A jewel waiting to be uncovered. Switzerland is, of course a beautiful country with great planes and amazing mountains which gives fantastic panaramas unique to Europe. It has fantastic skiing opportunities, and leasurely biking and camping chances too.
From what we knew, we expected Zurich to be just a simple business working city. Boy were we wrong. Read on to see why.
Zurich has been permanently settled for about 7000 years. Originally it was funded by the Romans. Zurich is a leading global city and among the world's largest financial centres and as such, you don't expect to see much in terms of history and arts. Many of the banking giants and large financial institutions. And is world renound for low rate of tax which attracts overseas companies to set up their headquarters in the city.
Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh. However, Zurich is predominantly German speaking (and a dialect called German Züritüütsch) with approximately 78% having it as their mother tongue. Don't worry if you're not fluent in German. As you would expect, since this is an international business oriened city, you usually find someone to understand you in English. That said, with our pidgeon-german, we got by as much as we can. As usual you tend to find if you TRY to use their language, they are very forgiving, and most will switch to English when they realise. The people themselves are polite, friendly, and helpful. Everything you would hope for in a country where you might be struggling for understanding.
Most of the sightseeing centres around the old town (Altstadt). For starters, an amazing array of museums and art galleries and churches can be found in the town, including the Swiss National Museum and the Kunsthaus. Zurich also hosts one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world. There are plenty of places to eat and drink, and you can easily sit back and watch the world go by for days at a time. Although the city is in general a modern example of living, the architecture in the old town is beautiful . Some of which dates back past the middle ages and beyond. Beautiful facades an arches. Memorable monuments and walls. And finally, with the river Limmat running through the centre of the old town into Lake Zurich there in excess of 8 bridges, both modern and classical for you to investigate.
If you manage to get hold of a tourist map (most hotels in Zurich have them) you will find a walking route through the old town. As they say it: to experience sophisticated Bahnofstrasse, the winding narrow streets and artisan shops, historic buildings, cultural highlights, and the fresh breeze off Lake Zurich.
We stayed in the Crowne Plaza hotel, approximately 30 minutes from the old town centre. This seems a long way until you discover the first class network of trams and buses. I'm not one usually for using anything other than taxis and underground when in a new city, but this time I was elated that we even bothered. For 25.60CHF (£17.50) you can get a multiple day pass on the ZVV which allows you 6x24hour journeys. What's more, the wonderful lady at the kiosk explained to us (in English) that as long as the two of us stayed together, we could double-stamp the ticket and use two at once. This was ideal for the long weekend we had. Once we had them, from the bottom of the road where we were staying, it took approximately 10 to 15 minutes before we were placed right in the centre of the old town, and with a very interesting view on the journey too.
The icing on the cake for us, was to get the local 30 minute train up to the local Mount Üetliberg. The train takes you all but 500 metres to the top. With a small, walk for the rest to see a hotel with a beautiful panoramic view not only down on Zurich and the lake, but to the other side of the mountain too, to see its flowing gree hills. Even the least energetic of us should give this a go
I'd recommend everyone to visit Zurich, whatever age and interest. The only drawback unfortunately was the cost. Switzerland is not a cheap place to live. An average snack and drink for two people was around £15. And before you think about surviving on McDonald's, a BigMac meal costs 11.50CHF, or £7.80.
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