Best Places to Visit in Zurich

What comes to mind when you think of Zurich? I think freezing weather, secret bank accounts, or a place oozing with richness. During my stay, Zurich had a perfect weather during the day in early September but a little cold at night, not freezing tho. The ambiance was definitely RICH. To illustrate, just walking around the Old Town area, non luxury cars are more an exception than the norm. I mean the Audis, Porsches, and Ferraris are just roaming around frequently. Here are my best places to visit in Zurich.

FOOD

If you’d like to try Swiss Food, I suggest you try Zeughauskeller. I had yelped this restaurant before I went to Zurich. I must tell you that their sampler of sausages were amazing. The place is huge but it’s packed with a lot of chairs. You will be seated next to a stranger as it’s full of community tables/chairs. It’s really interesting as that’s typically not how you dine in the U.S. If you’re looking for friends, this is the place to be! haha.

I also tried Conti which is an Italian restaurant in Zurich just behind the Opera House. It has great selections of wine and I think this may be one of the Michelin guide restaurants. The food was good but if it’s on a Michelin level, I’m not sure if it was THAT good. Maybe I just didn’t pick the right dish? This place has good reviews on TripAdvisor.

However, with all the fancy restaurants available in Zurich, the BEST food I’ve ever had was a hot dog/sausage sold by a cart vendor in front of the Lake Zurich. It was so cheap! Actually, I planned to have it for dinner as well but it was already closed when I came back. Yup, it was that good! Not only does the Lake Zurich area have the best hot dog, someone was also selling the best gelato I’ve ever had. Ughh I just wish I took pictures of both stands!

ACTIVITIES

Since Zurich is so grand and rich, of course there are so many stores to shop from including a lot of luxury stores in one strip in Old Town called Bahnofstrasse. I could see Chanel, Tods, etc. One thing you have to be aware about Zurich is that their prices are higher than the U.S. for most products. In fact, this is actually one of the world’s most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues. Point blank, Zurich is one of the most expensive cities in Europe!

Aside from the expensive stores, there are plenty of cute and cheaper stores all over Old Town. I recommend touring Old Town, you can’t miss it. There are so many little boutiques in between Old Town and near Lake Zurich. I couldn’t resist checking out their Lululemon store and bought something.

Another activity I suggest you do in Zurich is to hike to the top of Mount Uetliberg. I think it took me about an hour to reach the top but I’m not a hiker either. haha! If you’re fast, I’m sure it’ll only take you 30 minutes. If you don’t want to hike at all, you can take the train. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, I had no idea a train is available to get to the top until I was already at the top and I heard the train. Naturally, I took the train back down to Old Town.

Once you get to the top, you’ll see the most amazing view. Actually, it’s one of the best views I’ve seen in my life. You’ll get to see the view of the city, Lake Zurich and the Swiss Alps.

If you like to get drinks with a view of the lake, I suggest going to the rooftop of Eden Au Lac hotel. The drinks were average but the view was way better. What I like about European bars is that when you order a drink, they always give you snacks like peanuts or popcorn. I love that!

Of course, you have to check out Lake Zurich. If you’re a runner, this is a great place to do your run especially when you have a great weather and view. Additionally, Lake Zurich has plenty of benches if you just want to sit and relax and a few food carts so you don’t ever get hungry.

HOTEL

For this trip, I used my Chase Ultimate Rewards points to get a free hotel room. I picked the Steigenberger Bellerive au Lac. Even though this wasn’t a very luxurious hotel, it was still pricey. I think that’s just all of Zurich so be sure to plan or budget ahead. I chose this hotel since it’s walking distance to numerous bars and restaurants as well as shopping in Old Town Zurich. The location which is across from Lake Zurich can’t be beat. Additionally, the front desk has apples for you to snack on, such a brilliant idea and it definitely stood out!

However, if you like an AC unit in your hotel room, this may not be the hotel for you. I didn’t realized that this hotel has no AC until I got there. I just thought it’s basic in all hotel rooms. haha! Luckily, the hotel had a fan to cool me down. It’s not that big of a problem since the weather outside is cool at night but I at least would like to have the AC option.

Overall, Zurich is a cool city to visit. It radiates class, money and richness. The beauty of the surrounding is so magnificent but be ready to spend some money as this city is not cheap. If you’ve been to Zurich, let me know your favorite places in the comment below.

If you’re interested in visiting another place in Europe, check out my blog post Best Places to Visit in Amsterdam, click here.

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