Rough Guides - Zurich

Not so long ago, Zrich was famed chiefly for being the cleanest, most icily efficient city in Europe prim, but devoid of soul. Things have changed. Switzerlands largest city (population 400,000) has shaken off its reputation as Europes sourpuss and youll find its still pristinely clean streets abuzz with newfound confidence on the back of global recognition: Zrich consistently rates at or near the top of annual surveys judging cities worldwide for their quality of life. These days it qualifies as a metropolis with style and even a touch of glamour.

Zrich is still best known, though, as a city to do business. After World War II, the citys foreign exchange speculators had become so powerful and secretive that exasperated British ministers, amid the 1964 sterling crisis, spoke of them as gnomes, scurrying about in the corridors of their private banks forever counting their gold. Their reference to the gnomes of Zrich stuck, and journalists reporting on Switzerlands banking and finance industries still reach for the phrase today. Aptly, Zrich now hosts the worlds most important market for trading gold and precious metals. Exceptional affluence tends to define the area these days, and yet, despite its wealth and status, Zrich is not a flashy place at all. The citys ingrained Protestant work ethic bears the stamp of the Bible-thumping Reformer Huldrych Zwingli yet its the freedom of thought that Zwingli encouraged that continually bubbles to the surface. Wry Zrchers like to make much of how apt it is you have to tut, purse your lips and clear your throat just to say the citys name ( tsoorikh in dialect), but theyre deliberately pandering to a long-outdated stereotype.

Youre likely to find plenty to keep you occupied in this good-looking city, poised astride the River Limmat, adorned with over a thousand medieval and modern fountains, and turned towards the Zrichsee ( Lake Zrich ), so crystal-clear the Swiss authorities have certified its water safe to drink. In recent years the city has undergone a boom in arts and popular culture, expressed most tangibly in the Zrich West district, which has become a hotbed for the alternative scene and a powerhouse for new cultural institutions. The heart of the city, though, remains its medieval Old Town , characterized by the steep, cobbled alleys and attractive, small-scale architecture of the Niederdorf district perfect for exploratory wanderings.

With a handful of medieval churches to take in, including the mighty Grossmnster and graceful Fraumnster , the superb Kunsthaus art gallery and the most engaging caf culture in German-speaking Switzerland, you could easily spend days here.

Kunsthaus

No trip to Zrich is complete without a visit to its iconic Great Minster, from where Zwingli preached the Reformation.

A truly world-class gallery of art, this is unmissable if only for the vast array of works by Alberto Giacometti.

Head to the lofty choir of the Fraumnster church to be spellbound by Marc Chagalls breathtaking stained glass.

Enjoy outstanding displays on Swiss history and culture in this mock-Gothic castle with a new wing added in 2016.

Join the locals on this steep-sided ridge rising above the city, with stunning views and wooded walking trails.

Discover this hotbed of Zrichs dynamic counterculture, centred on the buzzing Langstrasse.

Indulge yourself with exquisite sweet treats and fine coffee at the home of Zrichs premier confectioner.

Take to the water and leave urban life behind on a short boat trip to the City of Roses, Rapperswil.

Highlights are marked on the maps.