DISCOVER ZURICH

The origin of the name is probably the Celtic word Turus, a corroborating reference to which was found on a tomb inscription dating from the Roman occupation in the 2nd century; The antique name of the town in its romanized form was Turicum.

The city is situated where the river Limmat leaves Lake Zurich and is surrounded by wooded hills including the Zurichberg and the Uetliberg. The river Sihl meets with the Limmat at the end of Platzspitz, which borders the Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum).

During 2004 the Fraumunster was fully renovated. During this period the installed scaffolding went above the tip of the tower allowing a unique and exceptional 360° panoramic view of Zurich.


EVENTS IN ZURICH

• Street Parade
• Sechseläuten, spring festival of the guilds and burning of the Boogg
• Zurich International Theater Festival - Zurcher Theater Spektakel, it ranks among the most important European festivals for the contemporary performing arts.
• Kunst Zurich, international art fair with an annual guest city (New York in 2005); combines most recent and youngest art with the works of well-established artists.
• Annual public art program each summer, sponsored by the Zurich City Association (the local equivalent of a chamber of commerce) with the cooperation of the city government. The theme for 2005 was teddy bears.

TRANSPORTATION IN ZURICH

Zurich is a hub for rail, road, and air traffic. It has several railway stations, including Zurich Main Station, Zurich Oerlikon, Zurich Stadelhofen, and Zurich Altstetten.

The Cisalpino, InterCity Express, and even the TGV high-speed trains stop in Zurich.

The A1, A3 and A4 motorways pass close to Zurich. The A1 heads west towards Bern and Geneva and eastwards towards St. Gallen; the A4 leads northwards to Schaffhausen; and the A3 heads northwest towards Basel and southeast along Lake Zurich and Lake Walen towards Sargans.

Zurich has a major international airport at Kloten, less than 10 kilometres northeast of the city. There is also an airfield in Dubendorf, although it is not used for civil aviation.

Within Zurich and throughout the canton of Zurich, the ZVV network of public transport has traffic density rating among the highest worldwide. If you add frequency, which in Zurich can be as often as 7 minutes, it does become the densest across all dimensions. Three means of mass-transit exist: the S-Bahn (local trains), trams, and buses (both diesel and electric, also called trolley buses). Rumour has it that no point exists on the ground floor within the central district which is farther than 150 metres from the next bus, tram, or train stop.

In addition the public transport network includes boats on the lake and river, funicular railways and even a cable car between Adliswil and Felsenegg. Tickets purchased for a trip are valid on all means of public transportation (train, tram, bus, boat).


CHURCHES OF ZURICH

• Grossmunster (great minster) (near Lake Zurich, in the old city), where Zwingli was pastor; first building around 820; declared by Charlemagne imperial church
• Fraumunster (our lady's minster) first church built before 874; the Romanesque choir dates from 1250-70; Marc Chagall stained glass choir windows; (on the opposite side of the Limmat)
• St. Peter (downstream from the Fraumunster, in the old city); with the largest clock face in Europe

MUSEUMS OF ZURICH

• Museum Bärengasse, history of the city in the 18th century
• Kunsthaus Zurich, one of the largest collections in Classic Modern Art in the world (Munch, Picasso, Braque, Giacometti, etc.)
• Museum Rietberg, Antique Asian Art
• Museum Bellerive, Museum for fashion, architecture and design, located in a villa on the beach of the lake
• Kunsthalle Zurich
• Migros Museum, modern and avantgarde international Art.
• Museum of Design Zurich
• Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum), located in the Platzspitz park opposit the main station
• Johann Jacobs Museum, history of colonial Fine Food and coffee
• Johanna Spyri Museum
• Haus Konstruktiv, constructive, concrete and conceptual art and design
• NONAM North American Native Museum
• Museum of the History of Medicine

OTHER SIGHTS OF ZURICH

• Lindenhof near St. Peter; site of the Roman and medieval castle.
• Guild houses along the river (downstream from the Grossmunster)
• Old town (Altstadt), District 1, on both sides of the river
• Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich (shopping avenue) starting at main train station
• Parade-Platz, Plaza in the middle of Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich, center of financial activity, with world-headquarters of several Swiss banks: UBS and Credit Suisse.
• Zoological garden
• Masoala Rainforest Ecosystem Great Glass Hall in the Zoological garden with trees, flowers and animals in liberty from the rainforest of Masoala National Park in Madagascar
• Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich
• Chinese Garden, Zurich
• Neu Oerlikon, part of City District Zurich Oerlikon: north quarter of the city - Oerliker Park, MFO-Park, Center-11-Building, Price-Waterhouse-Building, ABB-Building, UBS-Building and other modern public spaces.
• Lake Zurich, running from Zurich to Rapperswil and linking with the Obersee
• Uetliberg, at an altitude 813 metres above sea level, with Uetlibergturm TV-tower

NIGHTLIFE AND CLUBBING IN ZURICH

Zurich has an extreme variety of possibilities for night-time leisure. It became one of the capitals of Europe's electronic music scene and it's the host city of the world-famous Street Parade. The most famous districts for Nightlife are the Niederdorf in the old city district with bars, restaurants, lounges, hotels, clubs, etc. and a lot of fashion shops for a young and stylish public and the Langstrasse in the districts 4 and 5 of the city.

Here you find more rough but authentic amusements: Brazilian bars, punk clubs, HipHop stages, Caribic restaurants, arthouse-cinemas, Turkish kebabs and Italian espresso-bars, but also sex shops or the famous red light district of Zurich. At the Langstrasse you find the very international and multicultural heart of Zurich.

But in the last ten years new spots were created: Zurich West District within the old district 5, with its heart around the Escher-Wyss plaza and the S-Bahn Station of Hardbrucke with its cinemas (Abaton Cinemax complex), music clubs, lounges, restaurants, cafes and bars and the dependance of the most important theater of the City: Schiffbau. New hotels were also built in this young quarter, which lives mostly during nighttime and weekends: hotel Ibis, Novotel Accor (on the stunning Turbinenplatz - a new plaza built with an interesting light design) and Etap Hotel.

During the day you can visit art galleries, fashion shops (e.g. Freitag-Bags), organic-food stores and the Puls 5 Complex at the Turbinenplatz: a mall with an interesting architectural mix of modern and old (especially the huge Central Court.

ZURICH TOURS, TRAVEL & ACTIVITIES

ZURICH HOTELS & ACCOMMODATION