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Five stops in Zurich: a primer on the places you need to see: "
Do you often find yourself smack in the middle of a big, bustling city without a clue as to where you should start your journey? Well, we’re here to help you identify the places you should check out on your travels. Today, we’re taking you around Zurich and pointing out the places you shouldn’t miss.
Swiss National Museum
Our first stop for today is the National Swiss Museum. Now, before you give us that not-another-museum look, listen carefully. When it comes to important artifacts in Switzerland’s culture, there is no better place to visit that the Swiss National Museum; the same actually goes for Swiss culture. The museum is actually housed inside the Chateau de Prangins castle which dates back to the 18th century (if you want to be more precise, the castle was built from 1893 to 1898).
Here, you can view the old weapons used by the Swiss militia including the various Swiss flags. Precious gold artifacts fashioned by goldsmiths are also on display, alongside silver art pieces. The ladies might fawn over the jewelry on display, while the gentlemen might be more fascinated by the watches in the exhibit. Beautiful ceramic pieces can also be found here, plus old coins to please the avid coin collector, paintings for the artists, musical instruments for the audiophile, and scientific instruments that came before the now famous Large Hadron Collider. Oh, and let’s not forget the Swiss Army knives, either.
Old town streets
After acquainting ourselves with Zurich’s history and cultural background, we now make our way to the old town streets to get a first hand feel of Zurich before it transformed itself to cope with the changing times. If you happen to like collecting antiques, these old streets are the perfect destination as they’re lined with lots of charming antique shops. At Napfgasse, we find the headquarters of the famous 14th century currency changers, Lombard. To see a real house decorated in the Renaissance style, we head off to Haus zum Napt. The rooms are also furnished with fine antique pieces that are a far cry from the plastic wares we have at home.
Konditorei Sprungli
Our next stop brings us right in the heart of Zurich’s chocolate empire, Konditorei Sprungli. This place is home to Lindt, which is one of the most famous brands of chocolate in the world today. In earlier years before the Lindt chocolate factory was established, the biggest producer of confectioneries in Switzerland was known as the Sprungli firm. But over a hundred years ago, a change was made resulting in a division in the firm which led to the establishment of the chocolate factory that we now know as Lindt, and a confectionery factory which kept part of the original name, Sprungli Confectionery.
There is no better place in the world than here to indulge in sweets. Take a bite out of the Luxemburgerli and savor its sweet, creamy filing. Otherwise, you can pop a chocolate cube in your mouth and feel like you’ve gone to heaven.
Fraumunster Kirche
Next, we make a stop at the Fraumunster Kirche or the Church of our Lady, which gives us a glimpse of Zurich’s religious side, and the amount of work that goes into the design and architecture of their churches. The green spire is an unmistakable landmark in town, including the giant clock in the tower. Inside, you will find one of the largest organs in the area composed of over 5000 pipes. Looking up, you will see the massive stained glass windows made by Marc Chagall himself. These windows measure a height of 10 meters and serve as the colorful background for the choir. Chagall also had pieces in other areas of the church, each with its unique color scheme. Jeremiah’s lament over Jerusalem’s destruction can be found in the northern area; while the southern are is where you will find Moses and the 10 commandments fashioned out of blue glass. In the northern part of the church, there are also stained glass windows this time designed by Augusto Giacometti. These windows show Christ with his prophets, angels and evangelists.
Back in 853, this church was actually a gift from Emperor Ludwig given to his beloved daughter, Hildegard.
Uetliberg
The last stop on our tour takes us to the Uetliberg, which is the highest point in the Albis ridge. We travel on the old train tracks of Uetliburghan which takes us a whopping 2,600 feet above the ground to get to this destination and reward ourselves with an amazing view of the town below. On clear days, the scenery of the Glarus Alps, Vallais and Black Forest is enough to take your breath away. At the summit, there is a restaurant where you can sit down to a delicious cheese fondue. After that, we walk to Felsenegg where we take the cable car down to Adliswil before making our way back to Zurich.
For travelers making their way to Zurich, there are plenty of other attractions to check out if you’ve got the time and budget. We hope our list at least helped you get started on your journey. Now that we’ve shown you some of the sites, we hope we’ve encouraged you go out on your own and see what else this town has to offer.
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