Zurich has always been high on my travel bucket list, especially after featuring in one of my most memorable journey misadventures.
It happened, pre-COVID, when my daughter, a colleague and myself narrowly missed our connecting flight to Rome as we raced through Zurich’s international airport.
As I huffed along its long hallways, I remember hoping the Swiss reputation for punctuality didn’t extend to air travel. It did. But luckily, my daughter’s faster sprint and convincing plea temporarily delayed the flight until all three of us reached the gate.
Thinking back on my first time in Zurich (albeit, just its airport) I realize now it wouldn’t have been so bad to have missed the connection, especially after my colleague, a travel photographer, told me Zurich was her favourite city to visit.
So when I had the opportunity to visit Switzerland recently, I made sure to include a few days in Zurich to discover for myself why this city, in the heart of Europe, shouldn’t just be considered a gateway to its neighbours: Italy, France, Germany, Austria and the Principality of Liechtenstein.
What I found was a charming Swiss town on a sparkling lake with easy access to the countryside, making it the perfect place for both nature and city lovers.
During my three days in Zurich, I experienced its scenic outdoors, culture and fine cuisine and learned some of its pre-medieval history.
Instead of dashing through Zurich, I strolled along its waterfront at sunset, enjoyed an afternoon boat cruise to the Lindt Home of Chocolate, explored Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland’s largest art gallery, savoured cheese fondue in Old Town and drank a delicious coffee at the Odeon, once frequented by Lenin, Einstein and Mata Hari, a Dutch exotic dancer convicted of spying for German and executed in France in 1917.
My first full day in Zurich began with a walking tour of the city’s picturesque Old Town with Ity Tiwari, a part-time Zurich Tourism guide, food blogger and vegetarian cooking teacher.
Originally from India, Tiwari moved to Zurich with her husband and two kids more than a decade ago and is not only an expert on the city’s history but has great recommendations on places to eat, like the world’s longest-running vegetarian restaurant, the Hiltl.
“It’s a Zurich institution,” said Tiwari, pointing out that while only five per cent of the Swiss population is vegetarian, vegetarian restaurants are popular in this cosmopolitan city.
Hiltl, located near the luxury shops of Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich’s main downtown street, is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest continuously running vegetarian restaurant, opening in 1898.
That evening, I go there for dinner and notice that its downstairs is a hub of activity, as diners line up for the pay-by-weight buffet, with endless options. Upstairs there are numerous dining rooms, each with its own luxurious style, where patrons can enjoy a more refined dining experience.
In the menu, I read that Margarith Hiltl — four generations of the Hiltl family have operated the restaurant — travelled to the World Vegetarian Congress in Delhi in the 1950s and was inspired by Indian cuisine.
I ordered the red Thai curry and wasn’t disappointed, but my favourite dish of the evening was the crispy tofu salad.
“The quality of vegetarian dishes is amazing here,” said Tiwari, who noted the restaurant also has an adjoining business selling plant-based meat alternatives to shoppers.
During our tour of Old Town, Tiwari pointed out other great dining spots, like Swiss Chuchi Restaurant, where I later enjoyed a cheese fondue, and the Ass-Bar bakery, which sells day-old bread, cake and pastries from the city’s top bakeries at lower prices, in a bid to cut down on food waste.
Tiwari said Zurich attracts two kinds of visitors: “One is the people who want to go to the main shopping area, where there’s Louis Vuitton and other high-end shops, and then there’s more Old Town kind of people.
“Myself, I’m an Old Town kind of person.”
We were standing in front of Schwarzenbach, a cafe run by the same family for 160 years and known for its fair-trade coffee, spices, tea and fine chocolates. A sign nearby said: “The best hot chocolate in town? Possible!”
Pointing to the sign, Tiwari said the cafe owners are being too modest. “I’d go for a hot chocolate here,” she said, adding to my growing recommendation list.
As we continued our Old Town tour, we stopped to discuss some of the famous landmarks, like the Grossmunster, with its two 64-metres high (210-foot) towers, an Evanagelic-Protestant church, which was begun in 1100 but has been rebuilt and renovated several times since. If you climb the steps of its tower, you’re rewarded with a view of the city.
While we did stop for a look inside the church, we didn’t ascend its tower steps but instead stepped outside to view the city’s oldest parish church — St. Peter’s, which boasts of having the largest clock face in Europe — and the Fraumunster, whose abbey has five stained-glass windows designed by artist Marc Chagall.
As we walked through Old Town, we continually come upon water fountains, some quite ornate and others simple. One we passed had several plastic restaurant serving jugs being filled under its many spouts.
Turns out Zurich has 1,284 water fountains, according to Tiwari, who said the city prides itself on having high-quality water. She recommended that I always keep my water bottle on hand instead of buying water.
At one fountain, we paused long enough to listen to a group of friends sitting outside a cafe singing a classical song that echoed through the square — a “pinch me, I’m so glad I’m here moment” if there ever was one.
Our tour ended just outside Old Town near the Zurich Opera House, a neo-classical building dating back to the 1890s. It’s considered one of the most famous musical theatres in the world, hosting about 300 opera performances each year.
I crossed the street out front, careful not to get in the way of the many street trams passing by, and headed to my lunch reservation at the historic Kronenhalle restaurant, which has been serving gourmet regional cuisine in an Old World atmosphere since 1924.
Elegance abounds at the Kronenhalle, from its mahogany wood panelling, chandeliers and white linen tablecloths to its museum-quality art collection, featuring artists such as Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso. The Financial Times ranked the Kronenhalle as one of the five best art restaurants in the world in 2013.
I couldn’t help but be awed by the beauty of the place, as well as its legendary past. Its guestbooks are filled with famous names like Andy Warhol, Lauren Bacall, Henry Moore, Salvador Dali, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Coco Chanel and James Joyce, to name just a few.
Its French-inspired dishes and Swiss classics are impeccably plated and served the old-fashioned way from silver-domed serving dishes from a side table.
The Kronenhalle is truly about the art of the meal. Just a warning for vegetarians, the menu is heavy on meat choices, with a dining experience that begins with a server, in a starched white jacket, offering a smorgasbord of sausages and other meats from a trolley.
As a pescatarian, I gave it a pass and enjoyed my server’s recommendation of the sea bass and vegetarian tartare.
If you are a meat-eater, one of the Kronenhalle’s signature dishes — the Zurcher Geschnetzeltes (sliced veal in a creamy white wine sauce) served with rosti (potato pancakes) — seemed to be the most popular choice among my fellow diners.
IF YOU GO
Where I stayed
Sorell Hotel Seefeld is a small boutique hotel near downtown Zurich, within walking distance of Lake Zurich. It’s just a 10-minute walk from the Zurich Stadelhofen railway station, where I got off after a 30-minute train ride from the airport. I also appreciated that there was a tram stop just outside to zip me into Old Town and Zurich’s main shopping/restaurant areas. However, there were also plenty of nice restaurants in the Seefeld neighbourhood, including the vegetarian and vegan tibits Zurich Seefeld. My hotel room was cozy with everything I needed, most importantly a comfortable bed, and a buffet breakfast was included. The front desk staff were extremely helpful with tips on activities, and guests can ask to borrow the hotel’s free pass to the Kunsthaus Zurich art museum.
Kim Pemberton was hosted by Zurich Tourism, which did not review or approve this article. Follow her on Instagram at @kimstravelogue.
