Zurich Alpine Sophistication

Nestled between a glittering lake and snow-capped peaks, Zurich is a Swiss city that's perfect for a European weekend getaway. We're here for the festive season, which means lots of delicious food and festive markets. In this travel guide, we're going to show you the best of Zurich, including top attractions and hidden gems. Thank you to Zurich Tourism for sponsoring this video. The River Limmat runs through the heart of Zurich, essentially cutting the old town in two. Like most cities in Europe, Zurich has a delightful old town, which is mainly pedestrianized and filled with shops, boutiques, bars, and other attractions. Therefore, no trip to Zurich would be complete without exploring the old town, which is what we're going to begin our video with. The next train is in 30 seconds, so let's go on it. The UBS Polybahn is a 130-year-old bright red funicular that runs from Central to the Poly Terrace. In turn, from here, you get amazing views onto Zurich's old town. The ride takes around 100 seconds, and I really recommend standing at the front because then you get to see the funiculars changing halfway through the route. We really enjoyed the view from the top, and we even managed to spy a red kite circling above the city. Niederdorf is a district of the old town, which is fondly referred to by locals as Dorfli, which means little village. This area is full of pedestrianized cobbled streets, boutiques, bars, historic fountains, and old churches. All around this district, you'll find lots of little beautiful details. For example, this is Stüßi Brunnen, and it is a fountain depicting Rudolf Stüßi, who was a mayor of Zurich in the 1400s, and it shows him defending Zurich against enemy attacks. Elsewhere in this square, you'll find little restaurants. While Niederdorfstrasse is the main strip running through this district, much of the charm here can actually be found going down the little side streets and looking at little courtyards. Here, you'll find lots of independent shops, as well as other attractions such as the library and even more churches. It's quite narrow in here. Just made it to the top of the 187 steps to get to the top of the Großmünster. This is one of the most iconic churches in Zurich, and from here, we have a view over the whole city. Once you get up here, as you can see, you can't actually go out onto the platforms, but we still have a nice view. We got lunch at Babu's, which is a bakery and cafe known for its brunch dishes. We sampled an avocado toast, as well as rösti and scrambled eggs, and both dishes were delicious. Now that we've explored Niederdorf, we're going to spend the afternoon exploring the other side of the river, which is, of course, the other half of the old town. For one of the best views of Zurich, you'll want to come to Rathausbrücke, which means the town hall bridge. From here, you can see the mountains, Lake Zurich, the Großmünster, and many other of Zurich's top sights. If you want to enjoy a particularly nice golden hour stroll alongside the river, then you can walk along Schipfer. You even have these cool covered passage areas, which is probably very helpful when it snows. In around 15 before Common Era, Zurich was established as a Roman customs post by the name of Churicum. At that time, this is where the Roman castle would have stood. Today, this area is known as Lindenhof. It's a public park with incredible views onto the river, as well as the surrounding city. The area around St. Peter's Church is particularly charming, and it feels like you're walking through a little Swiss village. Augustinagasse is a medieval street, which is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful streets in Zurich. It's named for a former nearby Augustinian convent, which was once on site, and today it's completely pedestrianised, and during the festive season is lit up with some beautiful stars. The Fraumünster is translated into English as Women's Minster, and was built on the remains of a former abbey. Today, the star of this ecclesiastical building are the stunning stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall when he was already in his 80s. If you head downstairs and into the crypt, then there's a small museum displaying the remains of Fraumünster Abbey. You can even learn about the 1,200-year history of the church. Of course, Zurich is famous for its transport, and more specifically, its trams. But what you might not know is that during the festive season, there's the Marley tram running. Zurich's beloved fairytale tram has delighted children for decades, and is only available for children between four and nine years old, while angels share festive stories and carols as they tour the city lights. Zurich has several distinctive Christmas markets during the festive period, and so I'll run through some of them now. The Illuminarium sits in the courtyard of the Swiss National Museum, and is home to some pretty impressive installations. As night falls, the museum's courtyard transforms into a twinkling wonderland of lights, seasonal treats, and joyful cheer. It wouldn't be a Christmas market without some Christmas market food. We've picked up some macaroni, which you can get with or without a speck. We've got cheese on the top, some onions, and it's served with applesauce. I'm going to try some. The applesauce is a very good addition. One of the more unique locations for a Christmas market can be found in the form of that which is inside the main train station, and this festive event is known as Poler's Alba. The city's central hub transforms into a polar winter wonderland, filled with twinkling illuminations, cinnamon-spiced aromas, and over 100 market stalls. In the very heart of it all, you won't be able to miss the iconic tree, which is around 15 meters in height and is sponsored by Lindt. Bahnhofstrasse is one of the best Christmas lights displayed here in Zurich during the festive season. The lights actually have a nickname, Lucy, and there's a big switch-on ceremony to see them. Every day they're lit up, and they're best seen when they're against a tram. We then headed for a rather unique concert in the form of the singing Christmas tree. Hello, everyone, and welcome. We're from the International School of Central Switzerland, and we're so happy to be here at the Zurich Christmas Aid Tree. We hope you enjoy the show. Merry Christmas. ♪ Standing together at Christmas in the air ♪ ♪ The winking is finally over ♪ There are markets dotted all over Old Town Zurich, and so if you wander around the city, you're sure to stumble upon one or two. The one we're at now lies in the shadow of Fraumünster, and now we're going to head to the Grossmünster, where you'll find the Dorfli Christmas Market. A tiny world of its own, Zurich's oldest Christmas market is held in the heart of the Niederdorf quarter of the Old Town. Here you'll find all kinds of independent artisans and foodie shops, lying in the shadow of the impressive Grossmünster. The next Dorf is located right in front of the Opera House. It's one of my personal favourite markets here in Zurich. There are over 100 stalls, including handcrafted items, as well as, of course, lots of foodie items. The atmosphere here is just completely convivial and magical. I love how many foodie options are at this market. I got some deep-fried mushrooms, as well as a glühwein, and the glühwein have specific mugs that have turkeys or squirrels on them. I got the, I think they're spicy, with some fondue sauce and some pickles. Really messy, but really good. Gooey, rich, and simply delicious, no trip to Zurich would be complete without indulging in a traditional Swiss cheese fondue. We headed to Frau Gerold's Wintergarten pop-up in order to sample this iconic dish for ourselves. The food, paired with the cosy ambiance, was the perfect way to end the day. The next day, it was time to explore even more of what Zurich has to offer. One of the best aspects of Switzerland is undoubtedly its beautiful nature, and luckily, from Zurich, you can experience both lakeside life as well as time on the mountain. We're beginning our day with a few attractions along Lake Zurich, as well as some bird watching. We're starting off the day at the Lindt Home of Chocolate, where you can learn all about the iconic chocolate, as well as how it's made, and even taste some. Welcome to the Lindt Home of Chocolate. We are the largest Swiss chocolate museum here in Switzerland. We've been open now for around five years, and it's already become the most popular museum in all of Switzerland. What can you experience here? So, a museum, it's very interactive. You get to know everything about Swiss chocolate. Why is Swiss chocolate so famous? Where does chocolate come from? And what is the future of chocolate? Then you can also get to taste a lot of things. We have three chocolate fountains, a dark chocolate tasting, and also a Lindt truffle tasting. We also have a chocolaterie, where you can do chocolate classes. We have specific seasonal classes, but also just a regular Lindt Teddy or a regular chocolate bar. Then also, we have the first Lindt Café of Switzerland, where you can drink hot chocolate. You get to experience waffles or whatever you please. So, how far in advance do you recommend people book their tickets? So, it really depends on the season, but I would recommend to book, as soon as you know you're going to Switzerland and you're going to Zurich, book your ticket or your class in advance, so that you're definitely getting a ticket. Because it's possible, especially during vacation times, that we're fully booked three weeks or even a month in advance. However, we do have some on the spot, but I would really recommend you to book it online as soon as you know. And do you have a personal favorite truffle flavor? Actually, I do love the regular milk one, the red one, but I also really enjoy the Stracciatella one. Oh, that one's really good. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for having us. Yeah, of course. Welcome. There are all kinds of sorts of activities and attractions along the shores of Lake Zurich, but if you're a plant lover, then one place you have to come to are the succulent greenhouses. These are open every day of the week, including on a Sunday, and it's completely free to visit them. This is one of the world's most important collection of succulents. There are over 4,500 varieties to be seen here from 78 different families. And what I like the most is that lots of the rooms are divided into where they come from in the wild, and there are different audio descriptions in both German and English. We've come for a quick lunch at the bagel shop. You can either get an open-faced bagel or a sandwich one, and so Antoine got a sandwich one, which is the Reuben. And I decided to try two different ones, so I got two halves, a blueberry and cream cheese, and a cream cheese and salad. We've just taken the tram from Zurich city center in order to reach Utliberg, which is the local mountain. From here, we should have views over the city as well as the lake. There are lots of hiking trails nearby, as well as a few cafes at the top. There are several activities you can do once you get to the top. In the winter, there's curling, you can get hot drinks, but my favorite thing of all has to be this metallic tower for two Swiss franc per person. You can pay to climb all the way to the top. There are quite a lot of steps, but I think once we get to the top, the view is going to be incredible. In terms of accommodation, Zurich offers everything from hostels to fine hotels. We stayed at Hotel Opera, which is based close to the Opera House, and offers boutique rooms in an elegant setting. For dinner, we dined at a very special vegetarian restaurant. Haus Hiltl holds the Guinness World Record for being the world's oldest continuously run vegetarian restaurant. There are a couple of ways you can dine here, including by indulging in the buffet, but we personally opted for the a la carte option. The next day, we began with a cozy cup of hot chocolate before heading out for the day. Don't worry if you plan your trip to Zurich and it is a great day out or it's raining because there are plenty of museums to explore. We're starting off this morning at the Kunsthaus, which is of course the art museum. The Kunsthaus is the largest art museum in Switzerland by area and it houses important works from the middle ages right up to contemporary art. There's a real focus here on Swiss artists. The museum is actually formed of two buildings, the Chipperfield building and the Moser building. One building has newer art, whereas the other one has older art and handily enough, there's actually an underground passageway connecting the two buildings. We ended up having lunch in one of the city's most famous cafe salons, which first opened its doors in this particular location all the way back in 1859. We're trying the famous hot chocolate with the cream. That's so good. It's so rich and creamy. Football fans such as Antoine will be delighted to discover that there's actually a FIFA museum in the city centre. The FIFA museum opened its doors in 2016 and houses over a thousand football-related memorabilia items. Let's go inside and have a look at it. I particularly loved how interactive this museum was, offering out the chance to not only learn about the history of football, but also see plenty of memorabilia. At the end of your visit, you even get the chance to play some football. We've come to the Swiss National Museum, which is home to lots of Swiss treasures. You can find lots of historical artefacts as well as exhibitions about life here. We're starting off in this area, which is full of Christmas-themed nativities. The Swiss National Museum was established all the way back in 1898. Its iconic castle-like building was designed by architect Gustave Gull in a historic style, combining elements of medieval castles and French Renaissance chateau. I must say that I have really enjoyed our time here and I'd love to come back to explore during different seasons, including the summer. Thank you so much for watching, and don't forget to like and subscribe for more Europe travel content. See you next week.