Zurich Hotels and Activities
 

Hi All, Couple of questions. We will have a day or two in Zurich en route to Africa. What sights/activities would one recommend for a short visit? Also, for anyone who is familiar with the city, is the Park Hyatt well-located? Here is its address. Park Hyatt Zurich, Beethoven-Strasse 21, 8002 Zurich. Thank you!
Switzerland

Hello

The Park Hyatt is well-located, near the lake and near the centre. It's a very new hotel. But it depends what you looking for, it's for example not in the old town.

What time of year will you be in Zurich? That would affect my reccos. Do you want to see museums or do you like outdoor activities? Are there any kids with you?

Zurich is a very small city, so the Park Hyatt is in a fine location, as mentioned above it is not in the charming old town part of the city, but is walkable to it in about 10-15 minutes. It is in a residential/business district (not high rises, mostly nice late 19th century buildings with a few modern buildings thrown in like the Hyatt). The upside is that it is brand new, quite sleek and modern, is in a very quiet neighbourhood and is about a block from the lake. If you have points this is a good place to stay. If you are looking for Swiss charm on cobblestone streets with neighbourhood restaurants it may not be.

If you will have a lot of luggage for your Africa trip that you won't need in Zurich, and can plan ahead, you might want to leave your larger pieces at the airport. You could then just take smaller luggage into Zurich and use public transport to get to and from the hotel. Because of the hotel's location, you will have a bit of a walk if you take public transport, so this would not be fun with a lot of bags. A taxi to the Hyatt from the airport will run you something like US$70 for a 20 minute ride (welcome to Switzerland); although you could take the train to Zurich Enge station and a taxi from there, that taxi should be about US$10-15 for literally less than a 5 minute ride. There is a manned luggage room and luggage lockers at the airport. Website for the airport is http://www.flughafen-zuerich.ch. (click "EN" in lower right for English.) You should find info there on baggage storage.

Cicerone, thanks for the reply. I will be there the last week in November. No, there won't be any children, and yes, I ask about the Hyatt because of points. I'd like a combination of outdoor as well as cultural. Would also be interested in any charming villages nearby. Thanks!

Zurich is a charming village!! Cobblestone streets, churches, medieval guildhalls, restaurants, a lovely lake, snowy Alps in the distance. .. . .seriously, there are not that many charming villages near to Zurich (one you might consider is below) and in November, and with your short time it would not be worth the time and effort to get to any futher village area. You are a going to be there between seasons, so the mountain villages most likely won't have snow and also won't have any window boxes full of geraniums either. Also in most mountain towns, hotels and restaurants are closed from about mid-October through Christmas. While lower elevation towns like Appenzell are pretty, IMO with only a day or two and potentially iffy weather it is not worth the trouble to get there as they will be more brown than green.

The good news is that Christmas decorations and lights will be up in stores and I believe the lights down the Banhofstrasse go up in mid-November, so Zurich itself should be quite pretty. There will be some Christmas markets running, but I have to say Zurich Christmas markets are not great compared to ones in other European cities so don't expect a whole lot. I would definitely include the area around St Peter's church, a visit to the Fraumunster church, a climb up the tower of the Grossmunster church to get a great view of Zurich, the lake and (if it is a clear day) the Alps.

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 (the Hautbanhof) that has good maps.

If you are there on a Saturday the tourist office has English language guided walking tours 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. For information, e-mail the tourist service at [email protected], or go to http://www.zuerich.com/sightseeing

You can also take your own walking tour. Take a look at the suggested itinerary for Zurich put together by Fodors on this site, click on "Destinations" above and scroll down to Zurich.

If you let me know what hotel you end up at (I see from your other posts that you may not end up at the Hyatt), I can suggest a walking tour from your hotel.

For other activities, I would let the weather be your guide. Take a look at weatherbase.com to get an idea of historical temps. It could be really cold, or sunny and bearable, or raining and miserable.

Once you have seen the town, or if you get a really nice clear day that isn't too cold, then a few sort of day half-day trips to very near-by places you might consider are:

1. You can take a little train to Utliberg, the highest point in Zurich, hike uphill for about 15 minutes and be rewarded with the best view of the lake and Alps. On a clear day, you can see to Germany. The website for the train to Utliberg is szu.ch (there does not seem to be an English version, so I don't know how helpful this will be, you may also find schedules at rail.ch.) The train leaves from the main train station, or you can also pick it up at the Selnau station which is kind of near the lower end of the Banhofstrasse in Zurich. The ride takes about a half hour. There is a hotel at the top with a self-service and full-service restaurant. Take a look at http://www.uetliberg.ch/ There are also some small cafes at the train stop.

2. You can go to Regensberg, which is a tiny medieval village quite near the airport that takes about 10 minutes to see, has a little castle-like fort, one or two minor restaurants, and on a clear day a really beautiful view of the Alps in the far distance and the broad flat valley leading up to them. You first take a train to Dielsdorf (about 15 minutes from Zurich), you then have to take a bus to get up to the town (I think about 10 minutes, I always drove), or you can walk (virtually straight uphill, but you did say you wanted some exercise). I believe you can also walk back to Zurich from Regensberg, your hotel may be able to give you details. Would be mostly flat but would take several hours.

3. You can take the suburban Forchbahn train out of town and walk – basically downhill -- to the Kusnacht area on Lake Zurich where you could have lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants mentioned below, or one you find yourself. You might run into Tina Turner, who has a house here. The town is not especially charming, but its setting on the lake is very nice. The walk would take about 2-3 hours and is mostly through rolling hills and farmland with some lake and alp views. Hard to believe you are so close to Zurich as it is so rural. This is a great walk, just keep following the small yellow signs. After lunch or dinner, you can take a train back to Zurich in about 15 minutes. Go to rail.ch for schedules. (There are a few towns in Switzerland with similar names in different cantons, so make sure you spell it correctly. Kusnacht is in Zurich Canton, i.e. state.)

Restaurant Sonne
Seehotel Sonne
Seestr. 120,
Kusnacht
01/ 914 1818
Website: http://www.sonne.ch/en/hotel.shtml

Le Pavillon
Hotel Ermitage am See
Seestrasse 80
8700 Küsnacht8700
Tel: +41 44 914 42 42
Fax: +41 44 914 42 43

For evening entertainment, you may also find some Christmas concerts and other musical events starting up. There are usually choral and chamber concerts in the evenings at the following churches: St Peters, Augustinkirche, the Grossmunster and the Fraumunster. I could not find listings, you might check with your hotel. These are either free or a nominal price. Sometimes they even have full orchestral masses which are more expensive but really wonderful. For some reason the – website is not showing anything.

If you like opera, the season has begun and the Zurich Opera House is a little jewel. Take a look at http://www.opernhaus.ch/d/index.php, click in the upper middle of the page for English. You can also get ballet tickets.

Finally, if you really want to be a Swiss, you have to go to the Conelli Christmas circus, which starts performances usually in early November. The Swiss are circus-crazy, and in Zurich the Conelli circus comes for the winter and then the Knie circus comes for the summer. It is in German but really that does not matter, you will be able to appreciate it regardless of language. The website is http://www.circus-conelli.ch, and is in German, but your hotel should be able to arrange tickets or you may be able to figure out how to buy on line. If you are interested try to book ASAP as this is very popular.

If the weather is bad (and this is Switzerland, where the amount of rain they get is their dirty little secret along with those numbered bank accounts. . . .) head to one or more of the museums. Museums are open all days (e.g. Sunday) except for the occasional holiday closure. Many have restaurants in them as well. Some to consider:

Rietberg - great collection, they have African art, which may whet your appetite, as well as Asian and other non-European art. Take a look at rietberg.ch

Landesmuseum/National Museum of Swiss History. Take a look at http://www.musee-suisse.ch. This is behind the main train station and would be a good start. You might skip the early part of the collection which is about pre-historic Switzerland, and to go Roman and medieval parts of the collection.

E. G. Bührle Collection - 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.

Zunfthaus Zur Meisen - porcelain museum. In a lovely baroque building next door to the Fraumunster church. Their huge ceramic stoves are worth a short visit. http://www.musee-suisse.com/

Rathaus - town hall. On the river. Beautiful coffered-ceiling meeting rooms. On the right bank of the old town in a lovely area of shops and cafes. The website is in German, but a guidebook or your hotel should be able to tell you the opening hours.

Museum Oskar Reinhart am Stadtgarten - good collection of art by mainly German and Swiss artists. Take a look at http://www.museumoskarreinhart.ch/

Kunsthalle - changing exhibits of young and relatively unknown modern artists. Take a look at http://www.kunsthallezurich.ch/. In the same building as the Wasserkirche (Waterchurch) in the old town on the river)

I would normally recco the Kunsthaus, but virtually the entire museum is shut down until 2006 as they are doing major renovations. Take a look at http://www.kunsthaus.ch.

For a list of all the museums in Zurich, go to http://www.zuerich.com, and click on “Museums & Art” from the left hand menu.

People may tell you to go to Lucerne as it is a charming village. I disagree, it is not much smaller than Zurich and with only a day or two not worth the train trip there. It's one advantage is that it is usually clear enough to have Alp views every day, which you may not get in Zurich. I like Zurich's old town better and it has more museums which in November could be useful.

People may also tell you to go to Rapperswil, a town down the lake which has a castle and a small medieval core. It is kind of charming, but again in November not so much and also one of the pleasure of going there is to take the ferry ride, and the ferries don't run in November. Whether you want to take the train down is up to you.

I can give some restaurant reccos as well, you could also run a search as I have posted quite a bit on that subject.

For Cicerone:

It's so lovely to hear from you these days, I assume from your new digs in Hong Kong? I'm so glad you're still using your great Zurich knowledge to help us all here.

Just a note: the Ermitage has closed down; it was sold as of 1 Oct. You'll see their website is no longer working. My sources say it was sold to the Red Cross, but I haven't confirmed it.

For MarcusBoxer -- I assume you'll be leaving Zurich because of the festival. Consider staying in Basel -- just about an hour by train from the airport (about once an hour there's a direct train, otherwise you change at the main station). But if you want to visit Kusnacht, I recommend the Sonne -- I posted a review with pictures at www.tripadvisor.com.

Good luck!

s

Cicerone,

I just wanted to comment about how helpful your post was to me as well! I've received a lot of valuable help from Swandav (hello!) and others on another website, but was afraid to ask for details here because of the sometimes cutting nature of posters to us "newbies!" I'll be in Zurich for 2 days in December (22-24) with a little 4 1/2 yr old, and although we'll spending part of that time visiting family in St. Gallen, we're going to try to see Zurich as well. We're staying at the Hotel Adler.

Thanks for starting this thread MarcusBoxer!

There's also a zoo in Zürich and a children's zoo (Knie) in Rapperswil.

I heard the zoo in Zurich is great - the one with the Madagascar exhibit (that's also inside, I believe?) We're definitely doing that.

Marcusboxer, excuse me for hijacking your post a bit to respond to some others. I also wanted to say you can look for other musical events like pop, jazz and classical by going to http://www.zuerich.com, and click on “Events".

Gambader, you should confirm the opening hours for the zoo on the 22, 23 and 24, esp the 24 as that is Christmas Eve, things may start shutting down early. You are better off going to the zoo on a weekday anyway, as weekends tend to be jammed. I have not been to the Knie circus museum in Rapperswil, but that would not be a bad idea for kids. It would be sort of on the way to or from St Gallen to Zurich by train or car and they have a castle. (It is definitely on the way if you take the pretty back road drive over the hills and avoid the highway route to St Gallen.) Take a look at www.rapperswil.ch, click on the UK flag for the English version.

St Gallen has a very lovely old town and is near huge Lake Constance/Bodensee so you can spend time in that area as well. There is a little incline railway near the old town which you can take up and then with a short walk be rewarded with excellent lake views and on a clear day some mountain views as well.

If your daughter knows the story of Heidi, you can go to Maienfeld, where the story was set, that would also be about an hour from St Gallen or Zurich. The charming town of Appenzell is very close to St Gallen, less than half an hour I think, and about an hour from Zurich, and with snow and Christmas trees would be very pretty as would the countryside.

If there is snow in the mountains (and there should be quite a bit by Christmas), hopefully your relatives will take you up in the area. I know there are toboggan runs near Zurich and I am assuming there are some near St Gallen as well, I am sure your 4 year old would enjoy these. A place like Flumserberg would be just over an hour by car from Zurich or St Gallen and has cross country, winter walking, sledding and down hill skiing and is surrounded by some beautiful mountains; your relatives may know of even closer places from St Gallen. Go to http://www.flumserberg.com for info on and Flumserberg, I see there is also some Heidi info here. (You may have to click for an English version.)

Finally, if you think your daughter could take a longish train ride, you might want to consider taking the train to Celerina/Pontresina or St Mortiz and back, a very lovely ride in the snow, esp the hour between Tiefencastle and St Mortiz. From Chur the trains are little red cars and have a dining car as well. (This is part of the longer Bernina Express train that goes on to Italy over the glaciers, this would probably be too long a trip for a 4 year old, but take a look at rhb.ch. if you want to consider the whole trip.) There are two wonderful very long sledge runs (like a runner sled) in the Bergun area, your relatives may know about them, one is something like 12 kilometres long, a great days outing. The trip out and back to St Mortiz from St Gallen would take about 8 hours and from Zurich just under 7, so this might be a bit much for a 4 year old, you could have lunch in St Mortiz, or take a shorter ride just out a back to Bergun (6 and 5 hours respectively). Go to rail.ch or rhb.ch for schedules.

Swandav, MarcusBoxer will be in Zurich in December so no festival to escape from, you may be thinking of cparis, who unfortunately will be in Zurich the weekend of the August Street Parade, I am trying to come up with alternatives for her on another post, Basel is not a bad idea. thanks for the info on the Emritage, that is going to be my problem now that I am no longer living in Zurich, my restaurant info is going to become old. . . .I always liked the Sonne so much anyway.

Cicerone,
Thanks for your extensive information on Zurich. My wife and I will be flying out from there and needed some good info on what we could do and see.

Thank you again, Cicerone - if you still lived there, I'd invite you to a drink to thank you in person!

I have the feeling that once I go there, I'm going to want another visit in the spring/summer. I can't believe that I'm a swiss citizen and know so little about this country. Never too late to learn!

Danke Schön - or, sorry if I butcher this: Danke vielmol!

The Circus Knie zoo in Rapperswil is closed from Nov. 2005 - March 11, 2006. The Zürich zoo is open.

Einsiedeln has a nice Christmas market from Nov. 26 - Dec. 4.