Nearby Attractions

Switzerland's largest art museum, spanning the historic Moser building and a 2021 extension by David Chipperfield, home to the world's most important collection of Alberto Giacometti sculptures and the largest Edvard Munch holdings outside Norway, alongside Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Warhol.

Closed: Closed Mondays

CHF 24 for the collection and small exhibitions; CHF 31 for a major temporary exhibition (which also includes the collection); CHF 36 for an 'All in One' ticket covering everything. Free for everyone on Wednesdays. An audio guide is included when booking online, CHF 4 extra at the desk.

A former abbey church founded in 853, its slender green spire a fixture of the Zurich skyline. Five soaring choir windows made by Marc Chagall in 1970, plus a rose window by Augusto Giacometti, turn the plain Protestant interior into something unexpected.

Closed: Restricted sightseeing during the 10:00 Sunday service

CHF 5, which includes an audio guide or brochure and access to the crypt museum. Free for under-16s, students with ID, and anyone entering to pray rather than sightsee. Payment is on site only.

Zurich's twin-towered Romanesque landmark, according to legend founded by Charlemagne after his horse knelt at the graves of the city's martyred patron saints. This is where Huldrych Zwingli launched the Swiss Reformation in 1519, and the crypt holds a monumental modern statue of Charlemagne himself.

Closed: Open daily; shorter hours and tower closed in winter

The nave is free to enter. Climbing the Karlsturm tower (187 steps) costs around CHF 5 for adults, cash only at a machine near the tower entrance. The crypt with the Charlemagne statue is included in the free nave visit.

Built beside the historic Lindt & Sprüngli factory on the lakefront, an interactive museum tracing chocolate from cacao bean to bar, centred on a chocolate fountain over 9 metres tall. Unlimited tastings and a shop said to be one of the largest chocolate stores anywhere round off the visit.

Closed: Open 360 days a year; closed around Christmas/New Year and two inspection days in spring and autumn

Around CHF 18-21 for an individual adult ticket based on third-party resellers; the museum's own confirmed rate is a CHF 15/person group rate for 20+ visitors, so the individual walk-up price should be verified on lindt-home-of-chocolate.com. Zürich Card holders get a 20% discount. Booking online in advance is strongly recommended due to demand.

Zurich's own house mountain at 870 metres, reachable by a 20-minute rack railway ride from the Hauptbahnhof. A short walk from the summit station leads to a lookout tower with views over the city, Lake Zurich and, on a clear day, the Alps beyond.

The mountain and viewing tower are free; you pay only for the SZU rack-railway ticket up from the Hauptbahnhof (covered by a ZVV day pass or Zürich Card). Round-trip standard fare is roughly CHF 10-15 without a pass.

ZSG (Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft) steamers depart from Bürkliplatz for routes ranging from a one-hour short loop to a full-day trip the length of the lake to Rapperswil, passing lakeside villas, vineyards and Alpine views to the south.

Roughly CHF 9 for the shortest one-hour 'kleine Rundfahrt' loop, rising well beyond CHF 30 for longer routes to Rapperswil; fares are zone-based and complex, so treat this as the entry-level price only. Covered within the relevant zones by a ZVV day pass or Zürich Card.

A fairy-tale, turreted castle-like building from 1898 right beside the Hauptbahnhof, holding Switzerland's largest cultural history collection: medieval church interiors, historic weaponry, coins, furniture and applied art through to 20th-century design, set within a 2016 architectural extension.

Closed: Closed Mondays

CHF 10 for adults, free for under-17s. Covered by the Swiss Museum Pass and the Zürich Card.

Two very different faces of the same Old Town: Niederdorf's narrow medieval lanes on the Limmat's east bank, packed with bars and small shops, and Bahnhofstrasse on the west bank, a mile-long boulevard of flagship stores and discreet private banks said to sit atop some of the most valuable retail real estate in the world.

Free to walk — both are open streets, not ticketed sites.