Top 6 Things to Do in Zurich
Maximizing your Zurich adventure means planning ahead and maintaining a well-structured itinerary. This schedule should be shared with your Zurich car service driver to ensure seamless city navigation.
We recognize that drafting such an itinerary might be challenging given the multitude of attractions in the city. To make your planning process easier, we will spotlight some of the must-see locations in the city.
Niederdorf
Niederdorf is an area located in Zurich’s Old Town and is known for its many medieval streets and squares. It is home to boutiques, restaurants, and a number of important attractions. These include:
- the Brunnenturm: the headquarters of the Lombard money-changers in the 14th and 15th centuries
- Haus zum Napt: this old home boasts gorgeous interiors decorated in the Renaissance style
- Number 17 Spiegelgasse: this is a house where Lenin lived in 1917
- Hans zum Rech: a house that dates from the Middle Ages. It is home to a model of Zurich as it looked in 1800 and also features well-preserved interiors from the 17th century.
- Musée Visionnaire: a private museum dedicated to Art Brut paintings
Lake Zurich
If you’re looking for a way to rest and relax, you should make your way to the shores of Lake Zurich. The shore is lined with promenades and parks, including Zürichhorn Park.
ZĂĽrichhorn Park was built for the National Exhibition in 1939 and is home to a restaurant, a Chinese Garden, and a boat landing for the Limmatschiff. The Limmatschiff is a boat that runs from the National Museum to ZĂĽrichhorn.
You can also visit Strandbad Mythenquai, a beautiful 820-foot public beach that is home to diving boards, children’s pools, barbecue sites, and more. Alternatively, you can enjoy the lake by taking one of the many cruises that take place on the lake and offer stunning views of the Glarus Alps.
Bahnhofstrasse
If you’re looking to go shopping, get your car service Zurich driver to take you to Bahnhofstrasse. This 1200-meter street is Zurich’s “main street” and stretches from the main train station (bahnhof) to the Bürkliplatz at the head of the lake.
The street is home to numerous shops and boutiques of all kinds, making it a popular spot for shoppers. It is also home to:
- the Uhrenmuseum Beyer ZĂĽrich: located in the basement of Bahnhofstrasse 31, this private museum is dedicated to horology. It displays a large collection of watches and clocks, ranging from sun, oil, and water clocks to Swiss clocks with wooden wheels and Nuremberg pendulum clocks.
- the Paradeplatz: this square is home to the headquarters of UBS and Credit Suisse, as well as the hotel Baur en Ville and the Confiserie SprĂĽngli.
Limmatquai
Another place to visit if you’re interested in shopping is the Limmatquai. This street is named after the River Limmat and follows the eastern bank of the river.
Aside from shops and boutiques, the street is also home to a number of guild houses, which boast stunning interiors that reflect the wealth of the individual guilds. Some of the highlights of the streets are:
- Grossmünster: Zurich’s principal church, built in the Romanesque style
- Wasserkirche: a church that dates back to the 10th century. According to medieval legend, this was the site of the execution of the saints Felix and Regula, Zurich’s patron saints.
- Haus zum RĂĽden: the assembly hall of the Gesellschaft zur Constaffel (Constaffel society). It dates to the 14th century and is one of the most historically important buildings in the city.
- Rathaus: Zurich’s Town Hall, which was constructed between 1694 and 1698 and served as the seat of government and administration of the Republic of Zurich until 1798. It was designed in the Late Renaissance style and today is home to both legislative chambers, the cantonal parliament, and the City Parliament.
Schweizerisches Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum)
The Schweizerisches Landesmuseum is located in a castle-like building and features an exploration of the cultural history of Switzerland. It is home to over 820,000 historic and cultural artifacts (the oldest of which dates to 100,000 BC). These artifacts range in time from prehistory to the 20th century.
Displays in the museum are divided into four themes:
- Early migration and settlement
- Religious and intellectual history
- Political history
- Economic development of Switzerland
The museum is best known for a series of reconstructed rooms that show how furnishings and decorative arts in Swedish homes have developed and evolved over the centuries.
Rietberg Museum
If you’re interested in world history, the Rietberg Museum is a must-visit. This museum is one of the most interesting in the country – it is the only museum in Switzerland that is dedicated to non-European art.
The museum is located in a neoclassical villa located in Rieter Park. The villa was modeled on Villa Albani in Rome and was built in 1857. The museum’s collection comes from the collection of Baron Eduard von der Heydt.
