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Zürich |
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Not so long ago, ZÜRICH was famed for being the most icily calm,
cleanest city in Europe. Apocryphal stories abound from the 1970s of
tourists setting out to find a cigarette butt or a food wrapper
discarded on the streets and drawing a blank every time. Since then,
Zürich has reinvented itself. This most beautiful of cities, astride a
river and turned towards a crystal-clear lake and distant snowy peaks,
has plenty to recommend it. Now you can people-watch on crowded, multi-ethnic
streets, drink, dance or hang out at bars and clubs as hip and varied as
those in more celebrated European cities, and feel a lived-in urban buzz
that contradicts the Swiss stereotype. The steep, cobbled alleys of the
Old Town are perfect for exploratory wanderings, and with an engaging
café culture and a wealth of nightlife, you could easily spend days here.
The City
From Central, the narrow pedestrian-only streets of the medieval
Niederdorf district stretch south along the east bank of the River
Limmat, tranquil during the day and bustling after dark. The waterfront
is lined with fine Baroque Zunfthäuser (guildhalls), arcaded lower
storeys fronting the quayside, their extravagantly decorated dining-rooms
now mostly upmarket restaurants. One block in is Niederdorfstrasse ,
initially tacky, but offering plenty of opportunities to explore
atmospheric cobbled side-alleys and secluded courtyards: Spiegelgasse 14
was Lenin's digs in 1917 (pre-Revolution), and a pub at Spiegelgasse 1 -
long since renovated - housed the original Cabaret Voltaire , birthplace
of the Dada art movement. Just south is Zürich's trademark Grossmünster
(Mon-Sat 9/10am-4/6pm), where Huldrych Zwingli, father of Swiss
Protestantism, began preaching in 1519. Its exterior is largely
fifteenth-century, while its twin towers were topped with distinctive
octagonal domes three hundred years later. The interior is austere but
for the intensely coloured choir windows by Augusto Giacometti and the
Romanesque crypt which contains an oversized fifteenth-century statue of
Charlemagne, popularly associated with the foundation of the church in
the ninth century. As you leave, a door on the right gives into the
atmospheric cloister . Alleys behind the church lead up the hill to
Switzerland's best gallery, the Kunsthaus (Tues-Thurs 10am-9pm, Fri-Sun
10am-5pm; Sfr6, free on Sun; www.kunsthaus.ch ). Some fascinating late-Gothic
paintings, a roomful of Venetian masters and fine Flemish work are
fleshed out by Swiss artists, among them Füssli, whose macabre fantasies
contrast with the restrained classicism of his compatriot Angelika
Kauffmann. The collection of twentieth-century art is stunning: works by
Miró, Dalí and De Chirico head a wonderful Surrealist overview; Picasso,
Chagall, Klee and Kandinsky all have rooms to themselves; there are two
of Monet's most beautiful waterlily canvases, plenty of Warhols, an
array of Giacometti's sculpture, and the largest Munch collection
outside Scandinavia.
The west bank is the site of most business and commercial activity.
Leading south from the station, Bahnhofstrasse is one of the most
prestigious shopping streets in Europe, an enduring symbol of Zürich's
wealth and a stark counterpoint to the quaintness of the Niederdorf
alleys. This is the gateway into the modern city, and is where all of
Zürich strolls, whether to browse at the inexpensive department stores
that crowd the first third of the street, or to sign away Sfr25,000 on a
Rolex watch or a Vuitton bag at the understated super-chic boutiques
further south. Two-thirds of the way down is Paradeplatz , a tram-packed
little square offering some of the best people-watching in the city, and
where most of Switzerland's banks are headquartered: Bahnhofstrasse, if
not paved with gold, is at least founded on the stuff, with ingots piled
high in well-protected vaults beneath the pavement. The narrow lanes
between Bahnhofstrasse and the river lead up to the Lindenhof courtyard,
site of a Roman fortress and customs post. James Joyce wrote Ulysses in
Zürich (1915-19), and the Joyce Foundation, nearby at Augustinergasse 9,
can point you to his various hangouts, and his grave. Steps away is the
Peterskirche (Mon-Fri 8am-6pm, Sat 8am-4pm), renowned for the enormous
sixteenth-century clock face - the largest in Europe - adorning its
medieval tower and a simple interior that's more like a ballroom than a
church. Immediately south rises the slender-spired Gothic Fraumünster (Mon-Sat
9/10am-4/6pm), which began life as a convent in 853; its spectacular
stained glass by Marc Chagall is unmissable.
The Schweizerisches Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum; Tues-Sun
10.30am-5pm; Sfr5; www.musee-suisse.ch ) is just north of the train
station, an eccentric nineteenth-century mock castle. The ground floor
is packed with medieval religious art, including a panorama of the city
of Zürich painted around 1500 which shows the grisly end of the city's
patron saints, Felix and Regula, Christian Romans who deserted, were
chased to Zürich, decapitated, put on a wheel and boiled. Upstairs, an
extensive military history section serves as a reminder of the warlike
past of the Swiss.
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