Zürich

    Our next stop is in Switzerland, on Lake Zurich.
    I guess you're expecting me to talk about clocks, banks and, maybe during the break, about chocolate. That's not what I had in mind, but I don't want to deceive you either, so I'll just mention that if you walk on Bahnhofstrasse  you will find the headquarters of two of the biggest Swiss banks, but also chocolate shops and many famous brands shops.
    Just in case you plan to window shop or maybe even more, Bahnhofstrasse is 1.5 km long, starting at the railway station ( Zürich HB ) and ending at Bürkliplatz, next to the lake. And if you're just looking for chocolate and saving money at the same time, you can visit the supermaket situated across the railway station, near the bridge.

    Now that we're done shopping ( and hopefully with some money left ), let's see what is interesting to visit in Zurich. You can start with a lake shore walk, continuing on the right side of the Limmat, on Limmatquai.  Along the quai you will find some of Zurich's Guild houses, but also the two cathedrals facing each other across the river : Grossmünster   ( with its twin towers ) and Fraumünster ( with the blue tower and with the stained glass windows by Marc Chagall ).
    If you keep walking on Limmatquai you will see the Rathaus   and the Rathausbrücke ( the town hall and the town hall bridge ). This is the largest bridge in Zurich, in fact, a small square built above the river.

Fraumünster and Grossmünster ( in the back )

    If you want to enjoy the panorama of the city, you can go either on the terrace in front of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH )   ( ranked 7th in the world and whose students and professors have received 21 Nobel prizes in the past, one of them being Albert Einstein ) , or on Mt. Üetliberg , which can be reached by taking the S10 train from the railway station, or at Dolder .

City Panorama from the ETH terrace

    You can reach Dolder either by walking or by taking the train ( rack and pinion railway ) from Römerhof station  .

Train to Dolder

Other attractions

• Swiss National Museum - next to the railway station
• Art Museum - one of the most important art museums in Europe
• Museum of Design
• The Centre Le Corbusier
• Museum Bellerive - applied arts museum, part of the Museum of Design
• The Opera House - near the lake
• The Zoo
• The Botanical Garden
• The Chinese Garden - next to the Centre Le Corbusier
• FIFA Headquarters - next to the Zoo
• Letzigrund Stadium - where Weltklasse Zürich is held ( one of the meetings of IAAF Diamond League ) and also one of the venues of Euro 2008

View Zürich on a larger map

    Besides the attractions I have told you about, I hope you will take the time to explore the small streets of Zurich and maybe even enjoy a boat tour on the lake.
     Have fun discovering the city!

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