Canton of Zurich · Switzerland
Where to stay in Zurich
Zurich is a city in Canton of Zurich, Switzerland, home to about 452,000 people. This guide covers 17 aparthotels and 4 hotels in Zurich, with about 1,220 rooms between them. 3 of them carry a published guest score, and the list below is ordered by it.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 21
- Nearest airport
- ZRH9 km · Zürich Airport
- Currency
- CHFSwiss franc
- Time zone
- Europe/Zurich
- Language
- French, German, Italian
About
About Zurich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich.
While Zurich is Switzerland's biggest city and a cultural centre of German-speaking Switzerland, Bern is the Swiss capital. It has a population of some 430,000 (2022) in the city, and 1.8 million (2011) in the metro area. Zurich is on Lake Zurich, where the lake meets the river Limmat, in the north of Switzerland.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Zurich
See
Most of the interesting sights are in the old town around the river and lakefront.
- Bahnhofstrasse
- Lindenhof
- Lake Promenade
- Grossmünster
- Fraumünster
- Schanzengraben
- Langstrasse
- Friedhof Fluntern
- Zoo
- China Garden
- Niederdorf
- Zurich West
Do
- Polybahn
- Oberer/Unterer Letten
- trip on the Zürichsee
- Limmat river cruise
- Uetliberg
- Street Parade
- Swiss national day
- Sechseläuten (Sächsilüüte)
- Caliente Festival
- Züri Fäscht
- Zürcher Theater Spektakel
- Opernhaus
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
The best-rated places to stay in Zurich
Ordered by guest score as each operator publishes it, weighted by the number of reviews so a handful of perfect scores does not outrank thousands of very good ones. Scores are shown on their own scale.
| # | Place to stay | Rooms | Guest score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hotel Alden Splügenschloss Zürich - Leonardo Limited Edition hotel | 22 | 94/100 988 reviews |
| 2 | Leonardo Hotel Zurich Airport hotel | 116 | 89/100 9,331 reviews |
| 3 | Leonardo Boutique Hotel Rigihof Zurich hotel | 68 | 81/100 3,588 reviews |
18 more places to stay, without a published guest score
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Albertstrasse 7 aparthotel | 58 |
| Binzmühlestr. 46 aparthotel | 52 |
| Binzmühlestr. 48 aparthotel | 59 |
| Binzmühlestr. 50 aparthotel | 36 |
| Brandschenkestrasse 10 aparthotel | 53 |
| Cramerstrasse 2-6 aparthotel | 49 |
| Cramerstrasse 8-12 aparthotel | 37 |
| Freyastrasse 8 aparthotel | 59 |
| Gerechtigkeitsgasse 8 aparthotel | 56 |
| Hardstrasse 236/238 aparthotel | 36 |
| Leonhardstrasse 6 aparthotel | 54 |
| MEININGER Hotel Zürich Greencity hotel | 174 |
| Militärstrasse 24 aparthotel | 47 |
| Rotachstrasse 33 aparthotel | 37 |
| Scheideggstrassse 79 aparthotel | 48 |
| Waffenplatzstrasse 72 aparthotel | 56 |
| Wolframplatz 1 aparthotel | 51 |
| Zweierstrasse 24 aparthotel | 52 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Zurich to stay in
Zurich is the financial centre of Switzerland and most travellers come with an expense account. The hospitality sector focuses therefore mostly on the 4- and 5-star sector. Zurich is known for its superb hotels, but these won't come cheap. Best is to go on a company rate, because rack rates are sometimes ridiculous.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Zurich
Zurich has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; August is the wettest, with about 146 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Zurich: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Zürich Airport (ZRH), about 9.3 km from the city centre in a straight line; Sankt Gallen Altenrhein Airport (ACH, 78 km) and Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen (FDH, 80 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Zurich Airport (ZRH) is Switzerland's largest and busiest airport, handling roughly 30 million passengers a year. It is in the community of Kloten and it is 10 minutes by train from the main station. The trains depart about every 10-15 minutes, during the day, but less frequently at earlier or later hours. A single ticket to Zürich HB (the hauptbahnhof, or the main station) costs Fr. 6.80. Several bus lines connect to the airport and provide access to the Winterthur region near it.
Getting around
Zurich is famous for its highly efficient, clean and safe public transport system, managed by the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) which covers the entire canton of Zurich and extends into nearby regions. The network includes trams, buses, S-Bahn (suburban trains), cable cars, and boats. The size and complexity of the network may be daunting at first, but you will soon realize that there are many ways to get from one place to another, all efficient.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
ZRH · Zürich Airport
ACH · Sankt Gallen Altenrhein Airport
FDH · Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Zurich
Eat
The quintessential Zürich dish is Zürcher Geschnetzeltes (Swiss-German: Zürigschnätzlets), sliced veal in a cream and wine sauce. Various kinds of grilled wurst (sausages) are also popular. These are most often accompanied by boiled potatoes, rösti, a Swiss potato pancake (grated potato, formed into a pancake then pan fried until crisp in butter or oil similar to hash browns) or chnöpfli, in German sometimes called Spätzle (small noodle dumplings). Veal is still very popular, though the use of turkey and other meats as a substitute is growing.
Drink
Zurich has a lot of places to go out. There are a lot of clubs, restaurants, cafés, bars but also many museums and theatres. Few of them are particularly wild, but there are certainly many options. The most common drinks in Zurich include: Beer, Swiss white wine (e.g. Fendant), Swiss red wine (is delicious), and Spanish red wine (is generally good value here). At apéro time (after work), you will find many people drinking a Cüpli (glass of sparkling wine).Tap water in the city is of high quality and safe to drink. Bring a reusable bottle to save money and reduce plastic waste.
Stay safe
Zürich, like all cities in Switzerland, is relatively safe. Nevertheless, be on guard for thieves and pickpockets. Carry your wallet or purse in a secure way, not in your hip pocket or a backpack outer pocket. In particular, thieves are known to operate around the Zurich main train station. Do not let your bags out of sight for even a moment. Certain areas along the lakefront are frequented by young people who sometimes try to pick a fight when they are drunk. Do not let them provoke you, as they are likely to be there in numbers and will use any excuse to go at you. You may also notice many of said young people smoking something that isn't a cigarette.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Zurich
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 21 places
of 21 places
of 21 places
of 21 places
of 21 places
of 21 places
of 21 places
of 21 places
of 21 places
Questions
Zurich: questions travellers ask
What are the best-rated hotels in Zurich?
By published guest score: Hotel Alden Splügenschloss Zürich - Leonardo Limited Edition (94 / 100 · 988 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)); Leonardo Hotel Zurich Airport (89 / 100 · 9,331 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)); Leonardo Boutique Hotel Rigihof Zurich (81 / 100 · 3,588 reviews · www.leonardo-hotels.com (operator's own guest score)).
When is the best time to visit Zurich?
Zurich has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; August is the wettest, with about 146 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Zurich?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Zürich Airport (ZRH), about 9.3 km from the city centre in a straight line; Sankt Gallen Altenrhein Airport (ACH, 78 km) and Bodensee Airport Friedrichshafen (FDH, 80 km) are also within reach.
Are there accessible hotels in Zurich?
3 places in this guide list accessible rooms.
What currency is used in Zurich?
Swiss franc (CHF).
Nearby
Destinations near Zurich
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.