In researching Zurich I found it had connections to our lives back in the states. I have listed the sites to see in order from walking from the train station in which is where we’ll be arriving at. If we decide to take a rental car to get there it also has the cheapest parking.

Zurich Train Station

Zurich Hauptbahnof : The station handles about 2,000 trains a day, so it stays busy. Inside in the main hall above you can see Zurich’s “L’ange Protecteur” (Guardian Angel) created by French-American painter and sculptor Nike de St. Phalle. The gigantic sculpture was designed in the style of the colorful, voluminous “nana” figures for which the artist was world-famous. The station also contains an underground shopping mall.

The main entrance of the station includes a triumphal arch constructed in 1871, at the top is Helvetia with a Swiss flag, she is the symbol of the Swiss confederation.

In front of the train station in the Bahnhofplatz is a monument to Alfred Escher, a renowned Zurich railways pioneer, politician, and entrepreneur.

Swiss National Museum

Landesmuseum Zurich: It documents the cultural history of the country. The outside of the museum is a mix of a historical fairytale castle and an additional modern building. Exhibitions include an armory tower, a diorama of the Battle of Murten, a coin cabinet showing 14^th, 15^th, 16th-century Swiss coins, a miniature, and hand-crafted Pfyffer Sleigh, and a well-preserved pharmacy from the 18^th century. The museum is located behind the train station.

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday,10 am – 5 pm; Thursday, 10 am to 7 pm; closed Mondays.

Admission: Adults 10 CHF and children up to 16 years free of charge.

Address: Museumstrasse 2, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland.

Zurich Main Street

Bahnhofstrasse: The Zurich main-street is lined with high-end shops and restaurants. Note: As you leave the train station on the left is a chocolate shop, Laderach. A park along the street includes a statue of educational reformer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi who promoted the importance of a good education for all. We used to live near Pestalozzi Street in St. Louis, and now I know where the name for the street came from. A fountain can be found in a far corner of the park. According to Google Maps, there is a pretzel shop, Brezelkonig, in the back of the park, might have to make a stop.

Police Department

Stadpolizei Artist Augusto Giacometti was commissioned to brighten a darkened vaulted ceiling in the police station. For two years, Giacometti worked to bring bright and warm colors by creaking floral decorations and scenic images. He completed this project in 1925. Locals refer to the hall as “Bluemlihalle” (hall of little flowers) due to all the flowers in the paintings.

Hours: If you deposit an ID card at the entrance, you can take a visit and admire the entrance area daily from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. NOTE: Currently you can’t visit this entry due to ongoing construction, hopefully, this will change in the immediate future.

Admission: Free

Address: Bahnhofquai 3, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Lindenhof

Lindenhof: This park provides a view of Old Town, Grossmunster Church, City Hall, the Limmat River, the university, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. A number of historical events happened here. In the 4^th century, a Roman fort stood here and in the 9^th century, the grandson of Charlemagne built a regal palace on this site. Also, the oath of sealing the Helvetic (Swiss) Constitution was taken on the Lindenhof in 1798.

St. Peter Church

St. Peter Pfarrhaus: The church has the largest clock face in Europe. Until 1911 the church tower was used as a fire watch post. It stands on the original 9th-century foundation walls, which still can be seen today beneath the chancel. There are five bells dating from 1880 in the tower – the largest, which weighs over six tons without its clapper.

Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 am to 18:00; Saturday, 10 am to 16:00 and open after the Sunday service from 11 am to 5 pm. I did not see an admission price listed.

Admission: Free admission

Address: 9GCR+C7 Zürich, Switzerland

Grossmunster

Grossmunster: The double towers of this church can be found in Alstadt. According to legend, Charlemagne built the towers at the location where the graves of the city saints Felix and Regula were discovered. The church includes stained glass windows by Sigmar Polke, a Romanesque crypt, choir windows by Augusto Giacometti, bronze doors by Otto Munch and the cloister Reformation Museum are some of the highlights.

Hours: Cathedral — March 15-October, daily 10 am to 6 pm; Nov. – March 14, daily 10 am to 5 pm. Towers — (weather permitting) March-Oct., daily 10 am to 5 pm; Nov. – Feb., Saturday-Sunday 10 am to 5 pm.

Admission: Cathedral – free; Tower 4 CHF

Address: 9GCV+2J Zürich, Switzerland

Fraumünster Church

Kirche Fraumunster: This church was founded in 853 by King Louis the German. Architectural features include the Romanesque chancel and the high vaulted transept. What is most admired in the church are the five stained-glass windows done by Marc Chagall. Each window tells a Biblical story: Prophets—depicting Elijah’s ascent to heaven; Jacob, displaying his combat and dreams of heaven; Christ, illustrating various scenes of Christ’s life; Zion, showing an angel trumpeting the end of the world and Law, with Moses looking down upon the suffering of his people.

My husband told me he had seen stained-glass windows done by Chagall before in New York. It turns out that Chagall did the stained glass at Union Church in Sleepy Hollow at the behest of the Rockefellers, who were parishioners of the church and resided at their nearby Kykuit estate in Westchester County.

Hours: Nov. 1 until Feb. 29 10:00 – 17:00; March 1st until Oct. 31st
10:00 – 18:00.

Admission: 5 CHF

Address: 9G9R+VG Zürich, Switzerland

These are just some sites we hope to check out while we’re there!