One Day in Zurich
 

I don't read too much about things to do in Zurich...is it just a big city, or does it have a lot of character? We have one day in Zurich (a Saturday) coming up in two weeks...anybody have any advice? Is the old town section worth seeing? Thanks.

It is not that big of city but does have some character.......a nice lake, some museums, some nice churches, the old town is definitely good to wander around for a few hours.....one or two days is probably optimal time to visit Zurich for a tourist.

Please do a search on Zurich, we have a few Zurich experts here who have posted at lenght on the same question

I'd consider taking a quick look at Zurich and hopping the train for a 45-min ride to Lucerne, a small enough city to manage in one day and one of Europe's most most most beautiful cities, setting on a lake girdled by Alps and a roaring river running thru it. Train station in heart of town.

Zurich has always seemed rather boring to me - especially if only have time for an emphemeral look over.

Go upstairs at SPRUNGLI on Bahnhofstrasse for coffee and cake. Old section + cathedral (& spire) good for 2 hours. Dinner: Kronenhalle Restaurant for wiener schnitzel and real art on the walls (Picasso, Miro, Chagall, etc.)

Zürich boring? Come on. Only to those who look for the superficial and not beyond.

http://www.zuerich.com shows tours on foot and by other means, and much more

www.kulturinfo.ch/museum/index.html for arts and theater and museums and such

www.museum-gestaltung.ch/E_welcome.html if design interests you

www.kunsthaus.ch/ ("art house" - the major art museum)

switzerland.isyours.com/e/guide/zurich/rietberg.html about the Rietberg museum

www.frommers.com/destinations/zurich/A22036.html is about the Landesmuseum right behind the central train station

<a href="http://www.museumoskarreinhart.ch"ta...t;>Reinhart Museum (click)</a> is a famous collection by Oskar Reinhart - a short train ride away in nearby Winterthur

If you care to read up on the history, on reformator Zwingli, on the Dada movement, and many other high points throughout time, you will find many more items and landmarks of significance in Zürich, and there is the old city core around the cathedral (Grossmünster) of course, and the Tonhalle concert hall, and the Zürichberg and the Uetliberg, two mini-mountains with great views, and the lake (timetables at www.zsg.ch/english/home.html) on and on.

<Zürich boring? Come on. Only to those who look for the superficial and not beyond>

Wally - i was remiss to make such a blanket statement - this was based on my first few times there years ago and thus i put myself in the eyes of someone who has one day and can really only look for the superficial.

But i now find Zurich fascinating but still think the casual first time traveler would enjoy Luzern more.

So i qualify my boring statement, which was obviously foolish.

This spring I had a layover of a few hours in Zurich, so I took a train into the old town (about 15 minutes from airport) and found it to be surprisingly charming. It has a beautiful lakefront and many historic buildings. I had a delicious lunch at the Zeughaukeller (or something like that) on the main street -- William Tell's crossbow is mounted on the wall, as are some more modern pieces of field artillery. Certainly the best-defended lunch I have ever eaten!

I'm a fan of Lucerne myself but I think Zuerich has been underestimated. It has a very attractive old town with meandering alleys & shops/restaurants on the west side of the river that's fun to explore during the day. In the evening you have to go to the east side of the river. The Niederdorf area is best enjoyed on the weekends when the university students flock to the bars & restaurants. It remains lively late into the night.

The downside of Zurich is that it's considerably more expensive to overnight there compared to what you can get in Lucerne, however you'll save train ticket money & time when you stay in Zurich.