Zürich's best-known sights lie close together, and most of them cost little or nothing. The three old-town churches, the Lindenhof and the Niederdorf make one easy walking day; Bahnhofstrasse and the National Museum sit at either end of the main station. The river and lake boats want a dry day and the Uetliberg a clear one, so leave those three free to move with the forecast.
1Grossmünster
Photo: Sergio Zhukov / Pexels, Pexels License
The twin towers on the east bank are the emblem of Zürich. Legend has Charlemagne founding the church over the graves of the city's patron saints, Felix and Regula; the Romanesque building you see went up between about 1100 and 1220. In 1519 Huldrych Zwingli began preaching here, and the Reformation in German-speaking Switzerland grew from this pulpit, which explains the bare, whitewashed interior. Colour comes from the windows: Augusto Giacometti's in the choir and Sigmar Polke's in the nave, some of them made of thin slices of agate. The crypt, the oldest part of the church, keeps wall paintings of the martyrdom of Felix and Regula. The Karlsturm tower has 187 steps and a view over the lake to the Glarus Alps.
Time
30 min to 1 h, longer with the tower
Setting
Both
Best time
Friday to Sunday for the tower; never on a Tuesday
Getting there
Tram 4 to Helmhaus, or a short walk from Bellevue
Tip: The church is free. The tower costs CHF 5 (CHF 2 for ages 6 to 16 and students), tickets are sold only at the tower desk, and the last climb starts an hour before the church closes. A combined ticket with the Fraumünster costs CHF 8, and each church ticket gives CHF 5 off the Kunsthaus collection. Leave large bags and umbrellas behind, as they are not allowed on the narrow stairs. Special closures are announced on the parish page.
The church with the slim green spire was founded in 853 as a convent for noblewomen, and for centuries its abbess held many of the rights over the town, down to minting its coins. People come today for the choir, where five tall windows by Marc Chagall, installed in 1970, fill the space with deep blue, green and red. Augusto Giacometti designed the large window in the north transept. A small museum in the crypt tells the story of the abbey.
Time
20 to 30 min
Setting
Indoor
Best time
A bright day, when the sun stands behind the glass
Getting there
Tram to Paradeplatz, then a few minutes on foot
Tip: Tickets are sold only at the door; visitors under 16 and students enter free. From the Münsterbrücke in front of the church you have the Fraumünster and the Grossmünster facing each other across the river, the view most postcards of Zürich use. Opening hours change with the season and church events, so check the parish page on the day.
Open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm between March and October and to 5 pm between November and February; on Sundays from 12 pm, after the service. Admission CHF 5, including the crypt museum.
Look up from almost anywhere in the old town and you will catch the time on St. Peter. Each of the four dials on its tower measures 8.64 metres across, the largest church-tower clock face in Europe, and the tower has carried a clock since 1366. An old Zürich split still holds: the tower belongs to the city, the nave to the parish. The Reformed church below is free to enter and makes a calm pause between the Lindenhof and Bahnhofstrasse.
Time
15 to 30 min
Setting
Indoor
Best time
Any day; on Saturdays come before mid-afternoon
Getting there
A short walk from Paradeplatz or the Lindenhof
Tip: The doors stay shut while a service is on, and the tower can be climbed only on a private guided tour booked in advance; the parish page has the service times and tour contacts. The best view of the dials is from the Limmatquai across the river.
Open Monday to Friday 9 am–6 pm, Saturday to 3 pm, Sunday to 4 pm. Admission free.
This raised square of lime trees on the west bank is where Zürich began. The Romans built a fort here in the 4th century, a grandson of Charlemagne put up a palace on the same spot in the 9th, and in 1798 the townspeople gathered here to swear the oath to the Helvetic Constitution. Today it is a quiet terrace with benches where chess players meet, and from its parapet you look straight across the Limmat to the Niederdorf roofs, the Predigerkirche spire and the university on the hill.
Time
15 to 30 min
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Early morning for calm, or late afternoon when the east bank is in full sun
Getting there
Seven minutes on foot from Zürich HB, up the lanes from Rennweg
Tip: The square is always open and free. Just below it on the river side lies the Schipfe, one of the oldest parts of the city, which makes a pleasant route down to the water. Zürich Tourism has more on its history.
Photo: Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz / Pexels, Pexels License
The east bank of the old town is two walks in one. The Limmatquai runs along the water, car-free, past the Rathaus, which stands on stone arches in the river itself, and a row of guild houses. One street back, the Niederdorfstrasse and its side alleys, which locals call simply "Dörfli", run from Central south towards Bellevue. By day the small shops tucked into the alleys are the draw; after dark the bars fill and street performers take over the corners.
Time
1 to 2 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
Late afternoon into the evening
Getting there
Starts at Central, across the Bahnhofbrücke from the main station
Tip: Walk the alleys one way and the Limmatquai back: the riverside gives the best views of St. Peter and the Fraumünster opposite. At the end of August the Dörflifäscht street festival fills the lanes with music and food stalls. Zürich Tourism describes the quarter.
Laid out in the 1860s over a filled-in town moat, the street runs about 1.4 kilometres from the main station to the lake, and trams and pedestrians share it under lime trees. The northern half has department stores; south of Paradeplatz, the square of the big Swiss banks, the watchmakers and jewellers take over. At the lake end, Bürkliplatz has the landing stages of the lake boats and a long view down the water.
Time
45 min to 1 h 30 min
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A weekday or Saturday, when the shops are open
Getting there
Starts at Zürich HB; trams run its whole length
Tip: Almost every shop on the street is closed on Sundays, while the shopping arcade under the main station stays open. At Paradeplatz, the confectioner Sprüngli is the place for the small Luxemburgerli macarons. Zürich Tourism has more on the street.
The Landesmuseum looks like a fairy-tale castle that has landed behind the main station: towers, turrets and a courtyard, designed by the architect Gustav Gull, with a modern new wing behind it that holds its own against the old one. The permanent exhibition walks you through the history of Switzerland from its beginnings to the present, from feuding cantons to the day women won the vote. Upstairs in the old building, "Simply Zurich" tells the story of the city and canton around a single showcase of 60 objects, each with its own tale.
Time
1 h 30 min to 3 h
Setting
Indoor
Best time
A rainy day; closed on Mondays
Getting there
Directly behind Zürich HB
Tip: Audio guides in several languages are available on a rental device or in the museum's app. "Simply Zurich" is free for everyone, and the Zürich Card covers full admission. Holiday opening hours are on the museum's website.
Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am–5 pm. Adults CHF 13, reduced CHF 10 (students, pensioners), under 16 free.
Low electric boats with glass roofs slide under the old-town bridges and out onto the lake, so you see the guild houses, the churches and the Lindenhof from the level of the water. The round trip begins by the Landesmuseum, a few minutes from the main station, and lasts 50 min.
Time
50 min
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
April to October, on a dry day
Getting there
Landing stage by the Landesmuseum, near Zürich HB
Tip: There is no separate fare: an ordinary ZVV ticket for the city zone 110 or the Zürich Card is valid on board. The boats run only from April to October; departures are listed on the Zürich Tourism page.
The city ends at the water, and on a clear day the Alps line the horizon beyond the far end of the lake. Promenades run along both shores from Bellevue and Bürkliplatz, and the ZSG boats leave Bürkliplatz for round trips that run all year. In summer the lake becomes Zürich's swimming pool: the lake baths at Utoquai, Tiefenbrunnen, Enge, Mythenquai and Wollishofen are full on warm evenings.
Time
1 to 2 h
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A clear day for the Alps; summer evenings for a swim
Getting there
Tram to Bürkliplatz or Bellevue
Tip: The boats are part of the ZVV network, so an ordinary zone ticket is your boat ticket and there is no separate cruise fare. The Zürich Card covers both short cruises. In winter fewer boats run; check the ZSG timetable before you go.
Mini cruise (1 hour) on a ticket for zones 110 and 140: CHF 7.20, children CHF 3.60. Short cruise (1½ hours) on a ticket for zones 110, 140 and 150: CHF 9.40, children CHF 4.70.
Zürich's own mountain rises straight from the western edge of the city. From the lookout tower on the summit you see the city, the whole length of the lake and, on a clear day, a long chain of Alpine peaks. In late autumn and winter the top often stands above the fog that covers the city, so a grey morning down in Zürich can be a sunny one up here. Check the Uetliberg mountain forecast before you set off.
Time
2 to 4 h, more with the walk to Felsenegg
Setting
Outdoor
Best time
A clear day, or a foggy one in autumn and winter
Getting there
S10 to Uetliberg, 19 min from Zürich Selnau, then a short steep walk
Tip: Until 12 December 2026 the S10 does not run from the main station because of construction work and starts at Zürich Selnau instead; the SZU page shows the current service. The Planet Trail to Felsenegg is easy walking with signs about the solar system along the way. The Felsenegg cable car down to Adliswil will be closed for maintenance in March 2027, so in that month walk back the way you came.
