 'doubles'.
We stayed at Hotel Leoneck, which is walkable from the train station (up a hill). Our twin/dbl room was more like $140 (185sf), quiet and clean. The hotel has a bit of a 'cow' theme in the design, but it was fine.
Next time, we're going to try the Alexander Guest House, which is in the old town section (could be noisy). It seems to be about 1 step up from a hostel, but is reputedly clean and closer to the $100 price (dbls).

There are loads of hotels in Paris at $100 espec if you are seeking a single room. You can enter 'hotel' and 'Paris', select France in the dropdown, and Find - many, many comments about hotels will be listed.

sorry.. I didn't realize this did post the first time trying!!

Today's (Sunday) New York Times has a feature on Zurich. Lots of info; maybe what you want to know. I just glanced at it.

Try nytimes.com

BAK

Hello Red!

My daughter and I spent a couple of days (New Year's Eve and New Year's Day) in Zurich last year. We enjoyed ourselves, took in a wonderful New Year's celebration, and an opera performance (beautiful opera house!).

If you stay near the City Center (near the Limmat River) you should have no problems. We felt very safe in the areas and along Bahnhofstrasse (shopping district) while we were there. We arrived by train, and relied on the public transportation system while we were there (no problems, quite safe).

We did find quite a few businesses / locations closed, but that was to be expected on the holidays as we chose. We had stayed in Italy, and found prices in Zurich to be a bit higher than what we experienced in Italy.

You may have to do some serious looking for hotels in your price range, but I think they can be found. We were able to stay in the Marriott Hotel (Neumuehlequai 42, just a couple blocks from the Limmat and train station) we had a double room for $100 USD per night. It wasn't your typical Swiss hotel - but it was in our budget, safe and comfortable...

Red, ... you said you have options...
Which options do you have?

My options would be to just go directly to Paris for the 6-7 days instead of stopping in Zurich.

Thanks for the suggestions.. I hadn't though about what might be closed, so I'll need to look into that. I can certainly go up to $150 USD if needed.. I do want to stay in walking distance of the downtown area, so I would be willing to pay a little more to get that (probably either that, or rent a car/taxi it around anyways) and I'd rather walk!!

Thanks!

Hi reddattitude,

I think most folks will suggest you go on to Paris because you can never have enough time in Paris!!

But just in case you decide to spend a few days in Zurich, I have a few suggestions.

One would be to check out a smaller town on the lake like Kuessnacht, Meilen, or Rapperswil. I've stayed in Kuessnacht a few times, and I absolutely fell in love with Rapperswil the afternoon I was there. Rapperswil has a wonderful plaza ringed with shops & restaurants right at the lake's edge. One reason to do this is that you're more likely to find a cheaper hotel, or maybe a lakeview room for the price of a non-view room in Zurich. One hotel I've selected for a future stay is the Hirschen am See in Meilen (www.hirschen-meilen.ch), with singles at 175 chf for a lakeview. Of course, that'll mean even fewer things will be open, but if you find an open hotel you'll be able to eat there and spend your days walking the pretty streets and promenades.

Another option would be to go to Luzern. Though it's a large city, the lakeside area and the old town are charming enough to make you forget that. Luzern is only about an hour from Zurich and has a direct link to the airport, so it should still be convenient for you. You'll be able to walk everywhere in Luzern. Do a text search here, as there have been loads of posts on it.

A final thought -- no matter where you stay, you probably won't need any taxis. There is a wonderful S-Bahn that links all the towns on the lake, and there are trams & buses in Zurich; you can verify the schedule over the holidays at www.rail.ch. you can also check the website www.zsg.ch to see if the ferries are operating on Christmas day.

Let me know if I can help further!

s

Redattitude, you can never have too many days in Paris but Christmas in Zurich has its attractions too. If you do choose to stay the two days I would stay in Zurich and day trip to Lucerne. The decorations in Zurich are lovely, the lights on the main shopping street, Bahnhofstrasse, are really nice. As swandav says, the public transport all over Switzerland is blissful and when coupled with the fact that taxis are mega expensive, public transport is all you need. Even if you don't catch a train, go into the main train station in Zurich, the Hauptbahnhof, because that is where the main Christmas market is. Last year there was a really good tree, an ice skating rink and lots of little stalls selling Christmassy things. The Adler Hotel in the old town is a good place to stop for fondue, they are very tourist friendly. The old town is great for wandering around. The only proviso is that if this is actually over Christmas day or very near, hardly anything will be open in Zurich or Lucerne.

Be aware everything will be closed from about midday Weds. Dec 24 thru and including Friday Dec. 26. Stores will open again on Saturday Dec 27 till 4, then everything is closed till Monday.

I would not recommend coming during those dates. It will be very depressing.
Jan 1 & 2 are also holidays with everything closed in Zurich canton.

Skip Zurich and go to Paris.

My dates are 12/24 - 12/31 (no control on that due to my last minute decision.) If everything's closed in Zurich 12/24 - 12/27, then it probably doesn't make sense for me to stop there (I would be there 12/25 - 12/26, and leaving 12/27.) Darn!!

Thanks everyone for your feedback!

Awww, just when I found you a cheap room (used Best Western website and found this hotel for 110 Swiss Francs / $84 US - Best Western Hotel Krone Unterstrass Schaffhauserstrasse 1).

To be honest, Queenie is quite right. Based on my experience during the holidays, things were pretty quiet over New Years, and I would assume that they are even more quiet on Christmas. You will probably find more to do in Paris over the time that you are traveling as it is a bit more secular. That has been my experience over Christmas and Easter holidays in France - quite a bit more things open...

Wow! Thanks Ken for doing that! I'm sure I'll make it to Zurich sometime soon, and this will be great information! Thanks again!

BAK- the NY Times article is excellent! Just what I was looking for! Now I can save it for my next trip! Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions and time!

My husband and I just returned from 10 days in Europe (3 in Zurich; 7 in Paris).

We stayed at Hotel Adler and would highly recommend it. A superior double was around $170 US. I think they have some specials (lower rates) for this month. Each room is painted with a mural of a Zurich landmark. The staff was very helpful and friendly. They offer complimentary Internet service on the first floor. We ate at hotel restaurant the first night. It was OK, but we liked the ZEUGHAUSKELLER better. We took a city tour by bus the first afternoon of our trip. We were dead tired from the all night flight and were trying to stay awake until bedtime. Our tourguide walked our entire tour several blocks to this restaurant just to show the two of us where to dine. We sat next to 2 young men from the Italian/Swiss Alps and they were delightful.

I felt totally safe everwhere we walked. I went out on my own to shop one afternoon along the Bahnhofstrasseup and all around. I shopped at Sprungli and had a huge box of chocolates shipped home for Christmas gifts. The shipping was rather pricey, as I asked for it to be shipped on 12/3 for 1-2 day delivery. It actually arrived the very next day. The items are beautifully wrapped (again at a premimium price), but very unique gifts.

We also took a one day trip to Lucerne and a glacier. It was interesting and a good way to see something other than a big city.

The Christmas market at the train station was about to open as we left for Paris. it looked interesting, too.
The lights and Christmas decorations all around were beautiful. It was a great time of year to visit.

If you decide on Zurich, I don't think you will be disappointed.