Zürich city guide

Zürich is often dismissed as a banking city, a city of briefcases and not-so-discreet wealth. But spend a day here and another side quickly emerges: irreverent and creative, with a rebellious streak. Avant-garde art was born in a cramped café in Niederdorf, handbags are stitched from old truck tarpaulins, and the world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant still serves the city today.

The city stretches along the northern tip of Lake Zürich, flanked by the Alps, and it packs a cultural punch that rivals far larger capitals. It’s home to a thriving art scene, galleries, design studios and restaurants, sitting amongst medieval guildhalls and contemporary architecture. With Zürich Hauptbahnhof at its core, one of Europe’s busiest rail hubs, it’s as easy to stop here briefly as it is to linger longer and discover the city.

Evan Bollag

Culture

In 1916, artists including Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings and Tristan Tzara shook Europe from a modest café in Niederdorf. Their Cabaret Voltaire birthed Dadaism, the movement that made nonsense into art and inspired generations of writers and painters. Today, it remains part café, part gallery, part performance space, where you can sip a coffee, browse small exhibitions and catch experimental shows in the same rooms where the avant-garde once roared.

Unknown author/Public Domain

Hugo Ball performing at Cabaret Voltaire in 1916.

The city’s literary ties run just as deep. James Joyce spent a significant amount of time writing Ulysses in Zürich and is buried in Fluntern cemetery; the James Joyce Foundation keeps his legacy alive with manuscripts, letters and events that draw scholars and casual readers alike. The Schauspielhaus Zürich, meanwhile, has long been one of the German-speaking world’s most important theatres, staging plays by Brecht and Dürrenmatt during exile years and continuing to push bold productions today. And if you want something tangible to take home, Orell Füssli The Bookshop on Bahnhofstrasse, the city’s largest English-language bookshop, is the place to pick up stories based in Zürich.

On the lakeshore, Rote Fabrik is where Zürich’s counterculture lives. Flea markets spill into the courtyards, walls are layered with murals, and at night you’ll find indie gigs, theatre and arthouse films. This red-brick factory was once a silk mill and later an activist squat; today, the spirit of resistance has been channelled into a lively cultural hub.

Roland Fischer/CC BY-SA 3.0

Rote Fabrik.

Food and drink

Food in Zürich is steeped in tradition, from centuries-old tavern dishes to cosy cafés. Start with the city’s signature dish, Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (sliced veal in a white wine and mushroom sauce, always with rösti on the side). It’s never left local menus, from neighbourhood inns to high-end kitchens. For a traditional take on the dish, try Kronenhalle, a classic restaurant with Chagalls and Mirós lining the walls.

Jpatokal/CC BY-SA 3.0

Zürcher Geschnetzeltes.

Few restaurants can claim as much as Haus Hiltl, the world’s oldest continuously running vegetarian restaurant, open since 1898. But the food is anything but old-fashioned: colourful curries, rösti, fresh juices and plant-based schnitzel, served in a dining room that buzzes like a city canteen. If cafés are more your thing, head to a local favourite, Kafi Dihei, a retro paradise in Wiedikon that feels like stepping into someone’s living room. Floorboards creak, shelves are stacked with cookbooks, and brunch plates arrive piled high. It’s the kind of place where you can sit for hours with cake and coffee.

Adrian Michael/CC BY-SA 3.0,

Haus Hiltl.

Sweets have their own place in the city’s story. Läderach tempts with FrischSchoggi slabs: thick sheets of chocolate studded with fruit and nuts that are smashed by hand into jagged pieces and piled high in the windows of its Bahnhofstrasse shop. Tirggel biscuits connect you to Zürich’s medieval past: thin honey biscuits pressed with wooden moulds showing guild life or biblical scenes: less snack, more edible art.

Sandstein/CC BY 3.0

Tirggel biscuit.

When the day winds down, raise a glass at Old Crow, a discreet little bar near Paradeplatz with an extensive spirit collection. The shelves are filled with rare whiskies and vintage gins, and the bartenders know how to keep it relaxed. It’s the kind of place where you settle in for 'just one' and leave much later.

Claudio Schwarz

Shopping

Bahnhofstrasse is lined with luxury boutiques and flagship stores, but look a little closer at the city and you’ll find a city of independent designers, thrift stores and ateliers giving Zürich its distinctive shopping culture. Switzerland takes its reputation for craftsmanship seriously, but Zürich applies it in fresh, often playful ways.

What began in 1993 as two brothers cutting messenger bags out of truck tarpaulins has become one of Zürich’s most recognisable brands: Freitag. Each of their bags is unique, and the flagship store near Hardbrücke, built entirely from stacked shipping containers, has become a landmark in its own right. And Die Macherei in the revitalised Kreis 4 (once a red-light district), showcases Zürich’s new generation of designers. Its shelves carry reflective backpacks, porcelain cups printed with witty illustrations and small-run fashion from local studios. The owners also run workshops, making it as much a creative hub as a shop.

While the country is synonymous with watches, few realise that Maurice de Mauriac is the only brand actually made in Zürich. Founded by Daniel Dreifuss, it combines traditional Swiss precision with contemporary design, and in the family-run atelier, each watch is assembled on site as a personal counterpoint to Switzerland’s big-name brands.

Teo Zac

For trinket and treasure hunters, Zürcher Brockenhaus is the city’s best-loved thrift store. Spread over three floors, it’s a jumble of furniture, vinyl, clothes, books and curios, with stock constantly refreshed by both donations and unsold shop goods. You might unearth a taxidermy bird, a designer lamp or a stack of vintage Swiss posters. The best part? Profits go to charity, so every find feels even more rewarding.

Foodies can pick up local specialities at Markthalle im Viadukt. Beneath the arches of a 19th-century railway viaduct, cheesemongers, winemakers and small producers gather under one roof. On busy days, it feels like half of Kreis 5 has dropped in: shoppers sampling slices, friends meeting over glasses of wine, and stallholders as happy to chat as to sell.

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Stay

Where you stay in Zürich depends on the version of the city you want to wake up to. In the old town, Marktgasse Hotel mixes stripped-back modern interiors with the bones of a 15th-century building. Step outside and you’re in the thick of the city's winding alleys.

If you prefer centuries of history with your rösti, Hotel Adler has been welcoming travellers for over 500 years. Bright rooms are decorated with murals of the old town by Swiss artist Heinz Blum, and the Swiss Chuchi restaurant downstairs is a reliable stop for fondue. For something more contemporary, 25hours Hotel Langstrasse is surrounded by restaurants serving global cuisine from Ethiopian injera, Turkish grills and Japanese ramen bars. The hotel goes bold with murals, vinyl records stacked by turntables and spacious, colourful rooms.

Andri S

Bernina Express route.

Where next?

Zürich’s central station is one of Europe’s busiest, and from here the Alps open in every direction. Head south to Chur for the Bernina route, which climbs across glaciers and into Italy. From Chur you can also board the Glacier Express (or the local trains that run the same route), often called the slowest express train in the world, which winds across the Rhine Gorge and Oberalp Pass on its spectacular journey to Zermatt. West lies the Gotthard route, spiralling through helical tunnels before emerging among the palms of Lugano, while east the Arlberg Railway slips into Austria’s valleys.

Visit Zurich for a short break by train, or see more slow travel rail holidays to Switzerland.

Short on time? Take the GoldenPass Express, the Glacier Express route, or the Bernese Oberland and GoldenPass Express from Zürich as one of our bite-sized excursions.

Read about six of the best scenic train rides in Europe, the art of slow travel or why we love taking the local train.

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