The prices are real and there is no arguing them away. What softens them is that the things which define a summer here cost nothing at all. Locals swim in the Limmat river, which runs straight through the middle of the city, and entry to the river baths is free. More than twelve hundred public fountains pour drinking water clean enough that nobody buys bottles. One correction while we are here, because visitors assume otherwise: this is not the Swiss capital. Bern is.
The airport reaches the Hauptbahnhof by train in about ten minutes, and that station is among the busiest in Europe, with fast services across Switzerland and on into Germany, Austria and Italy. Switzerland sits inside the passport free zone but outside the union and outside the euro, so you pay in Swiss francs, there is no frontier check arriving from neighbouring countries, and travellers from further afield now give fingerprints and a photograph at the border instead of collecting a stamp, with an online authorisation for visa exempt nationalities still being phased in rather than demanded today. Hotels are where the money actually goes, and trade fairs and congresses push them higher without warning, so treat the room as the budget and assume much of the rest costs less than you expect. Compare flights and hotels in Zurich and check the fair calendar before fixing your dates.
The old town straddles the water in two halves of stepped lanes and guild houses. The Grossmünster raises its twin towers on the east bank, with a climb up the Karlsturm for the rooftop view, and the Fraumünster answers from the west with a set of stained glass windows by Chagall. Saint Peter carries what is generally reckoned the largest church clock face in Europe above the lanes, and the Swiss National Museum sits in its turreted pile beside the station.
North of the centre the old industrial quarter has filled the arches of the Viadukt with shops, bars and a market hall, which is where the city stops behaving like a postcard. Trams and trains cover everything and a single ticket takes in the lot, including the small railway up Uetliberg, the city's own mountain, for a view over the water to the Alps. Boats cross Lake Zurich from Bürkliplatz, and the shorter runs fall inside the same transport zones.
Where you stay sets the tone. In the old town around the Niederdorf lanes, boutique hotels sit within sight of the Grossmünster and within earshot of the bars. Near the Hauptbahnhof, mid-range and business hotels suit early trains and day trips. Out in Zurich West, design hotels and apartment rentals stand among the Viadukt arches. Along the lake in Seefeld, quieter hotels and apartments open onto the shore path and the lake baths.
As a city break what repays booking is airport transfers, a transport pass, guided tours on foot and day trips, rather than a hire car, which is a liability here between the parking and the traffic zones. A guided walk earns its place for the guild houses, whose history is the actual story of the place and is not written on the walls. The day trips almost pick themselves: Lucerne with its lake and covered bridge, the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen for sheer volume of water, and the painted facades of Stein am Rhein, all reachable by train in an hour or two. Check guided tour and day trip prices and let the railway handle the rest.
Season decides whether the free half of the city is open at all. The river and lake baths run from around the middle of May into September, so summer is when Zurich stops hurting; spring and autumn are pleasant for walking but the water is shut; winter is grey, dear and dark by mid-afternoon, redeemed by the Christmas markets and by ski trains leaving from the same station. If you come in the heat, give a warm afternoon to the water. Walk upstream, get in, and let the current carry you down to the wooden platform at Oberer Letten where half the city is sunbathing, then stay while the bathhouse turns into a bar at dusk. Note that the stretch between the lake bridges and the old Dynamo centre is closed to swimmers because of boat traffic and locks, and that the lake baths charge a few francs while the river baths do not. Personally, I would put the money into one good dinner and spend the rest of the trip on fountains, trams and the river.
Q: Can you swim in the river in Zurich?
A: Yes, and locals do it daily through the summer. The river baths on the Limmat are free and open seasonally, though the stretch near the lake bridges is closed to swimmers because of boat traffic and locks.
Q: Is Zurich the capital of Switzerland?
A: No. Bern is the capital. Zurich is the largest city and the financial centre, which is why it is so often mistaken for it.
Q: Is Zurich very expensive?
A: Hotels and restaurants are, yes. The fountains give free drinking water, the river baths are free, the lake baths ask a few francs, and Uetliberg and the shore paths cost little or nothing.
Q: What are the best day trips from Zurich?
A: Lucerne for its lake and covered bridge, the Rhine Falls for the sheer volume of water, and Stein am Rhein for its painted facades, all reachable by train.
Q: When is the best time to visit Zurich?
A: Summer, if you want the swimming, which is the best free thing the city has. Spring and autumn suit walking, and winter brings Christmas markets and easy trains to the ski resorts.
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