Travelers, who approach Zurich by air, will land at Kloten Airport. To reach the center many visitors take one of the efficient trains departing every 8-10 minutes directly from the main airport complex. Once booked into a hotel there is no time to waste finding out how best to know the city.
The main attractions of the city are located in an area closed to private traffic, so I offer you a walking tour. The usual duration is 2 hours. But if you are in the mood to see more and are willing to walk longer, I would be happy to show you those special places that remain slightly off the normal tourist routes.
City Tour
Once upon a time, everyone arriving by train at the city’s main station was greeted by graffiti painted on the wall by young activists “Zu-reich” – “too rich. Does everything here really revolve around money? An introduction to Zurich will help you understand what’s behind the world-famous cliché. The old city has long been lost between the respectable buildings of banks and luxury boutiques, but time has no power over the famous cathedrals and narrow streets, where it still smells of flowers and sun-heated stone, but not of gold and new bank notes.
In Zurich, it’s easy to travel back in time… Each era has left its mark on the city, nestled on the banks of Lake and the River Limatt.
We walk next to the imposing buildings that occupy an entire district, where banks and insurance companies are located to quiet courtyards with fountains near medieval buildings. We’ll stop by the preserved ruins of Roman thermae and walk under the arcades of 16th-century guild houses. Each beautiful street is followed by another equally surprising one. Each beautiful street is followed by another equally surprising one. Near each building we can stop to look at amazing details: ancient facades with Gothic or Baroque elements, windows with wooden shutters, tiled roofs, bay windows, fountains… The city, following the rules of the Protestant faith, once dramatically changed its appearance, hides many stories related to eternal spiritual quests behind its austere facades. The sermons of the first Christians, inspirational speeches of the Reformation, monologues of Dadists, meetings of Social Democrats … It seems that the stone is indifferent to human passions, but protecting its own past from oblivion, Zurich cherishes its own legends … Remembering them, we will walk through the places where saints, now known as patron saints of the city, once took their tortures. I will show you buildings and frescoes related to Charlemagne. Together we will recall the Old and New Testament in front of stained-glass windows of Marc Chagall and study the stone carving of Grossmünster. If the history of the past is to be talked about and remembered, the present – we will simply observe together. I will show you the famous cafes and restaurants where the locals prefer to go and their favorite meeting places, the famous patisseries, and talk about the most important holidays and traditions of the citizens.
It is not easy to discover the soul of Zurich, but it will be even more pleasant to know that we have succeeded!
A list of the main sights we will see on the walking tour.
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (central train station)
Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum)
Alfred Escher Fountain
Bahnhofstrasse – Zurich’s Shopping Boulevard
Urania Tower
Limmatquai promenade
Lindenhof and Schipfe – the oldest quarters of the city of Zurich
Münzplatz Square and Augustinerkirche church
St. Peter’s Church
Thermengasse Roman Ruins
Weinplatz Square
Rathaus (City Hall)
Niederdorf – Popular Promenade in Zurich’s Old Town
New Market Square
Cabaret Voltaire (birthplace of Dadaism)
Grossmünster Church
Fraumünster Church
Münsterhof Square and guild houses
Water Church
Bürkliplatz Square and Lake Zurich
Polyterrasse, Federal Institute of Technology and Zurich University
