How To Spend A Day In Zurich

If you are in Zurich for a short time, chances are you are starting off at the city's central train station, Hauptbahnhof or simply HB.

A 10-minute train journey from the modern Zurich airport sees you at HB and is your first experience of the excellent public transport system. There can be few cities to match Zurich for cheap, efficient transport but you will experience more of this later. It is worth getting a Day ticket and you'll be pleased (but not surprised) so know that the computerised ticket machines can be navigated in English, German, French or Italian. This day ticket gives you 24 hours from the time of purchase, not just for the day of purchase. All electronic ticket machines can be switched to using the English language.

Just a couple of minutes' walk from HB is the Landesmuseum, Switzerland's national museum. It is cheap to get in and will take you through the history of the whole country and also the Zurich region. There is always a headline exhibition available.

From there, a walk back across the main station takes you to the heart of the shopping district, Bahnhofstrasse. If you have a few thousand Swiss Francs going spare, enjoy the numerous watch sellers and jewelers, otherwise pick up a bite to eat from the food stalls that populate the side streets.

For a touch of luxury, call in at the Spa at the Globus department store where a range of relaxing treatments are available and all therapists speak good English. It is best to call in advance to book on +41 (0)44 226 60 60.

Head across the river into the cobbled streets of The Old Town which is a bit more tourist-targeted but not obscenely so. The Old Town is home to several old style beer kellers which sell some great Swiss meals, and some fascinating shops. These range from souvenir shops to the more specialised and if art and antiquities are your thing, you will be increasingly rewarded the further along you walk.

Whether you take the Old Town detour or carry on walking along Bahnhofstrasse, you will find yourself at beautiful Lake Zurich where, depending on the season, you will find the ships which will take you on a nice Lake trip or even use them as public transport to get to Lake side towns such as Meilen and Horgen.

The boats are part of the public transport system in Zurich so if you have a valid ticket for the whole region you can take a boat just as easily as you can hop on a tram.

The city of Zurich meets the Lake in the Northern corner at Bellevue, one of the most vibrant quarters of Zurich. Again, there is a wide range of eateries available from the Sternen grill selling various sausages and fast food to Globus Am Bellevue which has a high class food court offering sushi, Asian food, salads and excellent sandwiches. You can chill out and watch the Zurchers go by with a glass of Prosecco or excellent cappuccino.

Definitely recommended at Bellevue is the Movenpick Ice Cream Gallery which offers a wonderful range of flavours of the very highest quality.

If you are starting to check your watch for time and need to get back to the airport via the Main Station, you are still only a 15 minute walk or 5 minute tram ride away.

If you decide to stay on foot, highly recommended is the walk along the river Limmat, past some of Zurich's mose beautiful and interesting buildings. One of these is the Hotel Am Storchen which has lovely outside tables along the river.

Within view of HB, along the river, is the Hotel Central Plaza which also has an excellent bar with good food, and the Coop supermarket, an excellent choice to pick up some Swiss chocolate if you are looking for cheaper chocolate gifts, including more tourist packs than are on offer from shops like Merkur in Bahnfhostrasse. Having said that, something from Merkur is highly recommended and there is even a small shop in HB.

So now you are back at the Main Station, HB. Your next destination is up to you but you are only 15 minutes away from Zurich airport and a couple of hours away from the mountains.

Zurich is a beautiful city. Prices are generally high so it might be worth switching off your automatic currency conversion for a couple hours. Having said that, you can find value for money by making a small diversion away from the main shops in Bahnhofstrasse.

Enjoy the city and relax with the Zurchers.