I have got my old man in town for a few days and he wants to spend some time tommorrow in Zurich.

He only really knows Zug and a few skiing resorts in Switzerland and the only time he has spend in Zurich (other than the in 70's) is really flying in and out of the airport.

As I dont really know Zurich at all, i need a quick run down of:


Main shopping area for clothes etc...
Outdoor cafes
Photography galleries
Perhaps a museum?
Anything else
2nd hand vinyl shops (for me really....your department DaveA???)



All within walking distace of the Bahnhof would be great.

Thanks
SC

see if you can sort a walking tour, it's quite interesting.

I always enjoy a trip on the lake, usually to Rapperswill either with lunch on the posh boat or one of the nice restaurants over there.

A good place for clothes (not cheap tho) and outdoor cafes is bahnhofstrasse itself and theres a museum round the back of the bahnhof (cant remember for the life of me what its called)

Any help here?
The Bahnhofstrasse and the side-roads off it are a good 'start' for window shopping - though it has lost a bit of 'style' in the last few years.
The old town around Rindermarkt is very attractive - the narrow 'roads' in this area such a contrast to the Bahnhofstrasse.
A guided tour of this area is fascinating.
here (perhaps - links I send tend to be very fragile - please handle with care )

I'd go for the guided walk (assuming he doesn't speak German) that lasts two hours.

Next, Landesmuseum! Guided tours or iPods with english comments available for a small fee.

Then, rest your weary feet on the boat to Bürkliplatz, hop on one of the boats there for a coffee and some cake doing one of their more or less long cruises, maybe stepping off somewhere on the Goldküste for a scrumptious meal.

Back by boat or you can walk up to the train station (never very far from the lake, just follow the yellow signposts/diamonds.

Or you can do a big tour on the boat with a Bordrestaurant to Rapperswil (takes about 4 hours).

Just a word of caution regarding the museums and art galleries here in Zurich. They are closed on Mondays!

Oldhand and I found out the hard way and turned up at the Landesmuseum to find it closed... So plan your trip on any day other than Monday if you want to include these in your itinerary.

Some great ideas here, good work my fellow EFers!

Will be going tommorrow and i think that the 2 hour walk will be on the cards.

He speaks better German than me so all should be okay.

Keep the suggestions coming!!

Thanks
SC

Then I can definitely recommend the "Zürich zum Schmunzeln" tour if he's not into "dry" history

Another nice, not too strenuous, walk is to take the S10 up Üetliberg, then walk along the ridge towards Felsenegg (1.5hr at most) and take the funicular down to Adliswil, S4 back to Zurich. or maybe first up to Sihlwald to go see the beavers (best done at dusk)...

All aforementioned stuff guinea-pigged on my mother

Forgot to mention it: bring lots of coins for the different ticket machines, or get a Albis-Tageskarte, it covers all of the aforementioned area.

Whoops, wasn't fast enough editing the link for the Albis-Tageskarte...

In the new link it mentions how to get one from a normal zvv ticket machine.

If the weather is nice, how about a chilled glass of beer on the lakeside at Rote Fabrik......Bus number 161 or 165 to rote fabrik or tram 7 until Post wollishofen.....both take around 12mins....they do some nice food too.

For Photography exhibitions there's the Foto Museum in Winterthur (only 20 mins away) and until very soon (next Sunday) the Marc Rich collection at the Kunsthaus (which is free on Wednesdays apparently) of early pioneers of photography.

As far as places to go for lunch - how about taking the boat down to the Seerose in Wollishofen? Looks great from outside - not been myself (yet)

Within walking distance of Bahnhof Stadelhofen, just up the road at Kreuzplatz (tram 11, 15, bus 31) there's a shop called "Rock On".

Address: Rock On, Ottenweg 35, 8032 Zurich

The following is an article from the Guardian website and focuses on food, but many of the sites like Frommers also have walking tour suggestions.


The perfect day
Breakfast
Pick up a nüssgipfel (nutty filled pastry) from the wonderful 100-year-old Zum Brotkorb bakery, cross the bridge over the Limmat river and grab a seat at Lindenhof Square, where you can watch the old men play giant chess among the trees.
· Zum Brotkorb and Mudespacher at Markt Gasse.
Coffee with a view
The best 360-degree view in the city is from the Urania Observatory. The Jules Verne bar, directly underneath, serves great coffee. Cafe Weggen, five minutes in the other direction, is a quaint and steamy James Joyce-type of place (he holed up in Zurich to write Ulysses). It offers more varieties of hot chocolate than Starbucks does coffee (although there's one of those at Central if you're desperate). Cake does not get any better than at Confiserie Sprüngli AG Cafe.
· Urania Observatory and Jules Verne Bar, Urania Strasse. Cafe Weggen, Weggen Gasse. Confiserie Sprungli, Bahnhofstrasse 21.
Designers & lunch
Two sides of the Limmat river, two choices. For something unique head to Niederdorf. Start with the vintage clothing shops around Spital Gasse, then meander around the tiny cobbled streets filled with antique book stores and jewellery designers. Don't miss Maison Unique a homeware boutique on Froschau Gasse. Skip over Muster Brüke, turn left past Fraumünster Church and its Marc Chagall stained-glass windows, and enjoy a designer clothes fest: Jil Sander, Sergio Rossi at Willylow Shoes, Dolce and Gabbana and cult jeans at Trois Pommes. Take your lilac leather pew with the rest of the in-crowd at Piu bar and restaurant at Lichthof.
· Piu, Banhofstrasse 25. 01 225 6025.
Culture fix
There are 30-odd museums from the odd Museum of Swiss Hotels and Tourism at Trittligasse to the marvellous Kunsthaus (with Swiss art as well as Picasso, Gauguin, Van Gogh and the rest). And you could always pick up your own Warhol or Chagall from dealer Jamileh Weber.
· Kunsthaus, Heimplatz 1, open Tues-Thurs 10am-9pm. Fri-Sun until 5pm. Jamileh Weber, Waldmannstrasse 6.
Cocktail and dinner
Take the number 4 tram to Limmat Platz for Josef bar -worth the trip for the mojitos alone. You can eat here, too, but must book. If you didn't, here's where to eat. Extortionate: Kronenhalle - Zurich's answer to the Ivy but with real Picassos and Matisses on the wall. Affordable: Pizza Luigi, for the best Pizza in the city. Budget: the wurst stand at Bellevue - an institution.
· Josef, Gasometerstrasse 8 (01 271 6595). Kronehalle, Rämistrasse 4 (01 251 0256)
· Kries 6, Scheuchzerstrasse (01 362 8006). Pizza Luigi, Weinbergstrasse (01 262 33 55).
· Wurst stand, Theatre Strasse, next to Vorderer Sternen.

Whichever journalist wrote that I think copied it from a guide book and didn't bother to try and eat the cake in Sprungli which IMHO (and those of a few people I've taken there) is the most overrated place ever. The cakes are terrible, overpriced, it's impossible to get a seat and the service isn't too good either.

Actually cakes here really seem a disappointment after going to Vienna or Budapest. I like Cakefriends, a modern cafe round the corner from Cafe Odeon, the ones in Globus Am Bellevue look great although I've never had one - and there are a couple of other OK-ish places - I'm hoping Cafe Schober reopens - does anyone else have recommendations for proper European-style viennoiserie?

Hello guys! I find this thread so helpful! But i am wondering...what to do in Zurich on a SUNDAY? I plan to go over there from Luzern, i just got here and i am wanting to explore...but i heard everything is closed?? is there something open in Zurich on sundays???

HELP!

On a Sunday one of the best things to do it go on a trip on the lake (the 1 1/2 hour roundtrip is included in the Tram pass), If not a trip up Uetliberg is always nice.

You can window shop through from Hauptbahnghof through the old town and down the lake, too...spend less money that way (we did it yesterday with the kids - spent hours looking in the window at the toy shop)...

There's excavations there, too - and some sort of map with lots of historical sites - my german is minimal and we were in a hurry to get to church by 6:30pm, so we'll go back another day!

Traveling from Lugano to Zurich for one night (Sept. 27) with two kids and a baby. Should we train or drive into city? And, what hotel recommendations does anyone have (moderate three to four star)? Any advice for fun with family that date?

Cheers!