What is the Zurich self-guided walking tour?
The Zurich self-guided walking tour is a walk whose pace you set, with audio narration on your phone taking the part of a guide. Allow about 3 hours: 47 minutes of that is walking, the route runs to 3.7 km, and at 10 stops you come to a halt and listen. Nothing runs to a timetable, and there is no group to keep up with.
On the Lindenhof the narration goes back to the Roman fort of the 4th century and to the tombstone dug up here in 1747, which carries Turicum, the Roman name of the city, along with the legend of the women who climbed the hill in armour during the siege of 1292. At St Peter's you hear why the tower under its clock face of about 8.7 metres belongs to the city rather than to the parish, and how it served as a fire lookout until 1911. The Grossmünster brings Charlemagne's kneeling horse over the graves of Felix and Regula, and Huldrych Zwingli, who preached here from 1519.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 47 min · 3.7 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What the walk consists of
Listen
Every stop opens with the history of the place, the legends attached to it and the details nobody points out. The same text sits on the screen for anyone who would rather read.
Walk on
Google Maps carries you from one stop to the next: 47 minutes on foot over 3.7 km, at whatever speed you like.
Stop a while
Sit down for a coffee by the water or give an hour to a museum, then take the walk up again later or on another day.
Eat and browse
Tips for places to eat and shops near the route arrive with the stops. The first stop and the order are yours to rearrange in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walk is for
A first visit to Zurich
One walk sorts out the river, the lake, the hill and the old lanes, and explains what you are standing in front of.
Anyone who avoids groups
No flag to follow and no roll call: you stay where something holds you and move on when you choose to.
A day in the city
3 hours takes care of the centre, which leaves the afternoon for a museum, a boat or the lakeside.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: Landesmuseum, Lindenhof, Grossmünster, Altstadt
10 stops · about 47 min walking · start: Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum) · finish: Old Town (Altstadt)
The walk opens at the Swiss National Museum, a couple of minutes from the main station, and Bahnhofplatz with its Escher monument comes next. Bahnhofstrasse leads to the Pestalozzianlage, after which the route climbs the Lindenhof, comes down again at St Peter's Church and crosses the Limmat to the Town Hall. The lakeshore takes over as far as the Opera House, the Grossmünster follows on the right bank, and the lanes of the Old Town bring the walk to a close. Another opening stop or another order can be set in the app, and no stop asks for an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum)Start
The Landesmuseum beside the main station opened in 1898 in a building by Gustav Gull, designed like a French Renaissance château with towers and turrets. Inside, the national museum tells the story of Switzerland from prehistory to the present day.
2Bahnhofplatz
Bahnhofplatz is the square in front of Zurich's main station, whose station building by Jakob Friedrich Wanner opened in 1871. In the centre stands the monument to Alfred Escher, unveiled in 1889, honouring the politician and railway pioneer who pushed for the Gotthard railway and founded the bank that later became Credit Suisse.
3Pestalozzianlage
This small park on Bahnhofstrasse is named after Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827), the Zurich-born educator whose idea of learning with head, heart and hand influenced schools far beyond Switzerland. His bronze statue by Hugo Siegwart, unveiled in 1899, shows him with a child at his side.
4Lindenhof
This hill shaded by linden trees rises above the Limmat where the Romans built a fort in the 4th century, and a Roman tombstone found here in 1747 names Turicum, the Roman name of Zurich. According to legend, the women of Zurich marched up here in armour during a siege in 1292, a story recalled by the Hedwig Fountain of 1688.
Read the full story →
5St Peter's Church
St Peter is thought to be the oldest parish church in Zurich, and its tower carries one of the largest church clock faces in Europe, about 8.7 metres across. The tower belongs to the city and served as a fire lookout until 1911, while the church itself belongs to the parish.
6Town Hall (Rathaus)
Zurich's Town Hall was built between 1694 and 1698 on foundations set in the Limmat, replacing an older council house from 1397. The cantonal parliament and the city parliament both still meet here, and from the bridge next to it you can see how the building stands right in the river.
7Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich stretches about 40 km to the southeast and covers almost 89 square kilometres, shared by the cantons of Zurich, St Gallen and Schwyz. At the city end its water flows out into the Limmat, and on clear days the Alps appear beyond the far shore.
8Zurich Opera House
The Opera House opened in 1891, built by the Viennese architects Fellner & Helmer after the old theatre burned down in 1890. Busts of Weber, Wagner and Mozart and of Schiller, Shakespeare and Goethe decorate the façade above Sechseläutenplatz, where the Böögg snowman is burned at the spring festival.
9Grossmünster
According to legend, Charlemagne founded the Grossmünster where his horse knelt over the graves of Zurich's patron saints Felix and Regula; the present Romanesque church was begun around 1100. Huldrych Zwingli preached here from 1519 and made it the starting point of the Swiss Reformation, and the twin towers got their present tops in 1787.
10Old Town (Altstadt)Finish
Zurich's Old Town spreads along both banks of the Limmat, and its narrow lanes still follow the medieval street plan. On the right bank, the car-free Niederdorf is full of small shops, bars and fountains, and old guild houses line the Limmatquai.
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Anonymous (verified owner) –
easy to use and interactive