Location
Zurich’s Central Business District – known locally as “Kreis 1” in Zurich City – extends from Bürkliplatz up the left and right banks of the Limmat River, along the chic Bahnhofstrasse and over to Zurich Central Station. Here, bankers and business people of every type rub elbows with shoppers and tourists from all over the world. Concentrated around the Paradeplatz, Zurich’s financial center is still among the most important in the world: more than a third of all banks in Switzerland are headquartered within the Zurich Economic Zone.
Transportation
Zurich is home to one of the densest public transportation networks in the world. The downtown area has all the advantages of an optimally designed urban district. Zurich Central Station at the end of Bahnhofstrasse is the hub of the complex and completely reliable Swiss railway network. Switzerland’s most important cities are linked to Zurich on a train schedule set to 30-minute intervals. All major European cities can all be reached via high speed rail. The S-Bahn (municipal railway) carries passengers to Zurich-Kloten International Airport within 10 minutes. From Bürkliplatz, ferries provide the means of public transit on the Limmat River and Lake Zurich itself.
Schools
At the heart of Zurich-City, there are kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools, and universities of all kinds. Educational resources also extend to therapeutic and counseling services, school social services, and the music school. Nursery schools and daycare centers provide a full range of professional child care services. The universities, which boast a collective population of over 40,000 students, have turned Zurich into a center of excellence in scholarship and research.
Shopping
Zurich’s downtown has wide selection of stores of all kinds. Indeed, from large warehouse stores to the local deli and the Bürkliplatz market, with products ranging from the most exclusive, high-end brands to mass-produced basic goods: There is nothing that you cannot find at the heart of Zurich. You can get whatever your shopping heart desires from anywhere around Bahnhofstrasse and the old town.
Recreation
The City has an attractive array of sports and recreational options. The nearby municipal Wollishofen tennis club, several lakeside resorts, “Hallenbad City” swimming facility, and a diversity of fitness centers are available to sports enthusiasts of every skill level, age and sex. Lake Zurich itself, of course, also draws walker and swimmer alike to nature outdoors. Several clubs and associations give those in Zurich a chance to be active and get involved. The City also hosts a seemingly countless number of annual events, which include: Weltklasse Zürich (literally, “World-Class Zurich”) track and field competition, the Zurich Six-Day Race, Sechseläuten spring festival, the theater festival, film festival, freestyle.ch and Zurich Festival. Zurich’s opera house is considered one of the most famous of its kind in the world; the concert hall and the playhouse, equally rich in tradition, also enjoy international acclaim of the highest class. Well over 50 museums proudly open their doors every week to interested guests. These museums include the Kunsthaus, the Museum Rietberg, and the Landesmuseum.
Restaurants
To many people, Zurich has been the undisputed trendiest city in the world since the end of the 1990s. More than 2,000 lifestyle restaurants, cuisine representing the entire world, and the City's traditional guild rooms leave you hard-pressed to make a choice. From the spring through the fall, hundreds of restaurants also open up their outdoor spaces and take advantage of the beautiful weather to serve more guests. Roughly 120 hotels with 13,000 beds – as well as a rich, diverse night life that includes plenty of bars, nightclubs, and discotheques – make “the City on the Limmat” an ideal recreation and tourism destination.
Sights/places of interest
Zurich’s thriving old town is one of its most important sights. The same holds true for the venerable churches, historic public squares, provocative sculptures, lush parks, and the Zoo – with its spectacular “Masoala Hall.” Üetliberg – Zurich’s “own” local mountain – is also a popular excursion destination in the winter.
Top picks
CBD (Central Business District), Augustinergasse, Bahnhofstrasse, Rennweg,
Bellevue, Schipfe, Storchengasse
