Zurich, Switzerland - Walking Tour, Maps, Pictures, Podcast - Shopping, Sights, Boat Tour, River, Museums, Restaurants, Churches

2. Are you arriving in
Switzerland via Zurich?
Don’t skip spending at least
one perfect day here!

3. This presentation includes
16 Highlights of Zurich
with pictures & maps showing routes for
walking from one highlight to the next.

4. If you would like to listen to the descriptions and
the walking tour and get even more information,
click below for a link to the podcast and more:
• https://oneperfectdayin.org/2017/07/16/one-perfect-day-
in-travel-podcast-009-focus-zurich-switzerland/
The podcast is also available in iTunes:
“One Perfect Day in Travel” - Podcast #009.

5. Map Highlights: 1 (A), 2 (B) & 3 (C)

6. Dynamo
Jugendkulturhaus
(1 – A)
Start the walk where the Limmat
River divides into the Sihl River at
Park Platzspitz. This riverside
swimming area includes a
restaurant, snack bar, and live music
venue, too. The inside/outside bar/
restaurant here is named Chuchi am
Wasser. It is popular with locals. You
may see them diving off the nearby
bridge over the Limmat River in
front of Park Platzspitz and cooling
off in the river during the summer
right here where the path along the
Limmat begins to head toward town.

7. eCHo Restaurant
(2 – B)
Walk with the river on your
right, and you will see the
Marriott hotel on the left. Inside
is the eCHo restaurant serving
authentic Swiss cuisine. You can
ask to eat inside the cable car
that formerly went up and down
the Alps. The CH in eCHo
represents the "Confederation
Helvetica", the Latin name of the
Swiss Confederation, and the
initials on the currency of the
Swiss, the Swiss Franc, or CHF.

8. Landesmuseum
Swiss National Museum
(3 – C)
As you continue to walk along the pedestrian path with the Limmat
River to your right, you will see a peninsula on the other side of the river
that includes a park and a museum. This area between the rivers Sihl
and Limmat has become one of the main sights of the Old City District
of Zurich. The museum is the Swiss National Museum
("Landesmuseum" in German, the language spoken in Zurich). If you
want to come back to visit the museum later, you would cross the
divided bridge over the Limmat named "Walchebrücke" and walk
straight on Museumstrasse to reach the museum . It is open daily 10 am
– 5 pm, except Monday. It is one of the most important art museums of
cultural history in Europe. The building was built in 1898 in the form of
the French Renaissance city chateaus. The museum highlights
prehistory, ancient times, the Middle Ages of Switzerland and up to the
20th century. For now, though, keep walking along the Limmat River.

9. Map Highlights: 4 (D), 5 (E) & 6 (F)

10. Mühlesteg
Pedestrian Bridge
(4 – D)
Keep walking with the Limmat
River on your right, crossing
over another divided bridge,
"Bahnhofbrücke," until
reaching the iron pedestrian
bridge, "Mühlesteg". Cross over
the Limmat River here and view
the thousands of colorful "Love
Locks" that are attached to the
bridge. You are now walking
from the right bank of the
Limmat, called the Limmatquai,
to the left bank of the river,
called the Bahnhofquai.

11. Bahnhof (Main Train Station)
(5 – E)
Take a right after crossing the pedestrian bridge
onto Bahnhofquai and walk with the river on your
right until you reach Bahnhofplatz where you will
turn left toward the main train station, Bahnhof.

12. Bahnhofstrasse
(6 - F)
Stay on the left side of the divided road and turn left
again at the large street, Bahnhofstrasse, right in front of
the train station. This is the main shopping street of
Zurich. There is a Swarovski Crystal shop immediately on
your right, an Apple Store, and closer to the lake, many
expensive watch, jewelry, accessory, and clothing stores.
Many of these stores are so exclusive that customers need
to ring a doorbell and be ushered in by armed guards!

13. Map Highlights:
7(G) 8(H) 9(I) 10(J) 11(K) & 12(L)

14. Paradeplatz
(7 – G)
As you keep walking down Bahnhofstrasse, you will come
to a large square, Paradeplatz, where you will see many of
the large banks of Switzerland. This is the major financial
nerve center of the famous Swiss bank accounts. Turn right
in front of the Giorgio Armani store and walk past the
Credit Suisse bank as you circle the large square. When you
circle back to Bahnhofstrasse, turn left on Bahnhofstrasse
and take the second right after you pass the elegant hotel,
Savoy Baur en Ville, onto the left hand side of Zughusplatz.
Bear left at the Hermes store onto en Gassen and take the
first left, at the Louis Vuitton store, onto Zeugwartgasse.

15. St. Peter’s Church
(8 – H)
St. Peter's Church will be on the
right at the intersection of St.
Peterstrasse and Zeugwartgasse. It
has the largest clock tower in
Europe. The nave was rebuilt from
an earlier church in 1460 in Gothic
style, and parts of the church date
back to prior to 900 AD. The
current building was consecrated
in 1706 as the first church in
Zurich built under Protestant rule.
Its congregation forms part of the
Evangelical Reformed Church of
the Canton of Zürich.

16. Roman Plaque
(9 – I)
After you pass St. Peterstrasse, wind your
way to the Lindenhof hill. Just keep following
the same road slightly to your right as it
becomes Augustinerhof. It will make a sharp
right turn and end at Augustinergrasse. Turn
left and take the first right onto Glockengasse
and bear right when it forks. When the road
ends at Strehlgasse, turn left. Stay on
Strehlgasse until you can bear right at the
stone walkway on Pfalzgasse. Look for the
famous plaque on the wall and see if you can
find the name, "Turicum," Zurich's original
Roman name. This was engraved on a 2nd-
century tombstone of a little boy. It was
found on May 15, 1747. The original
tombstone is protected inside the Swiss
National Museum.

17. Lindenhof Hill
Observation Point
(10 – J)
Keep walking on Pfalzgasse and
you will arrive at the Lindenhof hill
and observation point overlooking
the city. The hilltop area includes
prehistoric, Roman, and medieval
remains and is a Swiss heritage site
of national significance, because all
of Zurich spread out from this
original site. Walk to your right to
look out over the river at the
observation point and then keep
walking until you can exit to your
right onto Fortunagasse.

18. Hotel Adler
(11 – K)
When you exit Lindenhof hill, take a
right on Fortunagasse and follow it
until it merges with Schipfe to your
right. Follow Schipfe until you can
cross the Limmat River at the bridge,
Rathausbrücke. Turn left across the
river and walk with the river on your
left until you reach Rosengasse.
Rosengasse will end at
Niederdorfstrasse, and the Hotel
Adler will be on the right at that
corner. The historic hotel has a
mural of the old town painted on the
side of the building above their
authentic Swiss restaurant below.

19. Schwarzenbach
(12 – L)
With the Adler on your right,
continue to follow the main shopping
street of this Neiderdorf area until
you reach Ankengasse. Turn right
and you will see Schwarzenbach just
in front of you on your left. For over
100 years, the Schwarzenbach
specialty store has been selling
coffee, tea and chocolate. The huge
variety of tea, coffee, dried fruits and
pasta, come from Switzerland and
from all over the world. Next door is
their tea/coffee shop of the same
name. The shop serves the traditional
Swiss Straumann Hüppen, wafer
rolls with chocolate hazelnut filling.

20. Map Highlights: 13(M) 14(N) 15(O) & 16(P)

21. Grossmünster
(13 - M)
Continue walking back toward the
river and turn left on Limmatquai.
You will see the double spires of
the Grossmünster church on your
left. According to legend,
Grossmünster was founded by
Charlemagne, whose horse fell to
its knees over the tombs of Felix
and Regula, Zürich's patron
saints. Turn right and cross the
Limmat River again at the bridge,
Münsterbrücke.

22. Fraumünster
(14 - N)
After you cross the bridge, you will come to
the Fraumünster church on your left, built on
the remains of a former abbey for women
founded in 853 by Louis the German for his
daughter Hildegard. He endowed the
Benedictine convent with the lands of Zurich,
Uri, and the Albis forest, and granted the
convent immunity, placing it under his rule.
Today, it belongs to the Evangelical Reformed
Church of the Canton of Zürich. It is worth it
to pay the 5 CHF admission fee to see the
large stained glass windows designed by artist
Marc Chagall and installed in 1970. Each of
the windows depicts a Christian story. When
you exit, walk back toward the river and turn
right with the Limmatt River on your left.

23. Ganymed Sculpture
(15 - O)
Keep walking along the river and
you will reach Lake Zurich. Cross
the main road in front of you at
the lake and turn left with the lake
on your left where you will see the
Ganymed Sculpture. It depicts the
boy Ganymed pleading with Zeus,
the father of the gods (who
appears as an eagle), to take him
to Mt. Olympus. The work of art is
inspired by ancient mythology but
artist Hubacher emphasized that
his sculpture was “not a Greek
Ganymed but rather a Swiss one”.

24. Lake Zurich Boat Tour
(16 – P)
Just to the right of the Ganymed
Sculpture, boat tours leave for
points all over Lake Zurich,
including roundtrip tours
covered by the Swiss Pass with a
small booking fee. Check at the
ticket office here for information
and schedules. A nice round-trip
lake cruise might be a great way
to relax at the end of your walk.
Most boats have restaurants and
bars where you can buy food and
drinks to enjoy during your
cruise.

25. Check out this and other podcasts and walking tours
on my website:
www.oneperfectdayin.org
If you would like a pdf of the text and maps of 16
Highlights of Zurich, just send me an email at:
cindy@oneperfectdayin.org
I would love to see you on Instagram
or Twitter @oneperfectdayin. Thanks!
Cindy