Under the sky in Zurich

Under the sky in Zurich
Switzerland
Magazine: March 2008

If anyone still hangs on to an idea of Zurich as only a banking city, he can get rid of it. Though efficiency and precision still distinguish the city, a current of change is definitely sweeping through it. In short, a new skyline running between the multiethnic Langstrasse and the railway platforms lining the Limmat river has added itself to the beauty of the Alpine peaks, and the red roofs of the homes in Zurich’s historic centre. A Zurich where the underground appeal of West Zurich teeming with trendy bars, little restaurants, atelier of young designers, and alternative fashion shops has added itself to the heart of its old historic centre. This helps account for Zurich’s classification as the city with the highest quality of life, also certainly due to the lake with its highly accessible green shores and little picturesque tranquil bays.

Up all night Night
life is also intense with the highest density of clubs in Switzerland, plus its 2000 restaurants including the first restaurant operated in total darkness by the blind, Hiltl, and the restaurant at the zoo set in a tropical forest. Try traditional Swiss specialities like Zürcher Geschnetzeltes, the Zurich style stew and fare at the antique breweries like Zeughauskeller. Then there are highly trendy restaurants in ex-factories like LaSalle in an ex-shipyard transformed into a spectacular glass cube. A trip through the museums and galleries of Zurich cannot exclude the Rietberg that deserves a visit for its splendid collections of extra- European art. Finally, complete the day with a pause in the coffee museum, the Johan Jacobs Museum: a collection of porcelain, prints, and paintings related to coffee culture through the centuries.