Zurich - a fan's guide
Zurich city and football guide
Zurich: the city
It's the best place to live in the world, apparently. The Swiss enjoy the good life and residents of the country's biggest city topped the poll five years running for having the best quality of life of any city on the planet.
They're by and large affluent, have good jobs, nice homes and live on the banks of Lake Zurich.
So does that make a good place to visit?
River views: The River Limmat in Zurich.
Yep. It's not the cold, faceless, soulless city you may imagine of a financial capital.
Efficient, yes. Clean, yep. Expensive? Well, it's not cheap. Twenty four hour party people? Probably not.
But the people are chilled out and friendly. It's not all work, work, work and the cafes and bars do a steady trade as people take in a coffee, a beer or a bratwurst in the crisp clear air.
The streets of Zurich aren't exactly paved with gold but the main shopping street, Bahnhofstrasse, is reputed to have the most expensive properties in Europe.
Streets lined with gold (well, underneath them anyway): Bahnhofstrasse
Don't expect to find a Poundstretcher here, the one mile long route of classical buildings is home to world famous luxury brands in clothes and jewellery - and those so exclusive you won't have heard of them. The famously wealthy banks of Switzerland are based here too and apparently their vaults of gold are underneath the street.
Bahnhofstrasse is on the west side of the River Limmat and between the main drag and the river is Zurich's Aldstadt.
It's more laid-back and among its narrow paths are the most recognisable landmarks - the Grossmunster cathedral with its dual towers, and the stunning St Peterskirche, with the biggest clock face in Europe (28 and a half foot wide, in case you didn't know and cared).
To truly get away for the business sector and pricey stores head over one of the bridges to the east side - this is where Zurich really goes to chill out.
A smattering of cafes line the riverside but I'd recommend heading uphill from the banks to the Neiderdorf district. Among its cobbled winding lanes you'll discover speciality shops, restaurants and bars.
The main route, Neiderdorfstrasse, runs parallel to the quayside and is busy daytime and evening, but roam just a few yards off and you'll be among edgy clothes stores, tiny picture galleries, book shops - a world away from the bustle across the river.
Chill out time: Off the main drag in the Niederdorf district.
Prices in Zurich aren't cheap. This is not the land of beer for 50p. Expect to pay London prices wherever you go and it won't catch you out.
To soak up the clean air stroll down the quayside until the river flows into Lake Zurich, a vast expanse of water that is hugely popular with sailors and watersports enthusiasts.
Zurich has a smattering of museums that may or may not take your interest. It doesn't have one knockout attraction that you have to do. However, there's enough to do for a couple of days, several places are in easy reach via train.
The best advice is to enjoy the hospitality, soak up the air and chill out. Then you'll realise why people love to live there.
Trips out of town
If you're yearning to head out of town Switzerland's impressive train network can whisk you anywhere in the country, and a big number in little over an hour.
The closest, easiest and, yes, cheapest journey is up Zurich's very own mountain, Uetliberg. The best bit is the 25 minute train journey which makes the winding route from Zurich Hauptbahnhof (the S10 route) every half an hour. From Uetliberg halt it's a ten minute walk up to what is termed the Top of Zurich and from there you can see right over the city, the lake and if you're lucky, the Alps in the distance.
Climb every mountain: The view from the Top of Zurich.
There's a cafe and hotel with restaurant at the top and you can even get that bit higher by scaling the tower there. It's a base for numerous hiking walks and you can consider a cable car route to get you back again.
www.uetliberg.cz
To buy a ticket buy an Albis day pass (select button combination 131) which will set you back around 15.60cz (£8).
Lake Zurich is an attraction in itself and any number of cruises will take you across it or to one of the many villages along its shores.
At the far end, reached by boat or via S-Bahn, is Rapperswil, a scenic town with a marina. I'll be honest, when I visited on a wet Monday morning it's not exactly at its best so my first tip would be not to go in the morning, on a Monday (a surprising amount of shops and attractions are shut that day) and when it rains.
If you opt for a sunny Saturday afternoon check out the pretty square of Fischmarktplatz, it has a castle, scores of rose gardens and, quite randomly, a circus museum. There's more info from the tourist office close to the marina and town square.
An S-Bahn ticket after 9am is 23cz (£11.50) which will get you there and back and allow you to hop off along the route if anywhere floats your boat.
Slightly further afield, but still reachable in around an hour by train, are the lakeside city of Lucerne and the Swiss capital Bern, whose medieval centre is a protected UNESCO site.
The train service is quick and efficient but these further trips are more expensive - expect to pay around 62cz (£31) for a return to Lucerne whilst being whisked to Berne will set you back nearer 90cz (£45).
Getting there and around
Zurich Airport is incredibly close to the city itself - any closer and you'd be landing on Lake Zurich via seaplane. It will come as absolutely no surprise that this airport, serving the business people of the world, is big, efficient and easy to get around. Frankly it's half airport, half shopping centre.
Once through departures it's just a ten minute train journey direct to Zurich Hauptbahnhof with the fare starting from 6cz (£3) with trains around every ten minutes.
You're here: The Hauptbahnhof
Zurich Hauptbahnhof is where everything terminates - 1,900 trains stop there daily at its dozens of platforms and it's a major stop on suburban trains and tram routes. The bus station is based directly behind. A good number of hotels are based in and around Neiderdorf - a five minute walk form the Hauptbahnhof, just head over the river on exiting the station and you're virtually there. Tickets do get checked by conductors on board.
Bearing in mind it's the thick end of £25 to get a taxi to ply the same route, you'd have to fit a fair few people inside to make it worth your while.
As in all Swiss cities, the city transport system is equally impressive, running primarily trams and suburban trains.
There's a myriad of tickets to choose from and you'll need to suss out how often you think you'll actually need it. Frankly, Zurich's centre is pretty compact and you are most likely to walk everywhere. However the Leitzgrund, venue in Euro 2008 and the home of FC Zurich is a good 45 minute walk so the tram is a good option for this.
If you're landing on the day of a match at the Letzigrund get a 12cz ticket at the airport station. This gives you your journey into the city and then on throughout central zones that day, including to the stadium.
You can buy a ticket from one of the many machines at the stations. If you want just one route, press the blue Stadt Zurich button. If you want to travel all day in the city, go for the green Tageskarte button which is valid across the network for 24 hours.
If you think you're going to using the transport within the city a lot and taking in the museums it's worth considering a ZurichCARD, available for 24 hours (17cz) or 72 hours (34cz) and including the obligatory free and reduced entrances at various places in addition to free journeys.
A ZurichCARD Plus for a day is 33cz and takes in the wider region, including places such as Rapperswil.
- Zurich: the city
- Trips out of town
- Getting there and around
- Zurich: football guide
- Euro 2008: Zurich FanZone
Zurich: the city
It's the best place to live in the world, apparently. The Swiss enjoy the good life and residents of the country's biggest city topped the poll five years running for having the best quality of life of any city on the planet.
They're by and large affluent, have good jobs, nice homes and live on the banks of Lake Zurich.
So does that make a good place to visit?
River views: The River Limmat in Zurich.
Yep. It's not the cold, faceless, soulless city you may imagine of a financial capital.
Efficient, yes. Clean, yep. Expensive? Well, it's not cheap. Twenty four hour party people? Probably not.
But the people are chilled out and friendly. It's not all work, work, work and the cafes and bars do a steady trade as people take in a coffee, a beer or a bratwurst in the crisp clear air.
The streets of Zurich aren't exactly paved with gold but the main shopping street, Bahnhofstrasse, is reputed to have the most expensive properties in Europe.
Streets lined with gold (well, underneath them anyway): Bahnhofstrasse
Don't expect to find a Poundstretcher here, the one mile long route of classical buildings is home to world famous luxury brands in clothes and jewellery - and those so exclusive you won't have heard of them. The famously wealthy banks of Switzerland are based here too and apparently their vaults of gold are underneath the street.
Bahnhofstrasse is on the west side of the River Limmat and between the main drag and the river is Zurich's Aldstadt.
It's more laid-back and among its narrow paths are the most recognisable landmarks - the Grossmunster cathedral with its dual towers, and the stunning St Peterskirche, with the biggest clock face in Europe (28 and a half foot wide, in case you didn't know and cared).
To truly get away for the business sector and pricey stores head over one of the bridges to the east side - this is where Zurich really goes to chill out.
A smattering of cafes line the riverside but I'd recommend heading uphill from the banks to the Neiderdorf district. Among its cobbled winding lanes you'll discover speciality shops, restaurants and bars.
The main route, Neiderdorfstrasse, runs parallel to the quayside and is busy daytime and evening, but roam just a few yards off and you'll be among edgy clothes stores, tiny picture galleries, book shops - a world away from the bustle across the river.
Chill out time: Off the main drag in the Niederdorf district.
Prices in Zurich aren't cheap. This is not the land of beer for 50p. Expect to pay London prices wherever you go and it won't catch you out.
To soak up the clean air stroll down the quayside until the river flows into Lake Zurich, a vast expanse of water that is hugely popular with sailors and watersports enthusiasts.
Zurich has a smattering of museums that may or may not take your interest. It doesn't have one knockout attraction that you have to do. However, there's enough to do for a couple of days, several places are in easy reach via train.
The best advice is to enjoy the hospitality, soak up the air and chill out. Then you'll realise why people love to live there.
Trips out of town
If you're yearning to head out of town Switzerland's impressive train network can whisk you anywhere in the country, and a big number in little over an hour.
The closest, easiest and, yes, cheapest journey is up Zurich's very own mountain, Uetliberg. The best bit is the 25 minute train journey which makes the winding route from Zurich Hauptbahnhof (the S10 route) every half an hour. From Uetliberg halt it's a ten minute walk up to what is termed the Top of Zurich and from there you can see right over the city, the lake and if you're lucky, the Alps in the distance.
Climb every mountain: The view from the Top of Zurich.
There's a cafe and hotel with restaurant at the top and you can even get that bit higher by scaling the tower there. It's a base for numerous hiking walks and you can consider a cable car route to get you back again.
www.uetliberg.cz
To buy a ticket buy an Albis day pass (select button combination 131) which will set you back around 15.60cz (£8).
Lake Zurich is an attraction in itself and any number of cruises will take you across it or to one of the many villages along its shores.
At the far end, reached by boat or via S-Bahn, is Rapperswil, a scenic town with a marina. I'll be honest, when I visited on a wet Monday morning it's not exactly at its best so my first tip would be not to go in the morning, on a Monday (a surprising amount of shops and attractions are shut that day) and when it rains.
If you opt for a sunny Saturday afternoon check out the pretty square of Fischmarktplatz, it has a castle, scores of rose gardens and, quite randomly, a circus museum. There's more info from the tourist office close to the marina and town square.
An S-Bahn ticket after 9am is 23cz (£11.50) which will get you there and back and allow you to hop off along the route if anywhere floats your boat.
Slightly further afield, but still reachable in around an hour by train, are the lakeside city of Lucerne and the Swiss capital Bern, whose medieval centre is a protected UNESCO site.
The train service is quick and efficient but these further trips are more expensive - expect to pay around 62cz (£31) for a return to Lucerne whilst being whisked to Berne will set you back nearer 90cz (£45).
Getting there and around
Zurich Airport is incredibly close to the city itself - any closer and you'd be landing on Lake Zurich via seaplane. It will come as absolutely no surprise that this airport, serving the business people of the world, is big, efficient and easy to get around. Frankly it's half airport, half shopping centre.
Once through departures it's just a ten minute train journey direct to Zurich Hauptbahnhof with the fare starting from 6cz (£3) with trains around every ten minutes.
You're here: The Hauptbahnhof
Zurich Hauptbahnhof is where everything terminates - 1,900 trains stop there daily at its dozens of platforms and it's a major stop on suburban trains and tram routes. The bus station is based directly behind. A good number of hotels are based in and around Neiderdorf - a five minute walk form the Hauptbahnhof, just head over the river on exiting the station and you're virtually there. Tickets do get checked by conductors on board.
Bearing in mind it's the thick end of £25 to get a taxi to ply the same route, you'd have to fit a fair few people inside to make it worth your while.
As in all Swiss cities, the city transport system is equally impressive, running primarily trams and suburban trains.
There's a myriad of tickets to choose from and you'll need to suss out how often you think you'll actually need it. Frankly, Zurich's centre is pretty compact and you are most likely to walk everywhere. However the Leitzgrund, venue in Euro 2008 and the home of FC Zurich is a good 45 minute walk so the tram is a good option for this.
If you're landing on the day of a match at the Letzigrund get a 12cz ticket at the airport station. This gives you your journey into the city and then on throughout central zones that day, including to the stadium.
You can buy a ticket from one of the many machines at the stations. If you want just one route, press the blue Stadt Zurich button. If you want to travel all day in the city, go for the green Tageskarte button which is valid across the network for 24 hours.
If you think you're going to using the transport within the city a lot and taking in the museums it's worth considering a ZurichCARD, available for 24 hours (17cz) or 72 hours (34cz) and including the obligatory free and reduced entrances at various places in addition to free journeys.
A ZurichCARD Plus for a day is 33cz and takes in the wider region, including places such as Rapperswil.
- Zurich: football guide
- Euro 2008: Zurich FanZone