The Ways Zurich Won Me Over

 And Zurich did right by me. In my mind, the city was all business all day. But my recent trip there taught me that Zurich is so much more than that. It has museums, opera, high-end shopping, lots of history, is very international, and is a bustling city neighboring a lake, so no matter how hard you’re working, you’re only a few steps from tranquility.

I enjoyed every one of my moments in Zurich, but these are the things I dug most:

The Location

Its location smack dab in the middle of Switzerland (okay, slightly north, but you know what I’m saying) means that you can get anywhere from the Jungfrau to Basel or Lugano in just a few hours’ time.

And, since Switzerland is in the middle of Europe, well, you can do as I did and use the city as a jumping-off point to then head elsewhere. Oh, and the city itself? It’s right next to one of those icy blue lakes and makes the most of its situation, meaning you can culture yourself in the historic old town, then have lunch lakeside with locals.

The People

Everywhere we went, everybody was beyond friendly (okay, not so much that policeman who fined us for having the wrong train ticket, but that was totally on us). Seriously, people would strike up conversation and help with anything from selfie assistance to directions.

The Food

Cheese and chocolate – need I say more? Okay, if that’s all, I said that’d be underselling it. You won’t go without cheese or chocolate anywhere in Switzerland, but Zurich also has lots more when it comes to food. There are Swiss classics from Rösti to  — my favorite new word — Geschnetzeltes, aka a local Zurich veal dish in a mushroom sauce. And there’s tons of fresh and creative food from Hiltl, the first vegetarian restaurant in the world, to awesome coffee drinks and cocktails.

And The Wine

Aside from the Chasselas wine variety in some places outside of Switzerland, where they serve fondue (they’re considered a food-wine match made in heaven), Swiss wine pretty much stays in Switzerland.

This means you should make an effort to drink it while you’re in town. There are wineries within the Zurich area, and of all the styles I tried, the Riesling-Silvaner mix, especially from Gottlieb Welti winery, was my favorite.

The Coffee

You know I can’t get far without a good cup of coffee, and, lucky for me, the Swiss are the same. From quality espressos to more contemporary coffee (my favorites were at Bovelli café), I was very happily fully caffeinated.

And The Cocktails

The only thing they seem to take more pride in than their coffee are the cocktails. I ordered an Aperol Spritz on the regular and lots of Gin and Tonics, but that was mostly because it was too hot to drink. I instantly fell for Milchbar where they served pour-over coffee and Gin and Tonics side-by-side. Also, there were a ton of interesting bars in Zurich West with all sorts of creative drinks but I only got time to explore a few.

The Active Lifestyle

The only way I can travel for more than a few days is if I am active. We walked and walked and walked around Zurich, clocking in more than 6 miles daily, and the locals seemed to walk a ton, too.

Also, because it was high summer, everyone was at the lake, doing everything from swimming to pedal boating to sailing. One of my favorite days was getting a taste of locals’ summer life at Seebad Enge swim club, where I got to sunbathe, swim, and stand-up paddleboard with the locals.

Old Meets New

Zurich’s Old Town is breathtakingly quaint, so you’ll want to play tourist and walk around it. From climbing the Grossmünster church tower first thing in the morning for a fantastic view to walking Bahnhofstrasse for world-class shopping (including the city’s best chocolate shops).

But also make time to explore the up-and-coming neighborhood of Zurich West. That’s where I came across Frau Gerold’s Garten, an artsy pop-up mix of boutiques and bars in a carnival atmosphere.

The Convenience

Yes, Switzerland is more expensive than other parts of Europe, but I’ll let you in on a secret: smaller European cities tend to be cheaper to fly into than the major hubs, and that’s the case with Zurich.

So, you can fly into Zurich and spend some time there, even if you’re eventually heading somewhere else. And that works year-round because, no matter the weather, the city has super-efficient transportation with pretty much everyone speaking more proper English than I do!