Zurich - Are the Gnomes on to a Good Thing?

Zurich may not seem like your standard destination, but we wanted to get away for a break, and I wanted to try somewhere different, easily accessible, and with the right flights. So, Zurich it was. And it turned out pretty well really, especially when you consider that I had no idea what to expect. Maybe that helped? As it was we had an enjoyable and varied four day stay - we ate well, walked a lot, and managed not to go bankrupt in the expensive shops! I did buy a watch though - well - where better than in Switzerland?

Zurich would not have been half as good without the Zurich Card. This entitles you to free public transport, entry to over 40 museums and attractions, discounts on others, and free welcome drinks in some places. It costs around 35CHF for 72 hours, and once you've got one - that's it. It encourages you to try different things - trips out of the city, boat trips around the harbour, as well as the usual sights, as they're all included. Well worth the money.

We really enjoyed our stay here, but it is worth remembering that Zurich is fairly small, especially if you're more used to places like Paris or Rome. We had the best part of four days here, and had enough time to leave the city, visit the zoo, and do the boat trip - I'm not sure we'd have had enough to do had we stayed longer.

Zurich is a lovely city, but it's not (as yet) a break city really. It's a working city, doing its thing, for the people that live and work here. This is not a criticism, it's just an observation, and it means the city has a slightly different feel than you might expect.

Quick Tips:

Shopping
- Shops here don't open until late morning - around 11am, seems common. Whilst this is great for wandering around the streets, and having the place to yourself in the morning - a good time to get those uncluttered touristy photos - it's not so good if you actually want to get any shopping done. Shops seem to be open a bit later during the week - until 7pm or so, and most places are closed altogether on Sunday.

Eating Out
- When it comes to eating out, with the exception of snack bars and the like, nowhere is really "cheap" - they're just cheap by Zurich standards.

- Popular restaurants are just that - popular - and everyone seems to book. However, people seem to eat out earlier here, maybe an after-work thing, so you may get in later if you haven't booked, or you may be able to queue and get in that way. However, if going ad-hoc isn't your style, I recommend booking in advance.

- The most popular cuisine, after Swiss, is Italian.

- When eating out, bread tends to arrive at the table in a basket, and comes as a large sort of star-shaped loaf. To eat - you break off a point. However, just be aware that it's not free, and each point will cost you around 1.60CHF. It's hard and crunchy on the outside, and lighter inside, but could well be an acquired taste.

- Wine is very expensive. If you order by the glass, you only get 100ml. If in cafes/bars you want more - the best way to do it is to order a carafe - a flask - which comes in around 12CHF. A bottle of wine is around 35CHF or more in most places. However, if you can, try some Swiss wine - it's well worth it. These seem to be available in 50cl bottles for around 19CHF so you can have two for the price of a normal bottle if you really like it!

General
- Oddly for such a rich place, there are less cashpoints than you'd think, and they tend to lurk, not advertise. Look for UBS - which tends to have cashpoints. Maybe that's how the country stays rich - by stopping you taking your money out!

- Unless you have children - give the zoo a miss. It's small and costs 22CHF.

Best Way To Get Around:

Zurich is quite small as cities go, so you could easily walk everywhere. However, bits of it are hillier than you'd expected, and if walking isn't your thing anyway, the trams are brilliant. The city is covered with a network of various routes, they run like clockwork, and there's nowhere you can't get to by tram.

You can also use the normal trains to get out of the city to some of the nearby towns, or Uetliberg. Again - the train station, though large - runs like clockwork. Everything is well signposted, easy to understand, and efficient.

I'd also recommend the 90-minute round trip on the boat from Burliplatz - it's nice to sit down for a while and enjoy the views. I bet it would be fantastic in the summer as the Zurichsee is a great leisure resource and I imagine with all the boat, swimmers, etc., it would be quite a sight.

Hotel Plattenhof is situated in the University quarter of Zurich, which whilst still pretty central, is a little quieter than some other areas. Due to the trams, the centre of Zurich is no distance away, and even on foot, it only takes 10 minutes to be in the middle of the city.

We arrived in Zurich on a Thursday night, and following the clear instructions from their website we found the hotel easily. We checked in and were shown to our rooms. I had one of the "Standard" rooms on a corner of the building on the 4th floor (don't worry, there's a lift!) and my parents had a "Design" room on the 1st floor.

My room had windows on two sides, which as it turned out in daylight, made the room lovely light and airy, with views over the city. The modern decor was clean and simple and quite restful. This didn't extend into the bathroom which was covered in an odd '70s style lino, which didn't really go with the theme. However the fixtures were modern enough, clean, and worked, which was what mattered.

The twin bed was really comfortable, and the crisp cotton bedding was lovely. It wasn't until the first morning when the lack of curtains became apparent as the light streaming in woke me up. There was an outside blind on one window, but I never got around to figuring out if that would help, since there are worse things to wake up to than sunshine!

I only have two little niggles really - the TV wasn't showing any of the English channels, and the shower was a little hard to adjust directionally, but other than that, I loved my little room.

My parents room was that bit swisher - designer lighting, funky furniture, and a stylish bathroom, and a bit bigger. All very nice (and a bit lost on them), but we weren't there to spend time in the hotel rooms, and both rooms were very nice thank you.

Breakfast is between 7am and 10am and served in their restaurant - Sento - which is a modern Italian on the ground floor. It's one of the best buffet breakfasts I've ever seen - a great range of pastries, bread, cereal, fruit (dried and fresh), ham, cheese, yogurts, etc., and the traditional Birchermuesli (porridge with fruit and yogurt mixed in). You can even boil your own eggs, which was a nice touch. Plenty there to set you up for a day of sight-seeing.

When you've finished sightseeing, there's a nice bar at the front of the hotel - again, funky and modern - which serves a good range of drinks and cocktails, with a range of bar food too. A long Calenda beer is a very welcome thing after a day on your feet!

It's a very nice little hotel, with friendly, helpful, and efficient staff, who made our stay all the more pleasant.

OK, all checked in, time to go and find our first meal in Zurich. A quick check of the guide book brought up this place, so rather than dilly dally we headed off here.

We strolled down Bahnhofstrasse and found it easily enough, thanks to signposts and then its illuminated sign, only to discover the place was heaving and people were queueing to get it. We were told a table for 3 would be about 15 minute, but as it turned out - it was more like 10. The restaurant has entrances on both sides - both queueing - but the staff are clearly well used to handling the demand, and this was peak-time.

We were seated on one of the longish wooden tables, shared with another party of three. Once sat, we had plenty of time to look around the place. It's fairly typical beerhall stuff, but as it used to be an arsenal, there is all sorts of weaponry and armour on the walls to go with the traditional wooden panelling, large chandeliers and decor.

The menu specialises in sausages, but there's quite a range of other traditional Swiss cuisine to choose from. Mum had the salad of sliced sausages, Swiss cheese and tomatoes which was heavy on the sausage and cheese, with some tomato and boiled egg, and a bit too much dressing. I had tender smoked fillets of trout with raw onion rings, toast and with a lovely light horseradish cream that was more like a mousse. Dad had the classic bratwurst which apparently was more like a frankfurter than expected, and came with an onion gravy and a very tasty warm potato salad with chives in. All three came in pretty generous portions.

Drink wise we washed this down with a selection of draught beers - you can choose from the dark, gold lager, amber, 3 grain, or the special 80 year celebration house brew - and they're all very nice.

Getting more beer, or dessert, wasn't an easy matter as our waiter was decidedly on the sullen side, which was irritating. I'm sure tourists aren't out of the ordinary here and we did our best to be polite and speak in German when we could. Most of the clientele seemed to be local, and it's clearly very popular - it's open daily from 11.30am to 11pm and always seemed busy.

However, we managed to get his attention, and did indeed order dessert. Dad won with his Lucerne Gingerbread cake which was moist and yummy. Mum had Lindt chocolate mousse mousse, and I had Lemon sorbet. We rounded off with coffees, by which time the place was a bit quieter.

The total bill came to 118CHF, which isn't bad. This place is regarded as "cheap" by most of the guidebooks, and it's pretty good if what you what is a large plate of something with a beer to wash it down.

Bierhalle Kropf is another one that is in all the guidebooks, just like Zeughauskeller, which is just down the street.

However, though it may be similar, it's definitely not the same. We popped in here for lunch on Friday, along with a great many working locals, and liked it so much we booked to return that evening. If all those local business men like it, then it must be good, and we didn't want to miss out!

The restaurant is in one of the oldest burgher houses in town, near Paradeplatz. It has a one window frontage, but goes back a long way, from the low front room, to the ornately decorated main hall, and then through again to a stained glass sided room. It's all wood panelling, chandeliers, murals of putti painted all around, with columns and stag horns. It sounds chaotic, but actually it's not, and it all works. Unlike some of the bigger bierhalles, you get a table to yourselves, and it manages to feel quite cosy and intimate. This is probably helped by the attentive and friendly staff. The waitress who served us in the evening had also been on at lunchtime, so must have been exhausted, but we still got service with a smile. It's a good thing we booked too, as I don't think we'd have got a table otherwise.

The Maitre D' remembered us and had reserved us a table in a corner of the main hall so that we could enjoy the decor that I had admired earlier, which was a nice touch. Again - great service.

We decided to stick to two courses, as portion sizes can be fairly big all over the city. I had a salad with finely sliced smoked duck breast which was very tasty. Mum had a choucroute (pickled cabbage) platter that included boiled beef, gammon, pork, and sausage which was enormous, whilst Dad had the Zurich specialty of diced veal in a creamy mushroom sauce with rosti.

For dessert I had apple sorbet and calvados, Mum went for the orange sorbet and prosecco, and Dad had pancakes with apricot jam. This time around Mum won as her sorbet had lovely little candied peel in it and the prosecco complemented it perfectly. It's a shame she beat me to it!

We washed all this down with a couple of their very tasty dark beers - this time brewed by Cardinal. The bill came to 179,30CHF (£76.00) which though more expensive, seemed better value for money than the Zeughauskeller had the night before. It's obviously very popular, yet without the "squeeze 'em in" feeling. Overall, it was a very nice meal out.

N.B: If you're eating here at lunchtime I'd recommend sharing the meat platter and the mixed salad - easily enough for 3 or maybe four especially if you add in some bread.

Having realised that places are often fully booked in Zurich, we booked a table here for Saturday night the night before.

When we arrived it was quite quiet, which suited the plain and simple decor - cream walls, painted wooden panelled ceiling, with two large pillars in the middle of the room. The space is partially divided by elegant wooden coat racks which when full no doubt absorb noise too. We were shown to our table by the waiter, who proved to be a very friendly, helpful, not to mention informative chap.

Apparently the building was first recorded in 1434. The restaurant was originally a brewery downstairs with living accommodation upstairs. The brewery moved elsewhere, and the restaurant is now there, still serving that beer - which is Hurlimann beer - and was named the Weisser Wind (The Greyhound) in 1756. See - I told you he was informative!

The menu is a mix of Italian and Swiss and is a bit more interesting than many. There's the normal menu, and a seasonal menu too. There is an English translation available, and whenever we got stuck, the waiter helped us out.

To start with, Dad had the subtley flavoured Eggs poached in Cinnamon Water on Salad, Mum had Strips of Smoked Salmon on Salad and I had the most delicious and very pretty Tuna Tartare with Sesame Oil, Salad & Capers.

We broke with tradition here, and drank wine with the meal - starting with a 50cl Valpolicella and then moving on to 50cl of a delicious wine from Zurich - "Zunftwein" which the waiter recommended. At 19CHF for 50cl it was better value than 37CHF for a bottle!

On to the main courses. Mum had a nicely cooked Herb encrusted steak with ratatouille. Dad had Devils Noodles with Beef (hot) and I had Spaghetti a l'arrabiata which came with a chili sauce to add and make it hot to your own taste, as well as Parmesan and was so huge I couldn't finish it!

Desserts were good all round - Dad's apple fritters with vanilla cream, my orange sorbet with orange liqueur, and best of all Mum's red wine soaked plums with cinnamon ice-cream.

As ever, we rounded off with 3 espressos, and this time the bill came to 208.80CHF (£87.83). It was worth paying more here - it felt like you were dining out, rather than just eating. It was quieter than we'd expected, maybe the Swiss eat out less on Saturday nights than they do on Fridays? However it was far from empty, the portions were generous, service was great, and we had a lovely time. I had heard this place described as a beerhall in all but name - and I have to disagree wholeheartedly.

NB - this would be a good place for vegetarians as there were many choices for them, and it's also more easy to eat healthily here than in some other places.

Having read good things about Kronenhalle we tried to book a table for Saturday night. They could only fit us in at 6pm or 10pm... but as it turns out they're open on Sundays. What a great way to end our trip!

We arrived on the dot on midday, to be welcomed by the Maitre D' and shown to our table. We were seated in the main room - decorated in a very classic style, with wooden panels, chandeliers, and art work. Only in this place, the art work here is real - we were sitting next to an early Braque. The tables were all classically set too - white linen, glasses, the works.

The food here is NOT cheap, but it is very good. As you might expect from such a place, the service is extremely professional and efficient, yet remains friendly - no snootiness here. One of the main courses is served in "Voiture" and arrives on a silver-plattered serving trolley to be shown to you, which was novel - and this time was Roast Chicken with Carrots.

Whilst choosing we indulged in aperitifs for the first time - the occasion seemed to warrant it. They even had both types of Pastis/Pernod - which is unusual even in France.

So, what did we eat? Well, there was a seasonal menu and a day menu to choose from. I had the attractively presented and equally delicious Winter Salad of pigeon breast with quails eggs, walnut and pomegranate seeds. Mum had a delicate and creamy Artichoke Soup and Dad had a clear and tasty Liver dumpling soup. The soup portions were just right - not so big as to fill you up and ruin the rest of the meal.

For mains I had the simple but tasty Ravioli with Butter & Sage, Mum had a very generous portion of Breaded Veal with a nice mixed salad, and Dad had the Calves Liver with Creamy Sauce and Rosti which was served to him at the table and happily devoured.

Desserts - where Mum won again - were her scrumptious Lemon Mousse & Lemon Cake, with alcholic strawberries and kiwi, Dad's Chocolate Mousse with Cream served from a vat of the stuff and my Lemon Sorbet with Champagne.

We drank two of the 50cl of local red Merlot which went perfectly, two 50cl fizzy water, and rounded off with 3 espresso. And the total bill? 332.50CHF (£140). When you consider that that was 3 beautifully presented courses, with aperitifs, wine, and coffee, in a fabulous place with fantastic service - well, it was 5-star all 'round. And we clearly aren't the only people to think so - it was pleasantly busy, with a clientele who range from apparently regular locals, to those who clearly have more than enough money for it! Yet as tourists we made to feel just as welcome as they were.

It was the best meal of our trip, and rounded off our stay perfectly.

Zurich has 3 main churches in the centre, and we visited all 3 of them on our first day.

First the Grossmünster. This cathedral stands in a little square at the junction of Oberdorf and Niederdorf, and faces northwest over the Limmat river. It was founded in the 9th century by Charlemagne and the current church was built in the 12th century. Its distinctive two towers can be seen from all over the city.

At 10am it had only just opened so we were amongst the first visitors. This was great as it meant that we could climb the 187 steps to the top of the south tower and enjoy the views practically uninterrupted. Fabulous views over the whole of Zurich, hazily over to the ZurichSee made those steps, and the 2CHF fee, more than worthwhile. It gave us a great sense of the layout of the city too. We also enjoyed watching the jackdaws flying in and out of the very top of the tower, dropping twigs as they went, clearly nest building.

Back down into the church, which is quite plain and austere - a result, my guidebook told me, of the Reformation. Many people go to enjoy the large colourful stained glass windows by Giacometti, but being contrary, I really like the large modern floral arrangement that stood where you might expect an altar to be. We went down into the little peaceful vaulted crypt too, where the original 15th century statue of Charlemagne from the South Tower is kept (there's a replacement up there now).

Out into the morning air once more and across the river to the Fraumünster. Just the one graceful spire this time, and to my mind, a less pleasant interior. However the main feature of this church is the stained glass windows by Marc Chagall in the transept - in fact most people seem to ignore the rest of the church altogether. How much you like them really depends on how much you like his work. They're somewhat oddly sited in that there is a wall across the church in front of them that separates that end off like a Lady Chapel, and bisects the space. It means that even from the other end of the church, you don't get a full view of the glass, whereas you'd think they should illuminate the whole building. From the other side you can enjoy the glass and get fairly close. However Chagall isn't really my thing, and the way in which the rest of the building felt almost abandoned mean that the place seemed more like a gallery than a church.

Out again, and off to St Peters Kirche, which has the largest clock face in Europe - and it really is big! Inside is a very peaceful and calm place a bit like a ballroom, the most "religious" feeling of the three to my mind. We sat and listened to the organist practising for that night's concert and enjoyed it.

One of the wonders of the Zurich Card is that it tempts you to do things you would maybe not otherwise do because they're included with the card.

In this instance, this was a trip to the hill of Uetliberg - which is a 20 minute tram or train ride away. We took the train from HauptBahnof on the S10 line and enjoyed a very scenic ride out of the city. The track wiggles and curves its way up to the top of the hill, revealing a different view at every turn.

Once deposited there, we walked up the Planet Path to the summit - a trail that shows models of the planets with the distances between them, all to scale. At the top of the hill is a hotel and restaurant, and also a 30 metre viewing tower which you can climb for stunning views of the whole region. The steps aren't too bad, but it was really windy at the top!

We scrambled back down again, and found a quiet corner on the terrace of the attractive looking restaurant for a coffee. Inside the restaurant has a large glass fronted dining room, and looks seriously swish. If we'd had the chance, the 79CHF 5 course menu looked lovely for a special night out.

However, it wasn't lunchtime, and we weren't there to eat. We settled up, and took one of the many marked paths down the side of the hill, aiming to do a circular route down and back to Tremli to take the train from there. We'd looked at the map of walks before reaching the summit and chose to take the dark green one, which claimed to be "steep, some steps"... Well, it was more like a slalom! A wide, gravel strewn path with lamp posts and signs that wiggled down the side of the hill at a nearly unmanageable gradient - I was glad I was wearing decent walking trainers. My Mum wasn't, and slipped several times. By the time we'd reached the bottom - about 2km - everyone's legs were aching, and the thought of the walk to Tremli, which didn't seem so well marked, didn't appeal.

We decided to do the sensible thing and walk down the hill towards the town there where the original map had said there was a tram stop. Sure enough, there it was, and the next one arrived within minutes. It was quite nice to go back into the city via a different route too - seeing more sides to Zurich.

The hill is very popular with locals all year round - picnics in the summer, sledding in the winter. There are marked walking paths to suit everyone. There are also dedicated cycling routes, though the hills must be hard work! We felt like we were in the middle of the countryside, yet Zurich is no distance away at all. It was a really nice way to spend a couple of hours - very refreshing.

Every time we go on a city break, I have to go to a museum (or three!) - it's tradition. This time it had to be the Kunsthaus, reputedly Switzerland's finest gallery. Of course the fact that entry was free with the Zurich Card didn't do any harm either!

Since much of any city tends to be closed on a Sunday morning, and the Kunsthaus is not, we saved it for our last day. Having had breakfast, we caught the tram down to the bay for a quick Sunday morning meander, before going back up to be there as it opened at 10am.

We weren't the only people doing this, however, and even with the Zurich card we had to queue to get our entry ticket. This, rather cleverly, is a sort of metallic button with a letter on it indicating which areas you are entitled to enter, that you clip on to your jacket. Then it was time to put the heavy bags into the cloakroom before starting our tour (1CHF). On the way up we picked up some leaflets showing the layout of the museum and what was in each gallery. About 1/4 of an hour later we realised that these bore no resemblance to the museum whatsoever, and gave up trying to use then, choosing instead to meander at will!

Initially the layout of the museum is quite confusing, but after a while you get your bearings and it starts to make sense. The buillding is sort of in two sections - the old art deco style building, with carpets, stylish wooden seating, fab cupolas... and then the newer annexe, which is all swish wooden flooring, high ceilings, space... As you might have guessed, the "old" art is in the old part, and the "modern" art is in the new part - an arrangement that works very well. The added advantage of the carpeting in the old part is that it absorbs the noise of any footsteps, helping to keep the atmosphere serene.

Art is definitely a matter of personal taste, but there's bound to be at least one work here that you like as the range of the collection is impressive - from Warhol & Rothko to Monet and Picasso via Fussli. There are also, as you might expect, some interesting Swiss artists, which some impressive huge paintings by Hodler that seem to be almost part of the museum.

I'd recommend getting here early, as that way you practically have the place to yourself, and don't feel inhibited by anyone else's presence - you can get up as close to the art as you like and wander at any speed you like.

Having spent an hour or so, which is usually my threshold, we headed on out through the bookshop and out into the sunshine. There's a cafe outside the front doors and we sat for prosecco and coffee, whilst the locals self-served themselves breakfast and lunch - both of which looked yummy.