citydeluxe

Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland and capital of the canton of Zürich. The metropolitan population is around 1.3 million. The city is Switzerland‘s main commercial and cultural centre (the political capital of Switzerland being Bern), and is widely considered to be one of the world‘s global cities.

According to a survey in 2006, it is the city with the best quality of life in the world. The origin of the name is probably the Celtic word Turus, a corroborating reference to which was found on a tomb inscription dating from the Roman occupation in the 2nd century; the antique name of the town in its romanized form was Turicum.

The city is situated where the river Limmat leaves the northern end of Lake Zürich and is surrounded by wooded hills. UBS, Credit Suisse, Swiss Re, and many other financial institutions have their headquarters in Zürich, the commercial centre of Switzerland. Zürich is the world‘s primary centre for offshore banking, mainly due to Swiss bank secrecy.

The financial sector accounts for about one quarter of the city‘s economic activities. The Swiss Stock Exchange has its headquarters in Zürich (see also Swiss banking). Of course also the quality of life is very important in the possible reasons for the international economic growth. Mercer has ranked Zürich as the city with the highest quality of life anywhere in the world for the fourth consecutive time. Berne and Geneva were also ranked among the Top 10 – in fact, Switzerland was the only country with more than one city in the Top 10. Thanks to extremely low crime rates, personal safety can be assured without extra charges. And the importance of security as an economic factor should not be underestimated.

Zürich has an extreme variety of possibilities for night-time leisure. It became one of the capitals of Europe‘s electronic music scene and it‘s the host city of the world-famous Street Parade.

The most famous districts for Nightlife are the Niederdorf in the old city district with bars, restaurants, lounges, hotels, clubs, etc. and a lot of fashion shops for a young and stylish public and the Langstrasse in the districts 4 and 5 of the city. Here you find more rough but authentic amusements: Brazilian bars, punk clubs, HipHop stages, Caribic restaurants, arthouse-cinemas, Turkish kebabs and Italian espresso-bars, but also sex shops or the famous red light district of Zürich. At the Langstrasse you find the very international and multicultural heart of Zürich.

The most famous clubs in the city are:* Kaufleuten, Pelikanplatz, very posh and stylish club in the heart of the business and shopping district of the city centre. Old art-nouveau architecture, one of the oldest still running clubs of the world, the place-to-be for all the rich, famous and wannabes (from 50 Cent to Paris Hilton down to Tina Turner or Madonna). Music-style (Elektro, RnB, etc.) changes daily.

GO THERE FOR

Take the Polybahn, a 19th century funicular, up the steep hill for a fine view. Starts at tram station Central and goes up to the ETH. Zone 10 ZVV ticket is valid. Nice terrace up there. During the week, the student cafeteria below the terrace is also open to the public.

Go skiing by train — Buy a snow'n'rail ticket (train & skipass) at the Hauptbahnhof during winter months, train out in morning, back in evening. Flumserberg is the closest large ski-resort, popular with people from Zurich, with a good range of runs for beginners and experts. Retreat to the right side of the resort if the rest gets busy.

Take a trip on the Zürichsee with one of the two old steam ships. There are a few different routes you can choose from, which will vary mainly in the distance. Or rent a small rowboat.

Go up Uetliberg, a hill overlooking Zurich. You can hike up, or take a train from the main station. Enjoy the 360 degree view from a tall viewing tower (not for vertigo sufferers!). This is also the start of the planetenweg (planetary walk), an 8 mile walk along the ridge with models of the planets along the way. These are scaled down in true proportion to the solar system. To look at Zürich from the other hills, go to the Irchel (Tram station Milchbuck) or Käferberg (Bucheggplatz, walk up the hill and keep left of the forest).

Go club-hopping — Zürich has proportionately the largest number of clubs per capita in Europe. Pick up a free copy of the 20 Minuten (20 Minutes) paper and start exploring.

Go for a bike ride! You can get free bikes, skates or other fun transport at several stops throughout town. Beware though that biking within the city is only for the experienced, as trams and buses frequent the roads and tram tracks are a serious hazard to inexperienced cyclists.

The Grossmunster sometimes has organ concerts in the evenings. Check the front door for notices.

Take a 45 min train ride to see the largest waterfall in Europe, the Rhine Falls. Take the train from the Zurich Airport or Zurich HB (central station) to either Winterthur then transfer trains to Schloss Laufen (from April-Oct) or Schaffhausen then take the city bus #1 or #6 to Neuhausen Zentrum.

DON'T MISS

Most of the interesting sights are in the old town around the river and lakefront.

Grossmünster, Zwingliplatz, Old Romanesque church, symbol of reformed Zurich, where reformer Huldrych Zwingli was appointed the people's priest in 1519. Go up the tower for a great view of Zurich, though the stairs can be quite small and steep.

Fraumünster, Kämbelgasse 2, Old Gothic church (former convent) with window paintings made by Marc Chagall. No photos or videos allowed inside.

Landesmuseum, Museumstrasse 2, Tu-Su 10AM-5PM and most public holidays including M. The biggest Swiss history museum. You can also learn about the various traditions of the cantons comprising Switzerland. It's currently undergoing major refurbishment works until 2009 though many exhibitions are still open.

Kunsthaus, One of the major Swiss art museums. Its specialities are modern sculpturer Giacometti and the surrealist 18th Century painter Fuseli, both Swiss. Entry is free to the main collection Wednesdays.

Schanzengraben. A small canal that used to be part of the city fortifications between Limmat and Sihl. From the main station, go to Gessnerallee, find the stairways down to the tiny creek, and walk all the way to the lake.

Rietberg Museum, Gablerstrasse 15, One of Europe's best collections of Asian art (mainly Indian drawings).

Langstrasse. Red light district of Zürich, with more drug dealers and police than usual, but interesting because even this most notorious spot in Switzerland is so clean and safe. The area is the most overtly multicultural spot of the town. In recent years, ateliers and stylish bars start to coexist side by side to the about 15 strip clubs.

Zoo, Zürichbergstrasse 221, With the new Masoala Rainforest Hall, the Zoo is really worth a visit!

Lake Promenade. Especially during summer, the lake is a beautiful place to spend the evening or the weekend. Starting from Bellevue, the boardwalk goes for about three kilometers along the lake towards Tiefenbrunnen. About halfway from Bellevue there is a meadow where you will find thousands of people on a sunny day.

Chinese Garden, This small but beautiful Chinese garden was offered to the city of Zurich by the Chinese city of Kunming as symbol of gratitude after Zurich helped Kunming with technical knowledge.

Le Corbusier House, (near Chinese Garden), A beautiful, modern villa planned by the famous Swiss architect. The visiting hours are very limited (i.e. one day / week only in the summer) and entry is expensive. Additionally, there is a legal battle between the city (owner) and the long time tenant.

Lindenhof. The hill in the heart of the old town. A beautiful view of the city and one time location of a Roman fort.

Niederdorf. The old town offers beautiful alleys, restaurants and shopping mainly aimed at younger consumers. In the evenings, people visit the Niederdorf's many bars.

Bahnhofstrasse. One of the busiest and best known shopping streets in the world. Highly refined. Certainly a must-see for every tourist in Zurich!

Museum Buehrle, Zollikerstrasse 172, A rich private art collection worth visiting - although a little less rich after a recent brazen robbery in broad daylight. Call ahead, as it's currently not open during regular hours.

Jacob Coffee Museum, Seefeldquai 17, An original museum which describes the evolution of coffee and different aspects of the culture that has developed around it.

Zurich West. This modern quarter used to be an industrial one, but modern urban developments made it into a centre of vibrant night life.

BASICS

GETTING AROUND

From the airport… Zurich Airport (German: Flughafen Zürich-Kloten) is Switzerland's largest and busiest airport run with Swiss efficiency. It is actually in the community of Kloten and it is a 12 minutes by train from central Zurich. The trains depart about every 10-15 minutes but early morning and late evening connections are a bit less frequent, so if you travel at these times check the schedule. A single ticket to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) costs CHF 6.20. Several bus lines connect to the airport and provide access to the Winterthur region.

Most major airlines fly to Zurich but Swiss is still the Swiss flagcarrier and covers the biggest part of the international traffic at the airport. Almost every large hotel in Zurich provides shuttle buses from the airport to your hotel. The stops for these buses are a short walk to the right from Terminal 1 arrivals.

Zurich Airport has high passenger costs due to several noise reduction and approach restrictions. Most no-frill airlines fly to Basel which is 1 hour away by train. EasyJet resumed its flights to Zurich in 2007 after a three year absence and Air Berlin offers several flights to Germany and Southern Europe.

If you are travelling without a Schengen Visa to another destination in Europe (via Zurich airport) and if you are not European citizen, you must not stay in Europe for longer than 90 days - even if your final destination would allow citizens of your country to stay for more than 90 days. Failure to do so will lead to very high fines (around 8100 Euros) should you try to leave Europe via Zurich airport.

Around Town...

Zürich is famous for its highly efficient, clean and safe public transport system, owned and managed by the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) which covers the entire canton of Zürich as well as Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen and Pfäffikon SZ in the canton of Schwyz. The network includes trams, buses, S-Bahn (suburban trains), cable cars and boats. The size and complexity of the network may be daunting at first, but you will soon realize that there are dozens of ways to get from one place to another and following any of them will still be efficient.

WHEN TO GO

The climate of Zurich is typically fairly temperate and is generally regulated by its inland position, and proximity to the north-westerly side of Lake Zurich and northerly hills, such as the Gubrist, and the Käferberg. Temperatures are also affected by the humid Atlantic breezes and the city rarely features seasonal weather extremes, experiencing milder weather than many people expect, considering its geographical situation.

January tends to be the coldest month in Zurich, when daytime temperatures hover around 2°C / 36°F, dropping slightly at night, when sharp frosts are most likely. Snowy weather can occur at this time of the year, while the climate soon begins to warm up and reaches highs of 8°C / 46°F or more by the time that March arrives.

Summers in Zurich are when most tourists decide to visit and the warm, sunny weather makes exploring the city even more enjoyable. The summer climate also has increased daylight hours, meaning that many evening celebrations and parties take place, particularly between the months of July and August.

Average summer highs in Zurich stay around 23°C / 73°F, although can climb much higher for short periods. However, rain showers can also be expected in the summer and weather forecasts should always be checked before planning a day out. The climate in both September and October remains reasonably warm and this is also a good time to visit the city and its many historic attractions, such as those within the Lindenhof district.

Public Holidays: