Zurich, Switzerland
Instead of flying into one of my regular cities in Europe, this time I flew into Zurich. This was my 1st time to Zurich, not my 1st time to Switzerland. Last time I was in the lake town of Lucerne, very different experience than Zurich. Why? Zurich is a much larger city and easy to get around by using public transportation.
Most tourists will stay in the Old Town, but I stayed near the airport for convenience as I only had 1 afternoon and part of the next morning to see the town. It was easy to take the shuttle to the airport and then a train into town. The train station is pretty big, but easy to find your way and there were lots of helpful informational booths. The price of a one day ticket was less than $10, versus a $60 taxi ride from the airport (1 way). Here's a picture of the outside of the train station.
Leaving the train station, I walked through the modern side of town. The river separates the city between the modern and the Old Town. There was lots of high end shopping stores, nice restaurants to enjoy, or cafe's to sit to have a cup of coffee and people watch.
Next, I made my way across one of the bridges to the Old Town. The Old Town is everything you would think Switzerland would look like. Cobble stone streets, odd shaped buildings, local merchants selling tourist gifts and pedestrian friendly walking areas.
All the streets lead you back to the train station, so it's difficult to get lost. That's a good thing when you only landed a few hours ago and you're fighting jet lag.
I stopped at the train station to complete the VAT tax forms and back to the airport for my hotel.
What would I recommend to do if you only have 1 or 2 days in Zurich? Definitely consider taking the train into town and see the sites before you collapse at your hotel. A couple of others suggestions would be to:
1.) Take a bus to see Mt. Piatus for gorgeous alpine panoramic views.
2.) Make an appointment at a spa. Switzerland is known world wide for their spas. One that I recommend is The Dolder Grand Hotel & Spa. Here's just 2 photos that I took while visiting this spa in October. So lucky that the weather that day was 68 degrees and look at the views! The level of customer service in the spa was absolutely 1st class. They made it difficult for me to leave and head back to my airport hotel (affordable, but simple) unlike the options available at this hotel. Not only did I enjoy a few hours at the spa, I also had dinner and drinks in their "American Bar".
Happy Traveling!
