Zurich City Highlights by Bus, Cable Car & Ferry

Zurich Old Town, the Limmat and its churches

Zurich's Old Town lines both banks of the river Limmat as it flows out of the lake. On the east bank, the Limmatquai is lined with grand guild houses, where the merchant and craft guilds that once governed the city met for centuries. Above them rise the twin towers of the Grossmünster, the Romanesque church that is the symbol of Zurich, while across the river stand the slender spire of the Fraumünster and St. Peter's Church.

St. Peter's tower carries the largest church clock face in Europe, almost nine metres across. On a short guided stroll on foot, your guide explains how Zurich grew from a Roman customs post to a centre of trade and banking. If you are planning a Zurich city tour with little time, this part alone gives you the key sights in under an hour.

Bahnhofstrasse and the university quarter

From the Old Town the coach follows the Bahnhofstrasse, one of the most famous shopping streets in the world, running about 1.4 kilometres from the main station to the lake under rows of linden trees. Elegant department stores, watch and jewellery boutiques and the head offices of Swiss banks line the street, and the trams glide quietly down the middle.

The tour then climbs the slopes of the Zürichberg to the university quarter, home to the University of Zurich and the Federal Institute of Technology, whose domed main building overlooks the city. From here you get a fine view over the rooftops and church towers to the lake. The district is green and residential, showing a calmer side of Zurich that many visitors miss.

Lake Zurich and the Gold Coast

After a photo stop by the lake, where the city, the water and the surrounding hills come together in one view, the coach drives along the north-eastern shore of Lake Zurich. This sunny side of the lake is known as the 'Gold Coast', both for the evening light that turns it golden and for its elegant villas, gardens and lakeside parks.

Lake Zurich stretches about 40 kilometres south-east from the city towards the Alps, and the road passes Küsnacht, Erlenbach and other attractive lakeside villages on the way to Meilen. The best time to visit Zurich for lake views is from May to September, when the water is busy with boats and swimmers, but crisp winter days often bring the clearest views of the snow-capped peaks.

The ferry from Meilen across Lake Zurich

At Meilen the coach drives onto the car ferry that links the two shores of Lake Zurich, a crossing of about ten minutes to Horgen on the opposite side. Step out onto the deck to enjoy the breeze and the open view up and down the lake, with the city in one direction and the hills leading towards the Alps in the other.

The ferry is a daily part of life for people who live around the lake, and it is a relaxing break in the middle of the tour. From Horgen the coach continues through the green hills of the western shore towards the Sihl valley and the town of Adliswil, at the foot of the Albis ridge.

Felsenegg cable car and the view over Zurich

In Adliswil you board the aerial cable car to Felsenegg, a ride of a few minutes that climbs the slope of the Albis ridge to about 800 metres. From the viewpoint at the top you look over Lake Zurich, the city and, on a clear day, a long chain of the Alps from the peaks of central Switzerland to eastern Switzerland. It is one of the best panoramas around Zurich.

On some maintenance dates, including early November and several days in winter and spring, the cable car is replaced by the Dolder cogwheel railway, which climbs the Zürichberg instead. Is this Zurich tour worth it? For first-time visitors who want the city, the lake and a mountain view in one afternoon, it is one of the easiest ways to see it all.