Zurich is one of the best stopover cities in Europe coming from Australia or America. With the town only 15 minutes on the train from the airport and it being a small walkable city, it’s the perfect stopover destination, weekend break or relaxing end to a European adventure.

Things to see and do in Zurich

Walk along the waterfront along the park
Lookouts e.g. Linderhof
Grossmunster
Walk across each bridge for a different perspective (and great photos)
If you’re a fellow stationery love, Zurich has plenty of stationery shop (see this post)
Augustinergasse street (pretty street)
Walk along the river (on both sides)

Tips for visiting Zurich

It felt safe walking around at night
Globus and Manor are the main department stores in Zurich
Take the train from the airport – much cheaper than a taxi and very convenient
The main train station is easy to navigate
Food is expensive – really expensive
The view from the university (ETH Zürich) is a good place to start to get oriented with where things are (note: there’s no need to pay for the Funicular – UBS Polybahn – there are steps you can use to get up there for free)
I visited early May – it was still quite cold (jeans + boots + jumper + thick outer coat – although I do seem to feel the cold more than most people)

The view from Lindenhof (free!)

How long should you spend in Zurich?

I think 2 days is sufficient. I arrived in Zurich mid-morning and spent the rest of the day in Zurich. On the 2nd day I spent the morning in Zurich and the afternoon visiting Rhine Falls and Stein Am Rhein.

Day trips from Zurich

Zurich is one of the best major airport connection cities to see the black forest (apart from Frankfurt)
Basel (about 1hr each way by train)
Colmar (about 2hrs each way by train)
Lichtenstein
Rhine falls & stein am Rhine
Rhine Falls & the Black Forest
Uetliberg lookout (probably a half day not full day)

Rhine falls – a short drive from Zurich

Where to stay

I stayed at the Best Western Plus Hotel Zürcherhof. The location was great – walkable distance to everything and near restaurants for dinner.

Pros of this hotel

– Room big enough for suitcases
– Comfortable beds
– Effective blackout curtains
– Makeup mirror
– Full length mirror outside the bathroom
– Mini bar fridge was included in the price
– Short walk to everything – convenient location near the river and grocery shops
– Friendly staff
– Had wall adapter power plugs if you forget yours
– There was a sign in the bathroom where if you forgot something like a toothbrush that you could ask for it at reception
– Decent breakfast with croissants, cheese, yoghurt, they make an omelette for you with whatever you want in it and it had a very cool DIY Nutella dispenser

Cons of this hotel

Like most things in Switzerland, the hotel was very expensive
Requested a room with 2 single beds, instead it was just 2 single beds pushed together to make 1 bed. The bedside tables and headboard were fixed so you couldn’t separate the single beds
There was too much noise from the bars and restaurants in the street below – even from the 3rd floor. The windows didn’t seem very soundproof

Zürichhorn

Would I go back to Zurich?

I think once was enough for Zurich – it’s quite small. Since I like to fly Singapore Airlines and one of their Europe hubs is Zurich, I wouldn’t rule out going back someday as a stopover to somewhere else – maybe in winter so I can see the contrast between the 2 seasons (I visited in spring).