Zurich (original) (raw)

Zurich (German: Zürich, Swiss German: Züri) is the largest city in Switzerland and an international financial centre. Zurich is close to some excellent skiing resorts and many people headed for the Swiss Alps don't spend much time in Zurich itself, but you'd be missing a lot if you don't stay in Zurich for a couple of days at least.

Over the river Limmat

While Zurich is Switzerland's biggest city and a cultural centre of German-speaking Switzerland, Berne is the Swiss capital. It has a population of some 430,000 (2022) in the city, and 1.8 million (2011) in the metro area. Zurich is on Lake Zurich, where the lake meets the river Limmat, in the north of Switzerland.

Despite it not being the administrative capital of any more than its Kanton, Zurich punches well above its weight in terms of major media and business headquarters and due to it being at the heart of Switzerland's excessively punctual and meticulously maintained train network and being home to Switzerland's most important airport, it is often the first part of Switzerland that visitors get to see.

Limmatquai seen from Lindenhof hill

While Zurich can be expensive, it is also clean, efficient and blessed with a high standard of living, which together with the high wages, explains why people bear with the high prices. Zurich has drawn people from the rest of Switzerland for centuries, but in the 20th and 21st centuries it has also begun to draw both people and companies from outside Switzerland and in some cases even outside Europe. This means that you will hear a lot more languages than just Swiss German and the overall atmosphere is a lot more cosmopolitan than you might think.

Zurich is home to ETH Zurich, one of the world's leading technical universities, which has produced a number of Nobel laureates and numerous innovations and due to Switzerland's long history of neutrality it also houses headquarters of the likes of FIFA and the International Ice Hockey Federation. Zurich is also home to a number of large banking and insurance conglomerates that grew on the fabled Swiss banking secret and still enjoy good reputations in the financial sector.

The city's Latin name, Turicum, was used for a Roman customs station at the Limmat, which has some remnants today. The Alemanni, a Germanic tribe, settled in the 5th century.

While the Church used to rule early Medieval Zurich, the Guilds (Zünfte) took power in 1336, establishing Zurich as an autonomous republic. The Guilds have survived until today, though their role today is mostly ceremonial. Zurich became the fifth canton of the Swiss Confederacy in 1351, and has been its capital at times. However, Switzerland's famous neutrality and stability is a modern thing, as many battles have been fought in and around Zurich. The canton lost the Old Zürich War between 1440 and 1446 against the confederacy, and was re-admitted in 1450.

Ulrich Zwingli led the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland during the early 16th century. As the Thirty Years War ended in 1648, the Holy Roman Empire lost its grip on Switzerland, which has mostly been independent since then.

The 1830s and 40s saw a series of revolts and war, including the Züriputsch, a revolt of conservative landowners of the canton, against the city of Zurich, and the 1847 Sonderbund War. In 1848 Switzerland adopted a constitution, which established the country as a federal republic. While the government settled in Bern, many federal institutions, including the new Polytechnic University (ETH) have their seat in Zurich.

The Zurich Stock Exchange was founded in 1877, and the city rose as a financial centre in the 20th century, as Switzerland remained neutral in the World Wars, and could maintain lower taxes on capital than the European great powers. Even though Switzerland has opted out of NATO and the European Union, Zurich is today one of central Europe's most cosmopolitan cities.

Zurich has a four-season climate typical of central Europe. Temperature in winter is usually around zero degrees, which means that snow can linger or melt away. Summers are warm with temperatures in the 20s (C) and occasionally in the 30s. The nearby mountains are significantly cooler than in the valley, with snow remaining well into spring.

Tourist information

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Zurich International Airport seen from the air

Inside, the Zurich Airport terminal is everything you'd expect - clean, efficient, elegant and quite expensive

Main article: Zurich Airport

47.45168.56181 Zurich Airport (ZRH IATA) is Switzerland's largest and busiest airport, handling roughly 30 million passengers a year. It is in the community of Kloten and it is 10 minutes by train from the main station. The trains depart about every 10-15 minutes, during the day, but less frequently at earlier or later hours. A single ticket to the Hauptbahnhof (Main station, a.k.a. "Zürich HB") costs Fr. 6.80. Several bus lines connect to the airport and provide access to the Winterthur region near it. There is also tram 10 from Zurich terminating at the airport, a rather slow option, but it might be faster door to door for some destinations in Zurich.

Bahnhof Zurich Flughafen, the airport's own train station, is right beneath the terminal - and actually very busy

Most major airlines fly to Zurich but flag-carrier Swiss is still the biggest player at ZRH and offers the widest range of connections. Almost every large hotel in Zurich provides shuttle buses from the airport to your hotel. The stops for these buses are a short walk to the right from Terminal 1 arrivals.

Zurich Airport has high passenger costs due to several noise reduction and approach restrictions. Most no-frill airlines fly to Basel which is 1 hour away by train. EasyJet offer several flights to Germany, the UK and Southern Europe.

Trams stop directly in front of the Terminal

If you are travelling without a Schengen Visa to another destination in Europe (via Zurich airport) and if you are not a European citizen, you must not stay in Europe for longer than 90 days — even if your final destination would allow citizens of your country to stay for more than 90 days. Failure to do so will lead to very high fines (around €8100) should you try to leave Europe via Zurich airport .

Zurich Airport offers free WiFi for all guests for a maximum of two hours. A mobile phone capable of receiving texts in Switzerland is required. Travelers have to connect to the "ZurichAirport" network and register their cell phone number. The user will receive the access code via text message. After the free hour, there is a five-hour waiting period before you can access the next free hour.

Regular trains to and from other Swiss and European cities leave from and arrive at Hauptbahnhof, the main train station, located in the city centre at the end of Bahnhofstrasse, with easy access to mass transit. The Zurich Hauptbahnhof (HB) is served by the local S-Bahn commuter trains, InterCity (IC and ICN) connections throughout Switzerland, Italy, Germany's IC and ICE, France's TGV Lyria and Austria's Railjet with some direct connections reaching destinations as far in Eastern Europe as Budapest. While Switzerland itself does not have many high speed lines, Zurich is connected to the high speed rail networks of neighboring countries. The once extensive sleeper train network has been cut down a lot in the 21st century, but there are still some ÖBB Nightjets[dead link] connecting Austria and Germany with Zurich. Non-nightjet sleeper trains also run to Zurich from Prague and Budapest.

Domestic train tickets within Switzerland are available through the SBB Website though there are few early bird discounts. International tickets can sometimes be bought through the SBB as well, but often you can get better offers through the DB website (German) the SNCF website (France) or the websites of ÖBB and Trenitalia for Austria and Italy respectively. All adjacent railways have (sometimes significant) discounts for early booking on international trains, so if you know your plans far in advance, by all means book early.

The train station and the connecting underground mall has shops, restaurants, and a grocery store which locals use when they need to do Sunday shopping, as it is not subject to the closing hours laws otherwise in force in the city. It also hosts a Christmas market and other events in the big entrance hall.

There are some 24-hour lockers in level B1 available for Fr. 6-9 per 24 hr (maximum 3 days).

Just to the east of the train station on the Bahnhofbrücke bridge, there is a large Coop supermarket open Monday to Saturday till 22:00.

The region around Zurich has probably the highest density of highways in the country, which makes it very convenient to access. A1 goes past Zurich just north of the city, with two feeders into the city centre. A3 and A4 end just south of the city. The regional highways A51, A52 and A53 all also lead to Zurich. While this makes it that there are many ways to drive into the city from every direction, it also means that there is a lot of congestion, especially during morning and evening hours. Parking is also hard to get at affordable rates, so it might therefore be faster and more convenient to travel by public transport.

47.380898.537362 Bus station at Sihlquai. The bus station is next to the main train station, near the confluence of the Sihl and Limmat. While the domestic Swiss intercity bus market is tightly regulated and dominated by state-run Postauto that is intended to supplement the train network rather than compete with it. On international routes, however, the likes of Flixbus (a German company) do offer some routes. There are also some routes to destinations farther away (updated Jul 2017)

It is possible to reach Zurich by boat on the lake from Rapperswil (2 hours) or Horgen (45 minutes). However, this is more of a leisure boat and only offers a couple of trips each day.

Map

Zurich is famous for its highly efficient, clean and safe public transport system, managed by the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) which covers the entire canton of Zurich as well as Rapperswil-Jona in the canton of St. Gallen and Pfäffikon SZ in the canton of Schwyz. The network includes trams, buses, S-Bahn (suburban trains), cable cars and boats. The size and complexity of the network may be daunting at first, but you will soon realize that there are dozens of ways to get from one place to another and following any of them will still be efficient.

Timetable information for Switzerland is available on sbb.ch or can be obtained using the SBB Mobile (iOS, Android apps) (requires a working internet connection). Or simply use ZVV's own timetable app; its advantage is that it also informs you about local disturbances or delays! You can also purchase ticket on ZVV-Tickets app. The free Wemlin App (iOS, Android) gives you offline access to timetable information and network maps for the canton of Zurich area without internet connection and is therefore ideally for on the go usage in case you don't want to use data roaming.

The system is divided into numerous fare zones, with the city centre and innermost suburbs being in zone 110 and the outer suburbs located in other zones (Winterthur is in zone 120, for example), and the more zones you pass through, the more you'll have to pay for your journey. There are single tickets, day cards, monthly cards and annual cards. The monthly and annual cards are collectively referred to as ZVV NetzPass.

Tickets must be purchased from a ticket vending machine before boarding or from one of the ticket selling kiosks. The ticket vending machines are in German, English, French and Italian and offer almost all regular tickets available (not personal tickets though). You select the zones you wish to pass through upon buying the ticket, with a zone map on every machine as well as clear instructions coming to your aid, so feel free to choose! Once you've got your ticket it gives you access to all modes of transport. Both the ZVV and the SBB app provide a "check-in/check-out" mechanism: check in before you start your trip, check out when you end your trip. The best-priced ticket for your day is computed at the end of the day and charged on the following day. It does require data access and localization, as well as means of payment (typically credit card) to be added to the app. It is very important to check-in before the time of the departure of the means of transportation you enter, as fines may be issued on control otherwise.

If you're staying for a longer period, consider a monthly ZVV NetzPass, because even though there are no regular tickets valid for something between 1 day and a month, it takes only 10 "zone 110" day cards for a "zone 110" monthly card to be cheaper. When travelling in all zones, it takes only 8 day cards for the monthly card to be cheaper. A 24-hour ticket for zone 110 costs just the same as two single rides.

If you don't mind starting your travels after 09:00, the "ZVV-9-UhrPass" is the best option. It is available as daily, monthly and annual cards, and will save you a lot of money compared to regular similarities, especially given that the 09:00 rule does not apply on weekends.

There are also so-called Z-passes, which can be used not only in Zurich, but also in one of the neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Zug, St. Gallen or Thurgau); however, only one additional canton is possible, so if you're not going to one neighbouring canton more often than the others you are probably better off with just a normal all zones Zurich monthly card and buying single ticket from the last valid station to your final destination. The Z-pass system also has its zones, even in the neighbouring cantons. It is only available as monthly and annual cards and can not be bought from ticket vending machines.

For all details regarding fares, see the ZVV home page linked to above.

The Swiss Travel Pass (not to be confused with the SwissPass) is valid on all public transport in Zurich and, if you are a tourist visiting most of Switzerland, this may be your best way to saving money and time spent trying to figure out zones, routes, and fare options. Eurail passes are valid only on the S-Bahn and boats. Interrail passes are valid on the S-Bahn (although the ZVV website claims a "reduction" for other routes for Interrail holders). Nevertheless, you may find you don't need the trams and buses if you don't mind walking around a little.

Trams in Zurich

Several tram lines, trolleybuses and buses cover the city at street level. Like all other public transport in Zurich, you must purchase and validate tickets before boarding, or risk a fine if they decide to spot check. You can find a timetable at every stop which is usually accurate to the minute, however delays do occur due to heavy traffic, rerouting, or other factors.

The 'S-Bahn' is Zurich's convenient and fast suburban rail system which covers nearly all suburbs of Zurich and beyond. Zurich's S-Bahn system provides convenient and fast service throughout the region. All lines except the rural ones pass through the Hauptbahnhof. The ZVV offers directions for a series of excursions on the S-Bahn.

You must have a validated ticket before you board. If you do not have a ticket you will be liable for an on-the-spot fine of Fr. 100.

There are two types of boat-based public transport operated in Zurich: river buses and lake boats. The river boats operate in the summer months only and the lake boats operate on a much reduced schedule during the winter.

The river buses operate between the Landesmuseum (near the Hauptbahnhof) along the river Limmat and out in the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich) to Tiefenbrunnen. There are several stops along the Limmat.

The Zürichsee Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) operates lake boats (including two historic restored steam ships) which leave from Burkliplatz (at the end of Bahnhofstrasse). The ZSG's website provides information on destinations and ships. The ZSG offers a variety of tourist-oriented trips (including Jazz Brunch), and a popular trip is to Rapperswil at the south end of the Zürichsee. The town has a beautiful castle overlooking the lake surrounded by a medieval town.

The main train station, old town and the lake promenade and all nearby tourist attractions are easily walkable. You may find that you don't need transport for most of your tourist needs once you get into the city.

Zurich is generally easy to get around by bicycle. There are bike lanes marked out in most parts of the city and if you don't mind the hills, a bike might be a fast and cheap alternative to public transport. The city has an online map service[dead link], which can calculate routes for biking and also shows locations of bike parking and pumps. Many of the major intersections don't have bike lanes due to space constraints, but it is generally possible to avoid those. Note that cycling on the pavement is not allowed. Cyclist are commonly fined for cycling against the traffic or ignoring traffic lights.

Züri rollt offers free bike "rental" around the city. To get a free bike, you have to register with your I.D. or passport and pay a refundable deposit of Fr. 20. There are seven stations. Two of them are located at the main station (47.37928.538873 North bike gate and 47.377988.536984 south bike gate) and are operated year round. The rest are operated only from April to October. Two of them are near the old town at 47.375818.538635 Globus City and at 47.366688.545076 Bellevue. The opening hours vary by station, but most of them are operated daily from 09:00-21:30.

O-Bike is a Chinese start-up bike sharing service that is new in town. It's a free floating system with its bikes parked randomly all over the city. To unlock you need their app and a deposit of Fr. 130. After it lets you rent bikes for Fr. 1.50 per half hour.

Driving in Zurich is possible but it is painful as the city centre is not easy to navigate by car. It's cheaper and more convenient to park outside the city and take a train.

The taxis in Zurich are very expensive compared to New York, London and other major cities. Most of the taxi drivers are unfriendly and uncommunicative. Better travel by tram, bus or S-bahn. Uber have stopped their UberX service and now offer only the regular and UberBlack service.

See also: Swiss-German phrasebook, German phrasebook

Some common phrases in Zurich German:

For formal speech and writing, German-speaking Swiss use Swiss Standard German (Schweizer Hochdeutsch), which is very similar to standard German. The Zurich dialect (Züritüütsch) is dominant among the Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch) dialects, and is difficult to understand for non-Swiss.

English is widely spoken, at least among the young and businesspeople.

Most of the interesting sights are in the old town around the river and lakefront.

Bahnhofstrasse at the intersection with Urianastrasse

Fountain on Lindenhof square

Buildings on the Limmat, looking toward Lake Zurich

The Landesmuseum

Kunsthaus

Züri Fäscht

Opernhaus

Tonhalle, under renovation

Bahnhofsstrasse

For shopping in Zurich there are three different areas in the centre:

Swiss clocks and watches

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You may be disappointed to know that most of the cheap watches and clocks in Switzerland are imported from China and Japan for their cheap quartz movements (including most of the wall clocks and alarm clocks sold at department stores, for example). Don't purchase a "Migros Budget" clock for Fr. 8 thinking it is a Swiss clock! Nevertheless, real Swiss-made clocks are still well known for their quality and reliability, and intricate mechanics. The following are true Swiss-made watches:

The larger Coop supermarkets carry many brands, including Lindt, Camille Bloch, Goldkenn, and others, including all sorts of alcohol-filled chocolates.

Confiserie Sprüngli

Zürcher Geschnetzeltes served with rösti

The quintessential Zürich dish is Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (Swiss-German: Zürigschnätzlets), sliced veal in a cream and wine sauce. Various kinds of grilled wurst (sausages) are also popular. These are most often accompanied by boiled potatoes, rösti, a Swiss potato pancake (grated potato, formed into a pancake then pan fried until crisp in butter or oil similar to hash browns) or chnöpfli, in German sometimes called Spätzle (small noodle dumplings).

Veal is still very popular, though the use of turkey and other meats as a substitute is growing.

While fondue (melted cheese in a central pot, dip bread into it) and Raclette (cheese melted in small portions, served with potatoes and pickles) are not really local to Zürich (they come from Western Switzerland) they are commonly available at restaurants aimed at tourists. Swiss people usually eat those dishes at home and only during winter.

The bread available in Zürich is generally delicious. There are many varieties, and your best bet is to go to a bakery or a supermarket in the morning or just after work hours, when most people are doing their shopping and bread is coming out fresh.

Try grilled bratwurst from street stands, served with a large crusty roll of sourdough bread and mustard, or sandwiches made with fresh baked bretzeln (large, soft pretzels). A typically Swiss bread is the zopf, a braided soft bread that is commonly served on Sundays (the other name for it is Sonntagszopf).

For breakfast, try a bowl of müesli, which was invented as a health food in Switzerland. The Sprüngli confectionery store tea rooms serve a deluxe version of this fiber-filled cereal with whole milk, crushed berries and cream.

There are a huge variety of cheeses available at the supermarkets, specialty stores and markets, as well as all kinds of hams and dried sausages. Dairy products are generally delicious, especially the butter. Do not miss the supermarkets! You should take a thorough look through Migros or Coop and maybe even assemble your own lunch or dinner some time. Even the cheap, budget prepackaged desserts in the supermarket exceed the quality of what you may be used to.

For those with a sweet tooth, there's a huge variety of chocolates to enjoy, from the cheapest chocolate bar to individually handmade truffles. (See the Shopping section above). The chocolate bar displays at the supermarkets will overwhelm you! Also enjoy pastries and cakes from the various Konditorei scattered around town. In pastry shops, you can also find special pastry from Zurich: The most famous of them is probably Tirggel, a rather hard pastry made of flour and honey. Although traditionally made and eaten during the Winter holidays, many pastry shops (including larger supermarkets) sell them throughout the year. Often, they've got sights of Zurich printed on the top, can be stored for months and thus make up a pretty good and cheap souvenir. Another famous type of pastry are Luxemburgerli exclusively sold by the confectionery chain of Sprüngli (part of the famous chocolatier Lindt & Sprüngli). A typical cake is the Mandelfisch, an almond cake shaped like a fish.

Like most European cities, Zürich abounds with cafés where you can enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee, glass of wine or other beverage, and watch the world go by.

There are many international dining options available too. The current hot trend seems to be pan-Asian noodle, rice, and sushi places. However, due to the long distance from the sea and the lack of original, well-trained Chinese and Japanese cooks, the quality cannot live up to that of the original countries. Instead, the Italian cuisine holds the highest popularity among the foreign restaurants. They can be found throughout the city and are relatively cheap. Turkish fast food restaurants are also a delicious, cheap option.

Vegetarian food is easy to find throughout the city. Vegans may have a little trouble because cheese is used generously in most food, but should be fine living off supermarkets at the very least. Hiltl, the first vegetarian-only restaurant in Europe, is also worth a visit. You choose from the buffet, where your meal is priced by weight or from a variety of à la carte menus, which are a bit more pricey, but include vegetarian/vegan versions of popular Swiss meals like Züri-Gschnätzlets or Beef Stroganoff amongst Indian food and classic vegetarian plates. Another vegan friendly restaurant is "Bona Dea", which is located directly at Zurich Mainstation.

Neighborhood Langstraße

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Restaurant in Zurich

Grossmünster seen from the quai of the Limmat

The restaurants at the top of the Uetliberg are great to combine a nice view of town (a hike in the summer) and some great food. It also has a cheaper self-service area.

Zurich has a lot of places to go out. There are a lot of clubs, restaurants, cafés, bars but also many museums and theatres. The most common drinks in Zurich include: Beer, Swiss white wine (e.g. Fendant), Swiss red wine (is delicious), and Spanish red wine (is generally good value here). At apéro time (after work), you will find many people drinking a Cüpli (glass of sparkling wine).

Christmas time in Zürich

Kreis 2 (Wollishofen)

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Kreis 4 (Langstrasse)

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Kreis 5 (Zürich West)

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Zurich has proportionally more clubs than any other city in Europe. You will find anything from very "fancy" clubs to places you can just chill. If you want, you can go to a club every night. There is always a Club that has a party going and Zurich's young make sure to splash all their income on going out. Most of the clubs are located around the Langstrasse and Hardbrücke. The uncommercial platform denkmal.org aggregates published events from all clubs and bars in Zurich and is a good place to look up what's up. Unsere Beweggründe is mostly focused on the club scene. Usgang.ch used to be pretty big but features mostly big commercial parties.

Gay and lesbian travellers

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Foggy sunset over Zürich

Zurich is the financial centre of Switzerland and most travellers come with an expense account. The hospitality sector focuses therefore mostly on the 4- and 5-star sector. Zurich is known for its superb hotels, but these won't come cheap. Best is to go on a company rate, because rack rates are sometimes ridiculous.

Limmatquai

Central police station

Zürich, like all cities in Switzerland, is relatively safe. Nevertheless, be on guard for thieves and pickpockets. Carry your wallet or purse in a secure way, not in your hip pocket or a backpack outer pocket. In particular, thieves are known to operate around the Zurich main train station. Do not let your bags out of sight for even a moment.

Certain areas along the lakefront are frequented by young people who sometimes try to pick a fight when they are drunk. Do not let them provoke you, as they are likely to be there in numbers and will use any excuse to go at you. You may also notice many of said young people smoking something that isn't a cigarette. Switzerland is surprisingly lenient about such things but it is hardly a cause for alarm.

Public transport is very safe. You can use it without any special precautions.

If you decide to bicycle in the city, understand that Zurich is a city of public transport. Beware of tram tracks which can get your wheel stuck and send you flying into traffic, of the trams themselves which travel these tracks frequently (and may scare you into getting stuck into the track), and the buses, which make frequent stops in the rightmost lane. In short, bicycling downtown should be only done by those experienced with cycling with such traffic.

Gay and lesbian travellers

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Being Switzerland's most liberal city (the socialist and green parties now fare extremely well here), Zurich is the favourite place to live for Switzerland's (German-speaking) gays and lesbians. The Canton of Zurich was the second canton, after Geneva, to allow registered partnerships for same-sex partners for example. The city of Zurich is probably the place in Switzerland that offers the most open environment for gays and lesbians. Gays and lesbians need not take special precaution for their safety on the streets. It is always possible for random homophobic behaviour to happen, though.

As of Sept 2021, the city has 5G from all Swiss carriers. WiFi is widely available in public places.

Permanence Hauptbahnhof at the main train station provides urgent out-patient care for tourists without prior appointments. There is also a dentist downstairs at the station. For serious emergencies rush to the university hospital which has a 24/7 emergency ward. Tram stop "ETH/Universitätsspital" (look out for the inexplicable golden boy statue in front of the building, then follow the red "Notfall" signs). They will not send away people with serious, urgent health problems. Ambulance phone number is 144 but the European 112 emergency number works as well.

If you're on a budget, don't stay out too late — the "N" night buses only run on weekends and only once per hour. On work nights, there is no public transport at all after about 00:30 (although expensive taxis still exist in case you're stuck).

Stores are generally closed on Sundays including all supermarkets in the city, except those in the main train station, some suburban stations, and at the airport which remain open.

Zurich has two police departments, the Stadtpolizei Zurich which is responsible for the city area and the Kantonspolizei Zürich which is responsible for the whole region. With approximately 1,800 and 3,000 officers, these corps are the biggest in Switzerland. While police officers in Zurich will happily help you out if you are in trouble or need directions, they are also known for approaching "suspicious" persons in order to check their papers. This procedure is annoying but legal as you will probably have a hard time proving you were not acting suspicious. Carry a photocopy of your passport and your onward ticket with you, stay calm and polite and you're unlikely to have any trouble.

Kapellbrücke, Lucerne

Some interesting destinations nearby:

A bit further away, but also worth a day trip:

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