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Things to do in Zurich / Switzerland

Keep in mind

You can go almost anywhere with public transport. The network is extremely reliable, dense, and frequent. There’s remarkably few locations where you need a car to reach, and I’d be surprised if you need one.

Food

Restaurants and cafes

  • BUNZAI: my favorite (smash) burgers.
  • The Bite: 2nd favorite burgers.
  • Black Tap: 3rd favorite burgers. They also have ridiculously exaggerated milkshakes.
  • Williams ButchersTable: best steak I’ve had in Zurich but very expensive (~350CHF for two people). If you live in the US, you’ve probably had equivalent steaks for less.
  • Sternen Grill: they will give you a sausage in hand and ask you to take your irregularly piece of bread and their signature (very strong) mustard yourself. I love this place. They have various sausages, my personal recommendation is the spicy one (salsiccia picante). They also have two tasty sandwiches, Rindshuft-Spiess and Schnitzelbrot. It’s near the lake and close to the Operahaus.
  • Blinde Kuh: An “experience” restaurant where it’s pitch black dark, and you don’t see anything. Some people love it and others feel uneasy about this.
  • The Dolder Grand: A very fancy hotel on the hillside with nice view of the city. They have a very overpriced restaurant/cafeteria where you can have a coffee or hot chocolate.
  • Cafe Miyuko: A Japanese cafe with very cute cakes. Ladies tend to like it.
  • Babu’s: Nice place for a brunch.

Fondue and raclette

You’re supposed to try fondue and raclette. They’re both super “Swiss”

Fondue is basically melted cheese (usually mixed with white wine) that you dip bread into.

Raclette is cheese melted on top of boiled potatoes. None of them is particularly tasty but it’s a very Swiss thing to do.

Fondue > raclette (hope this won’t start a national war).

Activities / Places to visit

  • Kunsthaus: Zurich’s art museum. It has a contemporary and an old section,
  • Operahaus: Zurich’s opera house. The building is old and impressive, gives you Victorian vibes. Definitely worth going for an opera night if you’re into it.
  • Tonhalle Orchester Zurich: Orchestra. If you find a concert you like, it’s worth going. I love it.
  • Landesmuseum: National museum of Switzerland. Nice to learn about the history of the country
  • FIFA Museum: If you’re into football.
  • ETH terrase: Observation deck with panoramic view of Zurich. You can also visit ETH, Switzerland’s best university and a worldwide top uni alongside MIT, Harvard, etc. Einstein studied and taught there.
  • Uetliberg: The small mountain you see southwest of Zurich. You can take the train to go up (~30’), and have a hot chocolate and enjoy the view (if it’s not cloudy).

Day trips from Zurich

  • Lucerne: Super easy day trip from Zurich. 1h direct train. It’s old town is very pretty and has a cute wooden bridge that goes over the river. Ladies tend to like this.
    • Time from Zurich: 1h
    • Train changes: Direct
  • Lugano: Scenic city in the Italian part of Switzerland. It feels like you’re in a cute part in Italy there. Lugano has usually better weather than Zurich, and in general I’d recommend it more during spring/summer but it can be pretty in winter too if it’s snowy.
    • Time from Zurich: 2.5h
    • Train changes: 0-1

Iconic places - Overnight stays

  • Kandersteg: My favorite place I’ve ever been to. You feel like you’re in a fake NPC world. It has tremendously beautiful nature. I went there during summer.
    • Time from Zurich: 2-2.h
    • Train changes: 1-2
  • Zermatt: An iconic small village from where you can see Matterhorn, the famous mountain depicted on the Toblerone chocolate. It feels surreal to be there. Since it’s going to be peak tourist season, I expect that it’s going to be pricy.
    • Time to reach: ~3h
    • Train changes: 1-2

Hikes / Skiing

Hike during winter might be tricky, depending on which one you’re doing, but there’s a LOT of beautiful and easy/short ones. I’d make a quick search if I was about to go on one to make sure that (a) the route is open and (b) the weather is bearable. The Swiss are obsessive about this so they have apps and sites that detail everything.

My favorite hikes were Mt. Riggi and Creux du Van.

If you ski, it’s a must in Switzerland, and extremely accessible. Everyone skis. They don’t ask you “what did you do in the weekend?”. They ask “where did you ski in the weekend?”. As a non-skier, it’s annoying. You don’t need to overthink this part. Just pick any place and go, the amount of infrastructure they have around skiing is impressive.

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