I love to see different gardens when we travel and I have read a little about the Chinese Garden in Zurich. Has anyone from Fodors been there? Is it worth the visit?

It's a nice, if long walk down the lake to get to the garden, but the garden itself is not particularly interesting IMO. I have to preface this by saying that I live in Hong Kong now, and also lived here before I moved to Zurich so was expecting more of the garden. It has a very pretty Chinese style gate and walls and some pavillions, but I don't recall any plantings of particular interest. I think the main problem is that as the climate is not anything like Kunming, the city which donated the garden, so many of the plants and flowers which you would find in Kunming don't grow well there (or at all) so its kind of disappointing if you have been to Kunming (which I would recommend you do if you like gardens.) Finally, if your trip is anytime other than from about late May through late September, there won't be much blooming, so it may not be worth the trip. It does however have a nice aspect on the lake and on a clear day you would get a good Alp view from the lake.

To get there, you can take the #4 or #2 tram a good bit of the way down Seefeldstrasse from the main town areas (I could look up the exact stop you want or your hotel should be able to tell you), and then walk over to the garden on the lake about 2-3 blocks. Otherwise, you could walk all the way down the lake from the old town, it is probably 2.5 miles, a pleasant walk. I believe there is a public walkway along the lake the entire way, I am going from memory on this, you may have to skirt around a private house or two but basically it is a straight shot down the lake. I don't believe there are any ferries that stop near the garden, again check with the hotel. There is a pretty good restaurant called the Fischstube nearby which has a terrace on the lake (go to http://www.fischstube.ch/) , there are also some restaurants on Seefeld.

If you only have a day or two in the city, IMO it may not be worth taking several hours out of it to see this garden. You might be better off focusing on the old town itself, which has some lovely parts. There is a farmers' market from April through October on Tuesday and Friday mornings from about 7 – 10 am in Burkliplatz, down on the lake by the ferry piers, where you could see local flowers from the farms, that might be more interesting. Also, if you are there in the summer, don't forget to look up at the window boxes and roof terraces when walking around town, the amount of flowers and plants the Swiss manage to cram into tiny spaces will amaze you.

Cicerone,
Thanks so much for your advice. We only have two days. I have the market on my agenda and the old town to walk but maybe the garden would not be worth the time. Are there ferry rides on the lake that you know of. Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Ferries don't generally start running on the lake until June 1, I think from your other posts that your trip is in mid-May so it is unlikely that they will be running. Just re-check this with your hotel. If they are running, and you get a clear day, really any trip down the lake is nice, a good trip is all the way down to Raperswil, which has a nice little old town and a rose garden, and a castle on a hill (the castle is not much inside). You can then take a train back if you want, as the ferry takes like 2.5 hours and you may not want to give that much time (train takes about 30 minutes). Otherwise any ferry going down the lake and back is a nice ride, a place like Thalwil would take about 40 minutes and would give you nice Alp and lake views. You could have lunch there and then get the next ferry back. There are two good restaurants right on the water, one more casual Italian to the right of the piers about 100 meters down the main road along the lake at 25 Seestrasse (http://www.seerestaurant-tracht.ch), one more expensive but very good European restaurant in the Alexander Zum See hotel about 200 meters down the road at 182 Seestrasse, to the left of the piers (go to http://www.alexander-am-see.ch/). Both have outdoor terraces if you get a good day.

If the ferries are not running and you get a good day, another fun thing to do is to take the little red train up the highest hill in Zurich (the Utliberg) and see the great Alp, lake and Zurich views from there, if it is really clear you can see to Germany. You can get this train from the main train station, for info go to szu.ch, most of this is in German; but you can buy tickets at the main train station, just ask for tickets for Utliberg. (You can also see schedules for trains on the Swiss Rail site at rail.ch by putting in Utliberg as your destination and Zurich as your starting point.) The train also stops at the Selnau station kind of near the lower end of the Banhofstrasse, so if you are staying at say the Park Hyatt this stop would be better, ask at your hotel. The trip takes about 20 minutes. At the top you need to walk up for another 10 minutes or so and then there are even better views and even a tower to climb for even higher views. There is a nice hotel with with a good restaurant and a more informal sort of bratwurst place, both nice for lunch. (Go to http://www.utokulm.ch/english/restaurant) There are some nice walks in this area, you might ask your hotel if they have suggestions, or go to the tourist office in the main train station and see if they have brochures.

An old town walk should really be on your list of course, if you do the farmers market at Burkliplatz in the morning, then after that I would head to the Fraumunster which is very close by so you can see the Chagall windows in the morning light when they are really at their best as the morning sun hits them. I believe the church opens at about 9:30 or 10 am, check a guidebook. There are several bakeries in the farmers market where you can buy croissants and bread and there is usually a cafe with coffee so you can have breakfast outdoors in the market (or walk down to the lake where there are benches); or the wonderful and famous Sprungli cafe and shop is just up the Bahnhofstrasse on the left (21 Bahnhofstrasse) about 150 meters from the market and they have hot breakfasts (usually upstairs if it is warm they may be serving outside on the street) and of course great hot chocolate. Sprungli is parallel with the Fraumunster which is on the river a block over, you can see the front of the church from the cafe. (You will pass Madler leather across the street on the way to the church, stop in if you want, bring lots of money, really beautiful leather bags, luggage, wallets, etc.) From the Fraumunster, you can stay on that side of the river and see the old town area near St Peters Square, the Lidenhof, etc and then work your way across the river to the Grossmunster, climb the tower for the view there and see that side of the old town, which has antique book shops and lots of little streets with shops.

The Fodors guide to Switzerland actually has a good walking tour set out in their book, you could use that as a guide (may have to reverse things a bit working from the Fraumunster, most walking tours start from the main train station.)

A good map of Zurich would help make your trip a bit easier, if you don't have one there is a tourist office in the main train station that has good maps.

I believe there are walking tours of the old town in English on Saturdays at 11 am & 3 pm. They cost about US$15 and last about 2 hours. You don’t need a reservation, just show up at the tourist service office in the main train station a few minutes before the tour. They may be offered on other days as well. For information, go to http://www.zuerich.com/sightseeing

For indoor activities, the Landmuseum (history museum) is interesting, although I would skip the first exhibits about pre-historic Zurich and go to the medieval parts as I think they are more interesting. This is behind the main train station. The porcelain museum (Zunfthaus Zur Meisen) next door to the Fraumunster is actually very interesting, can be "done" in about an hour, and is in a beautiful barouqe building. The town hall (Rathaus) along the river on the other side from the Fraumunster and down a few yards is also very interesting, it is only open a few hours a day, check the guidebooks. The Kunsthuas art musuem has a very good collection, I believe it has or is bout to re-open after a major renovation which closed it for most of 2005, check the website at kunsthaus.ch. This is just up the hill from the Grossmunster church. The E. G. Bührle Collection is a great collection of 18th and 19th century art, including many impressionist paintings. Take a look at http://www.buehrle.ch. This has somewhat limited opening hours. This is a bit out of the main town area, but it is a nice tram ride through a residential part of the city. The Rietburg is all Asian art which may not be of interest to you..

Hi aj,

You can get ferry information here: http://www.zsg.ch/fahrplan/zvv.html

Sorry, it's not in English though!

s