Zurich Help, Please
 

I arrive in Zurich on an early Friday afternoon in mid-April from Vienna; so, no jet lag. I have the afternoon, and most of the following Saturday to bide my time before our daughter's orchestra concert Saturday evening. Strolling the Bahnhofstrasse is only somewhat appealing; I'm not a trend shopper, so upmarket and exclusive window shopping does not appeal to me. I will not have a car, and am lodging in the city proper and very comfortable with public transportation.

What can I do with my time? I'm game for a good museum/market or city walk; I won't necessarily bring clothes for a day hike outside the city unless I need them, in which case I will need to return to Zurich by 17:00 or so. Restaurant suggestions would be most appreciated, too. A spa day or something that requires me to sit still won't work though, I'm afraid. I'm an early bird, as well, so I am not adverse to rising early if there is something to see or do.

Thanks, in advance.

Have you checked Fodor's destination guide? Click on "DESTINATIONS" above (top left, just under "Fodor's"), scroll down to the list of cities, and click on Zurich. You'll find lots of information.

Enjoy!

It isonlynan hour by train to Luzern. Stroll Zurich on Friday ( be sure to see the Chagall stained glass at Frauenmunster before it closes, I think at 6 pm). We like Mere Catherinein thenAltstadt for fresh modern Mediterranean food in a lovely little patio,

Then on Saturday you can head to Luzern and explore there.

You can always head down to "needle park" and see how some of the other half lives.

Here are some 'tours' you can take to kill a day. I would not be training off to another city without at least giving Zurich a chance.

http://www.viator.com/zurich-tours/d...f=02&aid=g2425

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/switzerl...h/things-to-do

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...ch-TG-C-1.html

Bring lots of money as it is very expensive in Zurich! It is one city that the airline that I fly for goes into but most of us avoid the layover because of how expensive it is to eat,drink and do things!Beautiful city so walk around to take in the city along possibly taking the lake cruise which is lovely!

kja, thank you. I have looked through the Zurich guide here; I posted with the hopes of discovering something outside of the usual.

enzian, thank you for the restaurant recommendation. The menu makes me hungry!

Rastaguy, thank you for the links to tours. The virtualtourist page was informative.

dutyfree, thank you. The orchestra association moves around the various international schools each year; while Zurich wouldn't be my first choice (because it is so expensive), I lived in DC and now in Vienna, so "expensive" is a term I am familiar with!

> I posted with the hopes of discovering something outside of the usual

Have you seen these ideas?
http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/a8632/6/

And the tips in the "Things To Do" category are not bad, either ;-) Thanks, kja, for posting the link to my page. I think you can easily fill two days in Zürich. Many activities are free, others included in the Zürich Card, which I recommend to purchase (free rides on the transportation network, including the mountain railways and funiculars).

Thanks, everyone. I think I have plenty of information to organize my time well in Zurich.

- Pestalossi Park

- Police Department - go in to view amazing wall and celing paintings by Augusto Giacometti

- Schipfe Street

- Lindenhof

- St. Peterskirche - Dating from the early 13th century, Zürich's oldest parish church has the largest clock face in Europe. A church has been on this site since the 9th century. The existing building has been considerably expanded over the years: styles range from a Romanesque choir to a Baroque nave. The tower, for example, was extended in 1534, when the clock was added.

- Roman Bath and Weinplatz

- Rathausbrucke

- Conditorei Schober

- Grossmunster (Great Church) - Romanesque and Gothic cathedral. Executed on the plump twin towers (circa 1781) are classical caricatures of Gothic forms bordering on the comical. The core of the structure was built in the 12th century on the site of a Carolingian church dedicated to the memory of martyrs Felix and Regula, who allegedly carried their severed heads to the spot. Charlemagne is said to have founded the church after his horse stumbled over their burial site. On the side of the south tower an enormous stone Charlemagne sits enthroned; the original statue, carved in the late 15th century, is protected in the crypt. In keeping with what the 16th-century reformer Zwingli preached from the Grossmünster's pulpit, the interior is spare, even forbidding, with all luxurious ornamentation long since stripped away. The only artistic touches are modern: stained-glass windows by Augusto Giacometti, and ornate bronze doors in the north and south portals, dating from the late 1940s.

- Fraumunster (Church of Our Lady) - Stainedglass windows by Marc Chagall - Of the church spires that are Zürich's signature, the Fraumünster's is the most delicate, a graceful sweep to a narrow spire. It was added to the Gothic structure in 1732; the remains of Louis the German's original 9th-century abbey are below. Its Romanesque choir is a perfect spot for meditation beneath the ocher, sapphire, and ruby glow of the 1970 stained-glass windows by the Russian-born Marc Chagall, who loved Zürich. The Graubünden sculptor Alberto Giacometti's cousin, Augusto Giacometti, executed the fine painted window, made in 1930, in the north transept.

- Paradeplatz

- Lake Zurich

- Great view of city - Take the Polybahn funicular to the ETH terrace

- Wasserkirche (Water Church) - One of Switzerland's most delicate late-Gothic structures, this church displays stained glass by Augusto Giacometti. Both the church and the Helmhaus once stood on the island on which martyrs Felix and Regula supposedly lost their heads.

- Rathaus (Town Hall)- Zürich's striking Baroque government building dates from 1694-98. Its interior remains as well preserved as its facade: there's a richly decorated stucco ceiling in the banquet hall and a fine ceramic stove in the council room.

- Steamboat to Rapperwil - Lakeside town at southern tip of Lake Zurich, Rose gardens, promenade, lovely town with pedestrian town square, castle, and parish church with deer park, known as the town of Roses for its gardens (especially on the Cappuchin Monestary grounds)

- Botanischer Garten - Filled with works of the Impressionists

- Uetliberg - View Zurich from above, take the excursion train that climbs from main train station to this little mountain peak, high atop the city and the lake

- Friedhof Fluntern (Fluntern Cemetery) James Joyce's grave