Ela Nostos

Known as Switzerland’s corporate capital, the landlocked city is a beautiful stop to integrate into a longer itinerary. Situated under the Swiss Alps, on the north of a Lake dotted with swans, the city is embedded with old architecture and history, while also boasting some of the most famous brands and flagship stores. Home to the Lindt factory and FIFA museum, Zurich is a city of chocolate and commercial indulgence.

Here are some of the must-visit spots for a few days in Zurich, along with costs (based on 2024 prices):

LOGISTICS

GETTING THERE:
Obviously this is dependent on where you’re coming from and heading after etc. But for us, we opted to start our trip in Zurich, as it was the cheapest of the flights landing in Switzerland. But the EU is has great railways and bus routes, linking most cities efficiently, if you’d prefer to arrive by train or bus.

I’m also going to add: one of the top moments of this whole trip, for me at least, was flying into Zurich over the snow-capped mountains. An unmatched view, that is obviously seasonal and route dependent, but made by choice to fly worth-while.

GETTING AROUND: 
While the city itself is quite walkable and great to explore by foot, Zurich has a tram, train and buses, offering easier and cost-effective way to get around. As an example of cost: from the airport to the central part of the city, we paid CHF 7 pp for one-way train ticket.

WHERE TO STAY: 
We decided to stay in the Old Town at a hotel called Alsatandt Boutique Hotel – it was by far one of the most reasonable, yet ideally located spots we could find (given the last minute plans). ALSO: including breakfast, as inauthentic as it sounds, was great decision since most places were closed in the morning, and the hotel was able to accommodate dietary requirements.
Also something to remember: like Italy, Switzerland has a city tax for visitors. Zurich’s rate was CHF 3.50 pp/day (CHF 14 for 2 nights stay).

HOW LONG TO STAY:
While this is entirely up to you, 3 days / 2 nights in Zurich was sufficient for us. We were able to explore the city sights and stores over that period, and have enough ‘meal opportunities’ to taste the food on offer.
I will say: if you would like to do a day-trip to the Lindt factory, or FIFA museum, consider adding an extra afternoon.

EXPLORE

Downtown, shopping
Given the links to high-fashion (and being a land-locked city) one of the best past times is to explore the Swiss culture through its store. Over winter, shops were open from 10:00am – 18:00 (closed Sunday). 
A general hack though: for the chain stores and food shops, the main train station is open everyday and is often cheaper than the exact same stores downtown. For example: Spriingli, a popular confectionary is about 35% cheaper at the station, and Victorinox knives are about 15% cheaper too.

However, many brands have flagship stores and activation spaces in the downtown section. For a classically Swiss gift, visit the Victorinox store and customise your knife by colour, tools and engraving.

Docks, sunset spot
For a beautiful sunset view, head over to the lake and enjoy the uninterrupted views of the snow-topped Alps as they reflect the pinks and oranges of the sky. It’s also a great place to sip on some hot chocolate, and watch the swans.

Walk to the China Gardens
For those that love to get their 10k steps, our favourite walk started at the main centre and headed towards the China Gardens, along the lake. You’ll pass families and their prams, locals throwing it back to the 80s with their aerobic workouts and a few serious suited business chats – a wonderful way to people watch, I guess. In true Swiss style, we also passed the “the world’s most expensive Kiosk”: a beautifully decorated outdoor space for those that want to sit and sip.

The China Gardens – classed as a temple garden and one of the highest-ranking gardens outside of China – offers free entry and are open from 11:00-17:00 daily. It’s a bit like stepping into a time-capsule, with the temples and ponds, but the space is serene and a wonderful spot to read, draw and explore.

Opera House
If you continue along this path, you’ll also pass the Opera House and the piazza – a beautiful spot to see. There is also a gondola-lift cafe, where you can sit in the small pods and enjoy a fondue overlooking the piazza. Unfortunately, this was closed at the time we visited, so be sure to check the hours.

Churches
Like most European cities, Zurich has churches and cathedrals open to the public for viewing, and does share a snippet of the place’s history. For those on a budget, note that most of these spots have an entrance of CHF 5. 

Art galleries

EAT

To be honest, visiting Zurich was expensive; we tried to keep meals and snacks as cost-effective as possible. That being said, we did our best while to ‘taste the region’ and everything it has to offer in flavour.

BREAKFASTS:
That being said, as mentioned, we opted to have breakfast at the hotel . Luckily, the offering included a whole range of local cold-meats and cheeses, which were lovely to try. For the items that we loved, we bought from grocery stores and enjoyed as we explored the city.

SNACKS:
Sternen Grill was a great place for local sausage (this sounds bad but just trust) – served with a roll and mustard. Loved by locals on a Sunday, clearly. 

Along the downtown streets, are vendors selling roasted hazelnuts and warm treats. This is a unique snack to try, although honestly not to my liking (bless).

DINNERS:
I only realised after we left Zurich that one of the most recommended places was our dinner spot for both nights. Hiltl opened its doors in 1898 and has since only ever served high-quality vegetarian and vegan dishes. Originally shamed with a ‘grass-eating’ stigma, it has grown into a popular restaurant, attracting all kinds of crowds. It’s quite simple: you pick your selection of dishes at the buffet and weigh your plate to pay. If you are on a strict budget, or craving something warm: ask about the soup.

DRINKS:
Modissa is a rooftop that we happened to see from the Bahnenhofstrasse (high street) – and I’m so glad we went. For winter, they recommend arriving at 16:00ish to enjoy the veranda’s view until after the sunset. We opted for teas, but their drinks did look good and they do offer ‘bottomless brunches’ would sound awesome for a celebratory morning!

For something a bit more lowkey, the streets along the river are dotted with cute cafes -something very Italian about the offering including espressos and aperols. These are some of the best to look out for: Motta | Bar 45 | Odeon | Grande | 01 Bar.

CHOCOLATES:
There are chocolate stores everywhere! But our favourite was Bachmann – they had a great selection and the staff were super sweet too. You can either dine in the cafe with macaron chairs and bonbon seats, or take away. Our favourite chocolates were the rocher bonbons by far.

Spriingli is well known too – although we preferred their mini-macarons to their other options (champagne and hazelnut were the best flavours). Again, if you are on a strict budget, the exact same items are available at the store by the train station at a reduced rate.

We didn’t get to visit the Lindt factory but they’re stocked in loads of stores.

WATER:
Ironically, the snow-covered city, known from its mountain water, is insanely expensive: because there is ‘publicly accessible water’, the water sold isn’t regulated (like in Greece). Unfortunately, we didn’t come across many water fountains so we bought water at Coop. Just note that prices seem to differ, ranging from CHF 1.15-4.50 for 500ml bottle.

FONDUE:
You’ll notice that there isn’t a suggested place for cheese fondue – while this is a must try dish for the region, it is also very touristy for the majority of the city (at least what we came across). I will say that if you do want the full traveller experience, maybe try the cafe at the Opera House – while this is very commercialised, their ski-gondola booths are quite cute to experience .

NEIGHBOURING TOWNS

Zurich is a great stop as part of a longer itinerary. Use the opportunity to visit some of the other closely gems like Lucerne, Lichtenstein etc.

For us, we were working our way to the Bernina Express – a luxury train ride through the Swiss Alps to the northern Italy border. While there are two starting point options, we selected the longer route that begins in Chur:

• To get from Zurich to Chur cost CHF 21 pp/one way and took around 1h30.
  
• Pro tip: facing the direction you’re travelling in, the left side of the train has incredible views on this route (which is a great distraction since there’s no wifi onboard, and I had finished my book).