The Complete Zurich Travel Guide

Before anything else: nothing here was lifted off a top-ten list. Every place on this page was picked one at a time, and the ones that did not earn it were left out. Zurich is expensive enough that a bad recommendation actually costs you something, which is the whole reason this guide is short and opinionated.

Use the tabs at the top to move between walking itineraries, places to see, where to eat, where to stay, experiences and day trips. Practical questions like transport, tipping and what a coffee really costs are in the ⚡ Quick Facts panel below.

About Zurich: Everything You Need to Know Before You Go

This complete Zurich travel guide covers getting around on the trams and the S-Bahn, the best things to do in Zurich from the Altstadt to Zürich West, where to eat without paying tourist prices, free things to do, swimming in the lake and the river, and the day trips into the Alps that make Zurich worth using as a base. Read it before you book.

Zurich has around 440,000 people in the city and about 1.4 million across the wider area, which makes it Switzerland's largest city and, by most counts, one of the most expensive in the world. It is smaller than visitors expect: the old town is walkable end to end in twenty minutes, and the lake starts where the shopping street stops. German is the official language, though what you hear on the tram is Swiss German, which native German speakers also struggle with. The river Limmat splits the centre, and in summer the city swims in it.

Whether you have a day between flights or a full week, treat Zurich as a base as much as a destination. The sections below cover getting around, what is worth paying for, and the mountains that are ninety minutes from the main station.