The Bahnhofstrasse runs 1.4 kilometres from the main station to the lake. It is consistently among the most expensive retail streets in the world, the banks keep their gold in vaults beneath it, and it is also, for most of its length, a fairly ordinary shopping street.
The interesting end is the lake end. Bürkliplatz, where the street meets the water, is where the boats leave, where the Sunday flea market sets up, and where the view opens south down Lake Zurich toward the Alps on a clear day.
Zurich is often written off as a banking city with nothing to do. That was truer twenty years ago than it is now.
The four quarters
The Altstadt straddles the Limmat river: Niederdorf on the east bank with the lanes and the bars, and the Lindenhof side on the west with the Fraumünster and its Chagall windows.
The lake end, around Bürkliplatz and the Utoquai, has the grand hotels, the boats and the lakeside swimming.
Zürich West, in the former industrial district, has the viaduct arches, the Freitag tower made of shipping containers, and most of the restaurants and clubs that changed the city's reputation.
The Zürichberg, above the city, is residential and green with the best views back down.
The lake itself is the thing visitors underuse. It is clean enough to swim in, the city runs a series of badis — public lidos, some in the river — and in summer half of Zurich is in the water after work.
The nine below are grouped by quarter.
The lake end
Around Bürkliplatz, where the boats leave.
Baur au Lac occupies a building in its own park between the lake and the canal, family-owned since 1844, with two restaurants and a level of discretion that is the point of it. It is the best hotel in Switzerland.
Baur au Lac
Bürkliplatz, lake end · 5★ · $$$$
Its own park between the lake and the canal, since 1844
Check availabilityLa Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich sits on the Utoquai in a 1909 building reworked by Philippe Starck, with a rooftop restaurant over the lake and rooms facing the water and the Alps.
La Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich
Utoquai, Zurich · 5★ · $$$$
A 1909 building reworked by Starck with a rooftop over the lake
Check availabilityPark Hyatt Zurich occupies a position near the opera house with contemporary rooms, a good bar and the shortest walk to the lake promenade.
Park Hyatt Zurich
Near the opera house · 5★ · $$$$
Shortest walk to the lake promenade with a good bar
Check availabilityThe Altstadt
The old town on both banks of the Limmat.
Widder Hotel - Zurichs Luxury Hideaway occupies nine medieval houses knitted together behind their original facades, with exposed timber and stone against contemporary interiors and a jazz bar. It is the most interesting conversion in the city.
Widder Hotel - Zurichs Luxury Hideaway
Altstadt, Zurich · 5★ · $$$$
Nine medieval houses knitted together behind their facades
Check availabilityStorchen Zürich - Lifestyle Boutique Hotel sits on the Limmat with rooms directly over the river, a terrace on the water and a position between the Fraumünster and the Grossmünster.
Storchen Zürich - Lifestyle Boutique Hotel
Limmat riverside · 5★ · $$$
Rooms directly over the river between the two minsters
Check availabilityHotel Schweizerhof Zürich occupies a building in the Niederdorf with a small room count and the old town bars outside.
Hotel Schweizerhof Zürich
By the main station · 4★ · $$$
Small and central with the old town bars nearby
Check availabilityThe Zürichberg
Above the city, in the green.
The Dolder Grand occupies a nineteenth-century building on the hill with a very large spa, a serious art collection including Warhol and Dalí, and a funicular down to the centre. It is the most complete hotel in Zurich.
The Dolder Grand
Zürichberg · 5★ · $$$$
A very large spa and a serious art collection above the city
Check availabilityZürich West and the centre
The former industrial quarter and the station side.
Hotel Alden Splügenschloss Zürich - Leonardo Limited Edition occupies a suite property near the Bahnhofstrasse in an 1898 building, with apartment-style rooms and the shopping outside.
Hotel Alden Splügenschloss Zürich - Leonardo Limited Edition
Near the Bahnhofstrasse · 5★ · $$$$
An 1898 building of apartment-style suites
Check availability25hours Hotel Langstrasse sits in the Langstrasse district with a design-led interior, a rooftop bar and the best value in the city.
25hours Hotel Langstrasse
Langstrasse · 4★ · $$
Rooftop bar and the best value in the city
Check availabilityWhat we have left off
The serviced apartments across Zürich West are excluded, and the city has a large supply serving long-stay business visitors. They are apartments rather than hotels.
What to do
Swim. The Frauenbadi and the Männerbadi are historic wooden bathing houses in the river, the Seebad Enge is on the lake, and in the evening several become bars. It is the most Zurich thing there is.
Take a boat down the lake. The service runs from Bürkliplatz and the short round trip takes ninety minutes.
See the Kunsthaus, which holds the largest Giacometti collection anywhere and a serious body of Swiss and modern European work.
Walk Zürich West: the Viadukt arches, the Freitag tower, and the Frau Gerolds Garten in summer.
Eat. Zurich has more restaurants per head than almost any European city and the food scene has moved a long way from fondue, though the Zunfthaus guild houses still serve the classics properly.
Practical notes
Zurich airport is ten minutes from the main station by train, which is among the easiest airport connections in Europe.
May to September is the lake season and the best time. Winter is grey at city level and it is when the fog sits in the lowlands, which is worth knowing if you are going on to the mountains. December has a good Christmas market.
Zurich is expensive. Public transport is excellent and the Zürich Card is usually worth it.
Explore 4 & 5 Star Zurich Hotels
Questions people actually ask
Is Zurich boring?
Less so than its reputation. Zürich West, the lake swimming and the restaurant scene have changed the city considerably in twenty years.
Can you swim in the lake?
Yes, and in the river. The city runs a series of public bathing houses and half of Zurich uses them in summer.
Lake end or old town?
Lake end for the boats, the promenade and the grand hotels. Old town for the lanes and the bars.
How many nights?
Two. Three if you are using it as a base for a day in the mountains.