Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich was my home base while in Switzerland. I did not know what to expect because I imagined Switzerland as small ski towns, yet knew Zurich was a big city! However, Zurich seemed to be a blend of a small village and a big city (if that's possible). It had charming streets with charismatic buildings, yet was spread out and had the hustle of the city. There is so much to see and do, but if you want my personal opinion I would highly recommend a day trip outside of Zurich to see somewhere along the Swiss Alps (which is what I did)!

Limmat River

Cappuccino with a sweater

Zurich Main Station

Bahnhofstrasse

To get into Zurich we took a train and a bus and to be honest it is not the easiest to figure out, especially with the language barrier. But, the people at the ticket office are very kind and help a lot, so I would skip the self-service ticket booths and ask the ticket office workers where to go. Right by the main station is the beginning of the huge shopping street in Zurich! It has every store you can think of and we walked around it a lot because it is the center of all the action. Note: I found 95% of stores are closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly (It is kind of a ghost town on Sundays). 

Lindenhof Park

My favorite area of Zurich was hands-down this park! It overlooks a majority of Zurich and the  Limmat River. It was so nice to stop for a moment to take in the beautiful view. Aside from the breathtaking view, there were also locals playing lifesize chess and going for strolls. A must-see place to see in Zurich if you ask me. 

Polybahn

This little trolly was a nice 30-second ride up from the main square of Zurich to the main building of ETH Zurich, which is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics university. It has a nice view of Zurich and some student bars, but you can for sure skip this if you do not have time. 

Zurich Botanical Garden 

The Zurich Botanical Garden was about a twenty-minute walk from our Airbnb, so we figured why not go see them? It was really interesting because they had different climates. If you're a plant lover I would suggest visiting these.

World Cup Trophies

FIFA Museum 

I actually had no idea that the FIFA Museum was in Zurich. I had heard that their headquarters are on the outskirts somewhere, but when I ran into this museum when walking around I knew I had to go in! Let's just say when I was 10 years old I thought I was playing for the world cup. The most surreal part for me was seeing the real World Cup Trophies in real life! They told us that all the winning teams get replicas and the real ones stay in this museum forever. 

Cappuccino 

Confiserie Sprüngli

Tomato Quiche 

Heaven

Champagne Macaroon & Champagne Truffle

Srüngli was highly recommended to me from a Zurich local that is a mutual friend of mine! I took full advantage of this delicious gem by going for brunch and mid-day treats! First, I went for Sunday brunch (which was very crowded so prepare to wait for at least 20 minutes or make a reservation) and I ordered a cappuccino, tomato quiche, and porridge (sorry, forgot to take a photo). If I could do it again though I would go very hungry and get there all-you-can-eat buffet! It was like heaven on earth. From what I remember it was a glass of prosecco and a buffet full of their famous macaroons, pastries, bircher, etc. Unfortunately, I did not have room in my stomach, nor $60 set aside for brunch ;)!

Four of us stayed in an Airbnb during my time in Switzerland! It was a great location because it was walking distance from everywhere we wanted to go. I was advised to stay in District One (which I highly recommend as well), but our Airbnb was on the border of District One and Eight and it was just as convenient.