Parks and the outdoors in Zurich

17 parks, gardens, beaches and walks in and around Zurich.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Eat
Baba's take-away (Restaurant Pumpstation)
Part of the Restaurant Pumpstation is located direct at the lake promenade (south of Banhof Stadelhofen). From April–October, serves fresh grilled sausages, ribs, and chicken for about Fr. 6-10.
Buy
Bahnhofstrasse
Runs from the Zürich Train Main station "Hauptbahnhof" right down to the lake. Bahnhofsstrasse is famous for being one of the most exclusive and expensive shopping streets in the world. Here you can get anything from diamond rings to chocolate to fur coats. Globus and Jelmoli are two fiercely competitive department stores, both of which carry items from many high-end brands.
See
China Garden
This small but beautiful Chinese garden was offered to the city of Zurich by the Chinese city of Kunming as symbol of gratitude after Zurich helped Kunming with technical knowledge. It can be very well combined with a stroll along the lake or a visit to the Pavillon Le Corbusier.
Apr-Oct daily 11:00–19:00
Eat
Coco Grill & Bar
Grill restaurant that offers set menus for lunch and a menu surprise for dinner (either fish or meat). Also has a good wine selection and very nice in the summer due to a small garden
Mon-Fri 10:00–14:30 & 17:00–00:00, Sat 17:30–00:00
See
Lake Promenade
Utoquai, Seefeldquai
Especially during summer, the lake is a beautiful place to spend the evening or the weekend. Starting from Bellevue, the boardwalk goes for about three kilometers along the lake towards Tiefenbrunnen. About halfway from Bellevue there is a meadow where you will find thousands of people on a sunny day.
Do
Limmat river cruise
Offers views of the old town and Lake Zurich. Operates between April and October.
Fr. 4.30, free with Zürich Card or a valid ZVV ticket for Zone 110
Buy
Niederdorf
The Old Part of Zurich which expands from "Bellevue" by the Lake right to "Central" which is just over the river from the train station. The Niederdorf is more for young people. Aside from a lot of fast food places you will find a lot of trendy clothes stores here.
Eat
Nooba
Pan-Asian noodle bar, a short walk up the hill from Stadelhofen station. Stylish setting, attentive and multilingual service and a broad selection of freshly prepared noodle, rice and curry dishes.
Do
Oberer/Unterer Letten
If you go to Zurich during summer take your swimwear with you. The clean river at both the public river baths "Oberer Letten" (mainly youngsters) and "Unterer Letten" (also families) is used by the locals to cool down after hot days. Jump in upstream and the river will carry you down. Right in the middle of the town there is also a wooden floating bath for women only Frauenbad Stadthausquai at the start of the Limmat. Showers and free lockers are provided but you must bring your own lock.
Free
Do
Rote Fabrik
Red Factory
An old silk factory converted to a centre of youth culture and art in the 1980s. The Red Factory became one of the most exciting parts of cultural life. An artists' coop, a couple of kilometers south, form along the west bank of Lake Zurich. They have a variety of events, including music, film, and theater, including a restaurant.
See
Schanzengraben
A small canal that used to be part of the city fortifications between Limmat and Sihl. From the main station, go to Gessnerallee, find the stairways down to the tiny creek, and walk all the way to the lake.
Buy
Schweizer Heimatwerk
Also branches at the Bahnhofstrasse 2 and the airport. Quality Swiss handicrafts and other Swiss-made products presented in a gallery-like setting. You won't find many cuckoo clocks and the like here (cuckoo clocks are not really Swiss, they are from the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) in Germany!), the emphasis is on real traditional crafts and the work of modern craftspeople. You will find things like sleek modern hand-blown glassware and beautiful hand-carved wooden items from the Appenzell region. A worthwhile visit even if you just browse.
Mon-Fri 09:00-20:00, Sat 09:00-18:00
Do
Uetliberg
A hill overlooking Zurich. You can hike up, or take a train from the "SZU" part of the main station on the S10, which takes about 20 minutes from Zurich HB. Enjoy the 360-degree view from a tall viewing tower (not for vertigo sufferers!) This is also the Start of the Planetenweg (planetary walk), a 12-km (8-mile) walk along the ridge with models of the planets along the way. These are scaled down in true proportion to the solar system. To look at Zurich from the other hills, go to the Irchel (Tram station Milchbuck) or Käferberg (Bucheggplatz, walk up the hill and keep right of the forest).
Free with Zürich Card or a valid ZVV ticket for the Zones 110, 154, and 155 (costs 4 zones). CHF 2.50 to go up the observation tower
Drink
Xenix
Small art house cinema with a busy beer garden in summer. There's a mixture of students, bohemians, and bicycle messengers posing with their fixies.
Do
Zürcher Theater Spektakel
A festival for the performing arts. Held along the lake on the Landiwiese near Rote Fabrik and features a number of free performances. Usually in August.
Last two weeks of Aug, from 17:00varies
Do Not mapped
Street Parade
The biggest open air techno rave in Europe. It happens one day each year on the second Saturday of August, during which trucks which function as mobile soundsystems ("Love mobiles") start driving along the lake side, starting from the east at Utoquai and ending at the west at Hafen Enge. Every year this event attracts nearly a million visitors who dance in the streets to the music which you can hear from anywhere in the city. After the Street Parade the party doesn't stop, there are open air parties along the route until midnight and club parties at various locations in town until late the next day, to keep the party going. Don't be surprised if the city's cleanliness isn't up to its usual standard the next day. Check out Lethargy festival that happens during the same weekend if you're into less commercial electronic music.
Free
Do Not mapped
Swiss national day
1st of August — Celebrations are carried out in many cities in the evenings and fireworks are launched at night. Watch them over the lake, or if you're experienced with safely launching fireworks yourself, you can buy them in the days leading up to the national holiday and have fun. The display over the Rheinfall, one hour away by S-Bahn, is also extremely popular.
Free

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Zurich (CC BY-SA 4.0).