(7) Hours in Zurich 1PM to 8PM what can we do?
 

In late March we will be coming down from Davos and will have (7) or (8) hours. Any suggestions on what we should we do in ZURICH while wait for our overnight train to Budapest?

Thank you,

From the central station (Hauptbahnhof), walk southwards along the river Limmat. After 700 yards, you reach the Old Town where you can stroll right and left into side streets with picturesque old houses (the main part of the Old Town is on the other side of the river). There you find the large churches (Grossmünster on the eastern bank of the Limmat and Fraumünster - with Chagall windows - on the western bank of the Limmat).

Walk back to the station along Bahnhofstraße, the main shopping venue (or take the tram).

Another option is the Landesmuseum (Swiss Historical Museum) just next to the train station.

In the evening, you may have an early dinner. Kaufleuten is a good bet or, for an atmospheric place, Alpenrose (north of the central station).

www.kaufleuten.com
http://www.zuerich.com/en/page.cfm/r...5_Zuerich_West

Thank you for a perfect brief introduction to Zurich :)

Any other ideas?
Thanks

From the Main RR station (Hauptbahnhof) take the regional train up to the 'local' mountain Uetliberg (just 20 minutes) for fantastic views above the city and views of the snowy peaks in the distance (walk up well-marked paths about 15 minutes)..There is a resturant up above, or depending on the weather, take a picnic.
At 3 pm everyday is a walking city tour which introduces you to the highlights of the city-about 20 Francs. Takes 2 hours.
Visit Augustinergasse and Napfgasse/Niederdorfgasse, quaint cobbled lanes...You'll have fun--I just got back 6 days ago!

Hi Mokka, will you please email me information on the walking tour? Thank you!

Begins at the Tourist Information Office within the Hauptbahnof at 3 PM, but you must reserve your spot and pay at least 15 minutes earlier, inside the office. Of course, staff there speak english. This walking tour lasts 2 hours and hits the "big spots", ie: Bahnhofstrasse, Rathaus, Niederdorfstrasse (Altstadt), Grossmunster, Fraumunster, Lindenhof (no insides of buildings, that's up to you, if desired afterwards). Costs 20 CHF (or 10 if you have bought a 24 hour Zurichcard to cover local transportation and museum entrances). Conducted usually in english and german, to suit the clients in the crowd.
Hope this helps!

Have not been to this city, but given the research I've done, looks like you're getting excellent advice thus far.

In addition to the suggestions above, there's also a zoo, a general art museum (Kunsthaus Zurich), and some smaller specialty museums such as the Museum Reitberg (non-European art), Foundation E.G. Buhrle (small house-type art museum, biggest drawback is that it's open only day per month!), and Museum Bellerive (applied arts).

Would definitely recommend looking at a listing of attractions:

Frommer's

http://www.frommers.com/destinations...9_indattr.html

Fodor's

http://www.fodors.com/world/europe/s...ch/sights.html

Some thoughts and suggestions:

1. Much as I love Zurich (I used to live there), I don’t understand why you need to spend 7 hours there waiting for a train, esp in winter. Perhaps I am missing something. First of all, you don’t need to go all the way back to Zurich to get a train going to Budapest. You can get to Budapest from Sargans, which is significantly closer to Davos. There is a train which goes from Sargans to Budapest and requires no changes. (This is the SAME train that I believe you are planning to go all the way back to Zurich to get, the EN 467). It departs Sargans at 11:37 pm. You can take a train from Davos to Sargans (one change required at Landquart), it departs Davos at 9 pm. That would give you the <i>whole day</i> in Davos. For reasons I don’t understand, you seem to have yourself departing Davos at Noon to get to Zurich at 2:30 pm to then hang around Zurich for 8 hours. Only to then go back in the same direction, past Davos and on to Budapest.

(If you want a little bit more time to make the change in Landquart, then take the 8 pm train from Davos, this will give you an hour in Landquart to make the connection to Sargans. However, in my experience, a 10 minute connection is completely doable, even with luggage. Swiss trains are fantastically on time.)

If you are driving to get the train to Budapest, then just drop the car in Sargans (or possibly Chur which is even closer to Davos and is a large town and has car rental offices). I really would not drive all the way back to Zurich in winter to drop off a car

2. If for some reason you have to go back to Zurich (does your ticket somehow require this? I am confused about this), then I assume you are taking the 10:40 pm EN 467 night train to Budapest. I don’t see the need to go back to Zurich so early. There are hourly trains from Davos to Zurich basically all day; I would think you could take like the 7:02 pm train from Davos, which will put you into Zurich about an hour before your train to Budapest. So then no need to spend time in Zurich, dealing with storing luggage, etc.

3. If for some reason you actually <i>want</i> to spend 7-8 hours in Zurich in March, well that of course is up to you. However, you might want to leave Davos earlier so that you would have more daylight time in Zurich, and before things like museums and shops will close. Most museums tend to close around 6 pm, fun things like the tower in the Gross Munster cathedral close around then too.

4. If your travel day is a Sunday, note that most shops, and many restaurants, in Zurich (and elsewhere in Switzerland) are closed on Sundays. Museums are open. Shops in the train station are open. But generally you will find many things shut. In warm weather this may not be such an issue, but in March it could be tough to have that much time in the cold. Many museums are closed on Mondays, so check this if you plan to be there on a Monday.

5. For some ideas of things to do in Zurich, look for “One Day in Zurich” at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-zurich-2.cfm and “2 Days in Zurich” at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...n-zurich-1.cfm. For restaurant suggestions see “Dining in Zurich” at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...uggestions.cfm And for souvenir shopping see “Quick Souvenir Spots for Zurich” at http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...for-zurich.cfm. Finally, you might also try http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...o-in-march.cfm but these suggestions may be for longer trips than you want and are oriented toward children in March.

6. Finally, I would also throw out the idea of taking the <i>day</i> train to Budapest, as the scenery will really be lovely. There is an 8 am departure from Davos which will route you through Salzburg and then on to Budapest with a 10 pm arrival. Much of this would really be a gorgeous trip in March when everything should be in snow, and you will be in the mountains. The day train takes the same time as the night train. Although you will “lose” a day, it would be quite a pleasant one, IMO. You can eat meals on board and just relax, read, listen to the IPod and watch the countryside go by on the superfast Railjet. It’s hard for me to imagine a better way to travel. I have passed the age when I think night trains are fun!

By the way, I don’t see any 8 pm departure from Zurich for Budapest. There are several trains which depart at 6:18 rain (which require 1-3 changes to get to Budapest), and then the 10:40 pm direct night train. I don’t see any 8 pm departure on the rail.ch schedule for March.

Hi Cicerone - we have not purchased our 10PM overnight train ride from Zurich to Budapest yet so we may consider staying in the Alps.

We may leave from Sargans or Chur we have not looked at train schedules yet, we will not have a car we are using public transportation.

Once we figure out which of the two places we are leaving from we may start a new post.

We did not realize there was an overnight train avail in the alps. we prefer an overnight train as our holiday time is limited and we want to spend our waking hours immersed in europe.

Thank you!

Hi Cicerone, (I meant the 10:40 train) another option as you mentioned above is taking a later train from Davos to Zurich. thank you so much for your input we have some thinking to do.

I also lived in Zurich for 4 years and I think you got some good ideas here on things to see. I don't know where you are from, but we find the weather in Zurich actually kind of mild compared to the northeast of the US, so unless it is raining, you may find March just fine for strolling around this charming city.

We just left 3 weeks ago so are missing the lake, the mountain views, the cafes and coffee shops that abound in this little city.

I would have no problem filling up my day there just walking, maybe hitting an art museum, drinking good coffee and buying some chocolate - my favorite is Laederach. (Well, Cicerone is very right about Sundays being quiet but that is true all over Switzerland.)

gruezi

gruezi

Wednesday, March 23rd 12pm is checkout date from our hotel in Davos. You have ALL given us many options, thank you!

"Gruezi" we are from Southern California and if it is not raining in Zurich like you said then we feel a day of strolling around the city will be well worth our time.

dear donna,

Yes and I see that is a Wednesday so there will be things to see/do and then you can have an early drink/dinner - many good options for that.

Enjoy!

gruezi