Zurich: top attractions & road trip guide
Zurich is Switzerland's largest city, sitting at the northern tip of Lake Zurich where the Limmat River begins. It combines a well-preserved medieval old town with a global reputation as a financial center, home to major banks and the Swiss stock exchange, alongside museums, guild houses, and a lakefront promenade.
The city sits in the canton of Zurich in the northeast of the country, a natural starting or ending point for road trips into central Switzerland or toward Germany and Austria. Its compact old town is best explored on foot, while the lake and river provide a green counterpoint to the surrounding business districts.
Top attractions
Bahnhofstrasse
Zurich's main boulevard, running from the main train station to Lake Zurich, lined with department stores, luxury boutiques, and the underground vaults of the city's major banks.
Grossmünster
A twin-towered Romanesque church on the east bank of the Limmat where the reformer Huldrych Zwingli preached in the 16th century, with a viewing platform in one tower reached by a spiral staircase.
Fraumünster
A former abbey church on the west bank of the Limmat known for its five stained-glass windows designed by Marc Chagall in the 1970s, installed in the choir.
Old Town (Niederdorf)
The medieval quarter east of the Limmat, a maze of narrow lanes, guild houses, and small squares that today holds bars, restaurants, and independent shops.
Uetliberg
Zurich's local mountain, reached by a short train ride from the city center, with a summit ridge trail and an observation tower offering views over the city, the lake, and the Alps on clear days.
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