Best 12 Things to do in Zurich

Another beauty of Zurich is that you can comfortably move around in the city without a car, with its vast public transport network.

We have listed out a few of the tourist attractions in our things to do in Zurich to enrich your trip to the city to make it as exhilarating and pleasurable as possible.

The Nietturm bar is the first in our list of things to do in Zurich as it offers a spectacular panoramic 360-degree view of the city from this lovely bar. The bar is located in the Schiffbau which is an old industrial hall which now is transformed into a theatre stage, in an old industrial area. The bar is housed in a lovely glass tower, occupying two floors of the glass cube where the locals and tourists gather in the evenings to grab a glass from the many choices of mixed drinks available here. It has got lovely interiors with an attractive lounge. Apart from that on Fridays, you can get the bonus of live DJ shows. This is the place to enjoy, relax, eat, and drink or spend a quiet evening by yourself or with family and friends.

It is open from 5:00 PM to 1:00 AM and up to 2:00 AM on Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Sunday and Monday.

The Jules Verne is another cocktail bar in our list of things to do in Zurich famous for its innovative new cocktails, Brasserie Lipp cuisine, and magnificent 360-degree panoramic views of the city from its 11th-floor bar, where you also have telescopes to pitch in with close-up views. In case you are wondering why this is named after the famous science fiction writer, you will find a space that is dedicated to Verne’s vision of the future. You can get inventive drinks here, along with wine and beer of international brands, but it is a bit pricey mainly due to the city sky views you are able to get from here. Since it has only 15 tables. You should always venture into this bar with a reservation. You need to take the elevator to go to the restaurant where the food offered is pretty decent and the staff very polite and friendly. Since the capacity is limited, for a romantic evening, this is just the right place.

Jules Verne is located in Uraniastrasse. It is open from 11:00 AM to 12:00 midnight on most days with the closing time extended up to 1:00 AM on Friday and Saturday.

This is a lovely popular lake which figures in our list of things to do in Zurich. The water from the River Linth flows into Lake Walen through Escher Canal. From here it is routed through the Linth canal into the Lake Zurich. The outflow from this lake into a canal, called Limmat, flows through the city of Zurich. The water in the lake is very clean and maintained well. Here, locals and tourists come to relax with a sandwich, or take a stroll, jog, or take the spectacular views of the surroundings, with swan and ducks in the water, or of the hills in the distance. The lake is bound by the Albis and Zimmenberg hills on one side and Pfannenstiel hills on the other. Short and longboat cruise facilities, as well as paddle boats, are available. Zurich city tours are normally clubbed with this boat cruise also. Many towns are bordering the lake apart from the city of Zurich, as also numerous popular places which are popular tourist attractions.

The Zurich Opera House is located in the largest town square in Zurich, Sechselautenplatz, since 1891. This place is in our list of things to do in Zurich for its sheer versatility, innovations, new bold themes and popularity for the last 125 years. This place is the first opera house in Europe to have an electrical lighting facility. It is also very small with a seating capacity of about 1200, of which some seats have a very poor view of the stage. The opera house hosts concerts by philharmonic orchestra, matinees, lieder evenings, and many events for children. Opera ball is organized every year in March. This house is one of the best operas and has received the Best Opera Company award in 2014. It is bustling with people all year round with about 250 performances arranged per year featuring famous opera singers like Cecilia Bartoli, Stephen Gould, Matti Salminen, and Diana Damrau.

The ticket prices vary from CHF 25 to CHF 380 depending on the seating selected. An online booking facility with an auditorium preview selection for the selected seat is available. Restaurant Belcanto is there for you to get some tasty, delicious food to enjoy the day along with pleasant music.

Saatlen pub is another bar located in Saatlenstrasse, on our list of things to do in Zurich. This is a pub which offers a wide variety of gourmet food to suit your palate, and you will be spoilt for choices. The interiors are decent and tastefully decorated. Pasta, pizza, Carbonara, soup, soft drinks, fruit juices, non-alcoholic drinks, international brands of beer, and wine are all on offer. The menu will not be complete without mentioning the availability of a huge choice of other spirits, aperitifs, a wide range of innovative and bold cocktails. This place has everything you want, from the food of various cuisines to drinks of all varieties. They also offer some games, live sports on TV to keep you engaged. Even take-away facility is also available if you need to take your choices to your room and have them in solitude.

The lovely pub is open from 2:00 PM to 1:00 AM from Monday to Friday, Saturday from 12 noon to 2:00 AM. It is, however, open for limited hours on Sunday, from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM and a full menu might not be available.

The next place, Zurich Toy Museum, in our list of things to do in Zurich is an extremely interesting museum for all age groups, with children amazed and awestruck at the toys which they never saw before. And the adults going on a trip in nostalgia at the technology which is exhibited in a miniature form here, This museum takes you down a 300-year memory lane exhibiting earliest steam engines, automobiles, apart from a good collection of dolls, including Sasha dolls, soldiers and other toys. This is a small place converted to a museum by the curator who did not want to sell off these interesting items after she inherited these collections from her grandfather. She is a friendly and knowledgeable person as also the other staff and they engage the visitors with facts and stories about the toys. Children are engaged in some games as well in a small play area.

This museum is located in the old city, at fortunagasse 15. It is free for children, but it charges a small fee of CHF 5 for adults which, very interestingly, come as a coupon which can be discounted when you buy a toy at a toy shop nearby.

The Bayer Clock and Watch Museum is located at Bahnhofstrasse 31 and is the oldest watch and jewelry agent in Switzerland, having established this company in 1760. This company now owns 12 of the best brands of high-end watches, antique watches, and many other brands. This family-run enterprise is now being managed by Rene Beyer who is the 8^th generation watch professional from the family line. They have their design studio where the company designs and make their high-end jewelry models and also service them with a highly trained team of watchmakers and goldsmiths. The present-day retail studio is a modern high-tech workshop with high precision instruments and highly trained professionals. You will appreciate the reason for including this place in our list of things to do in Zurich when you visit their Beyer museum in the basement which has more than 300 collections from the year 1400 BC, one of the best collections of watches and clocks in the world. You can understand the chronology of advances in watch technology over the centuries by visiting this lovely museum. The rare collections include many scientific instruments for measuring time, apart from oil clock, water clock, sundial, and many others.

The Kunsthaus Zurich is a museum of art and a popular place for tourists, art enthusiasts, and students of art. It has a big collection of 4,000 lovely paintings and sculptures from the 13^th century to the present day. It also has a big 95,000 graphics artwork collection, both together representing the best collection of impressionism and classical modernism in Switzerland. The collections include works from masters like Picasso, Chagall, Monet, Beckham, and Corinth. It also has pop art by Warhol and Hamilton apart from works from other artists. Video installations and photographs of famous artists of the 20^th century are also part of the collections. About 70% of the collections are privately owned and donated to the museum. Many events, workshops, and exhibitions are held regularly for art lovers and students.

It is located at Heimplatz 1. The opening hours are Tuesday, Friday to Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, while on Wednesday, Thursday the closure is at 8:00 PM. It is closed on Mondays. The tickets are priced at CHF 16 for the museum and CHF 26 for museum and exhibitions combined. Wednesday is free entry for the museum. A discount is allowed for children and students.

The Fraumunster Church in our list of things to do in Zurich was founded in the year 852 AD by King Ludwig the German who built it for his daughter. This convent, later on, came to the possession of the city after the reformation. Today it is owned by the Evangelical Reform Church of the canton of Zurich. It is a popular destination of churchgoers and tourists. The choir includes 5 large beautiful stained-glass windows designed by Chagall and installed in 1970. Each window has a different color theme and depicts a biblical story. The crypt under the choir contains exhibits from the history of the reformation church, architecture, and local history. The church today owns the largest organ in the canton of Zurich. Concerts are regularly arranged in this church, and it is a very popular concert venue in the city. Around half-a-million visitors come to the church every year.

The church is open from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM in winter, and 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM in the summer months. Guided tours are also allowed, and batches of 60 are allowed in whisper mode.

The Wasserkirche, or the water church, in our list of things to do in Zurich for its history. It is located at Limmatquai 31 on the banks of the Limmat canal. It is particularly regarded as holy as it is believed that two holy saints, Felix and Regula, were executed here by the Romans and became martyrs. Legend is that these saints who were beheaded by the Romans picked up their heads, walked uphill to where the Grossmunster is located today and fell in the spot at which they were buried. This gothic church of the 15^th century was for this reason called the temple of idol worshippers. It is called the water church as originally it was constructed on a small island before the Limmat canal was built. You can see the gothic architecture of the 15^th century even now. The church has lovely mosaics created by Augusto Giacometti.

It is open from 12:00 noon to 5:00 PM on weekdays and 12 Noon to 3:00 PM on weekends. It is reachable by tram from the Helmhaus stop.

This is an important monument in the city and is the first protestant church in the city after the reformation. This lovely, bright baroque period St Peter’s church is a popular venue for family events like weddings, betrothals, baptisms and also for concerts. This church dated back to the times of Romans was founded in 857 AD when King Ludwig the German, donated this place to his daughters. The church has four predecessors that are visible under the choir. This church houses Europe’s largest church bell with a diameter of 8.64 meters as also the five bells which weigh more than 6000 kg. Another attraction is the single stalls of the 15^th century from abandoned monasteries with rich carvings.

The church is open from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on all other days except Saturday when it is open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. On Sundays, it is open from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

This lovely church in our list of things to do in Zurich was first only known as Zurich Church. But it was changed to Grossmunster in the early 14^th century, probably to differentiate it from the much smaller Fraumunster church nearby. The legend says that the saints Felix and Regula after their beheading at the water church carried their heads up to Grossmunster where they wanted to be buried. Later the graves were discovered, and the church was built at that spot as a monastery by Charlemagne. Augusto Giacometti created the lovely colorful choir window of the church in 1933, the famous painter of that time. Other attractions are the stained-glass windows by Sigmar Polke, the Romanesque Crypt, bronze doors, and the cloister reformation museum.

The church is open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM during summer and from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM during the winter months. On Sundays, it is open after the service.

We have endeavored to pack in as much information as possible in our things to do in Zurich to include a mix of some of the attractive places which might be of interest to you when you plan to visit the city. This by no means is an attempt at an exhaustive tourist guide, but it only tries to ensure that you enjoy the flavor of Zurich in every possible way by covering such places in your tour itinerary.