Arguably the most beautiful city in Europe, Zurich is friendly, comfortable, and absolutely delicious. Ranked as the city with the highest quality of living in the world, with the highest density of bathing facilities (that often turn into bars at night) and one restaurant for every 180 inhabitants, it’s a great (but likely expensive) stop on a European trip.
1) GETTING THERE & WHERE TO STAY
Plan on spending around $650 on roundtrip airfare from Chicago. Bring your passport, although don’t expect a hold up at the border–entering Switzerland (like most other Swiss things) is fast, reliable, and efficient. A quick sans-serif passport stamp and you’re ready to head downtown.
The fastest way downtown is to head downstairs and take the SBB train, about $6, to the central downtown Bahnhofplatz train station. If you get confused, look for an info desk–you’ll find an English speaking rep who will be happy to point you in the right direction and sell you the correct ticket. It’s a 15 minute ride. (The local tram, which you can catch outdoors, will take you downtown as well, but it will cost you about the same and take 40 minutes).
There’s a wide range of hotels to choose from, we like the Seegarten (delicious breakfast, quiet street) and Hotel Adler (located in the heart of the cobblestoned Old Town). Plan on spending over $200 a night.
2) STUFF YOUR FACE AT BREAKFAST
Hotel breakfasts in Europe are normally not that impressive. But vegetarians will stuff themselves on endless fresh pastries, half a dozen different types of yogurts, muesli, fruit, Nutella, cheese, coffee with steamed milk, and weird jams.
3) TAKE A WALK THROUGH OLD TOWN
The Old Town area of Zurich is immaculately maintained, with winding cobblestone streets and charming shops. Stop at the Fraumunster (Church Of Our Lady) to gawk at the five Marc Chagall windows that were installed in 1970.
4) EAT OUTSIDE
Get a coal oven pizza at Santa Lucia (Marktgasse 21, 01 262 36 26). Its hard to find a bad lunch place in Old Town–choose a place with the most scenic outdoor seating.
5) BROWSE A ZILLION AWESOME DESIGN BOOKS
Try to blend in as you bug out browsing the amazing design books at the Orell Füssli Krauthammer bookstore (Marktgasse 12, 0848 849 848).
6) CLIMB THE FREITAG STORE
Constructed from nine vertically stacked shipping containers, Freitag’s flagship store (Geroldstrasse 17, 41 43 366 95 20) offers an awesome view of Zurich and a place to grab some cool gifts for your hipster buddies back home.
7) EAT VEGETARIAN
Walk (you can comfortably walk everywhere in Zurich, but the public transit is also fast, clean, and abundant) over to Hilti (Sihlstrasse 28, 044 227 70 00). Founded in 1898 it is Europe’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, with a choice of buffet or menu dining. Buffet is paid by weight, a fully loaded plate can run over $30, so watch yourself fatty.
8) BEFORE YOU LEAVE…
Grab a pistachio Movenpick ice cream cone and fill your pockets with Ragusa chocolate bars.