Hi... looking at mappy.com, it seems that the town center is very walkable - I'm estimating maybe 1-1.5 miles from train station to the 'quaibrucke' at start of the lake area. Does that sound right?

Also, if we go up the Polybahn funicular, does the landing area provide a nice view? Can you see some mountains, the lake, and overlook of Zurich?

We will be spending our last afternoon/evening here, before returning to U.S. Thanks...

Yeah, Zurich is easily walkable. I would guess the distance from the station to the lakefront is maybe a mile or so. The trolleys are also easily negotiable if you want to save a little time. The funicular takes you up to a nice large veranda sort of thing (sorry, it's been a few years) with very nice views, exactly as you described.

There's a big restaurant in an armory (sorry, forgot the name, but everyone knows it) that's touristy but fun - something like visiting the Hofbrauhaus in Munich and also several smaller beer halls that are a bit more intimate. We both found the art museum to be excellent and enjoyed strolling around the "opposite" bank of the Limmat in the evening. Found a nice tapas restaurant over there, seemingly a bit out of place but very good.

Nice town - an afternoon and an evening are about all you need to see it, but it's a pleasant way to avoid making the trip home (I assume to the US) all in one shot.

my wife and i come to zurich twice a year, bar au lac being our favorite hotel. there is much to do in town if you like restaurants, easily walked, beautiful and well maintained, expensive, but worth it!

Zurich is very walkable. We travelled by train to Zurich from the airport, walked to our hotel (the Marriott, ff miles), and walked all over the city. We went to Zurich last November. We ate dinner at the Zeughauskeller (which has a website) and we had a lot of fun.. It was 11/11 and was a holiday - looked a little like Mardi Gras and it was "party night!" We had a good meal, too.

We also visited a restaurant earlier in the day for a drink and if we hadn't already made reservations we would have gone back. It was called Veltliner Keller, also called La Gatta. It looked very nice.

Thanks for the extra information on the restaurants... This does sound like it will be a really nice way to close out the trip. Thank you for all your responses.

Figaro correctly identified the big restaurant in the former armory building I was trying to think of as Zeughauskeller. The beer hall that we particularly liked was Bierhalle Kropf - just a few doors away from Zeughauskeller as I recall. Really interesting murals over all the interior - the place looks like it hasn't changed a bit in the last few hundred years. It's worth stopping in for a look even if you don't stay for a beer.

Hi, Michelin says it's about 125 miles from Munich to Rothenburg via Augsburg. We took our time driving to see the small towns along the way. (We were going in the opposite direction, of course.) J.

Now how in the world did I do that? Sorry, Travelnut. J.

It's ok, jmw...I might need to know that someday, too!

You are so kind, travelnut. But while I'm here, Zurich's old streets are a delight. Walk down the bahnhofstrasse a bit and then turn off toward your left toward the river. If you have a chance to take a look at Burt Wolf's burttravels.com, he's got a good piece on Zurich and mentions a restaurant or two. Be sure to taste geschnetzelts mit rosti (apologies if the spelling is amiss). J.

I've got a map and I've noted a couple of the restaurants mentioned (look delicious on the 'net).
Also thinking - maybe we should go up the Polybahn early into our visit, then do a 'loop' down one bank and up the other bank, stopping for dinner.
1) Does it make any difference which approach we take to loop say, from bahnhof toward the lake via Bahnhofstrasse, cross the river, head up Limmatquai..? (or vice-versa?)
2) If you had to choose one church to see inside, which would it be?
Thanks for your input.

If we continue to top this, Ursula might see it and give you some good advice. As for me, I'm not that organized; I just wander and sort of stumble upon things of interest and delight. J.