Zurich Old Town

Background

Zurich's Old Town stretches along both banks of the Limmat. The tourist office explains that the Lindenhof hill was the site of a 4th-century Roman fort, and a royal residence was built there in the 9th century; the Old Town preserves medieval lanes, churches and later commercial buildings. The Lindenhof and Augustinergasse on the west bank of the Limmat and the Niederdorf on the east bank can be linked by bridges. The Old Town is not an enclosed museum, nor do all its old buildings date from the same century; the threads from Roman remains to city life in the Reformation are scattered across many places.

Local customs

• You can walk from the main station to the Lindenhof, then cross the river to the Niederdorf and the Grossmünster. The narrow streets mix homes and shops
• check opening information before entering churches or archaeological windows
• some underground archaeological windows require you to collect a key, so do not mistake them for street-side facilities open all day.

Religion & beliefs

• The Old Town has churches still in use. When you go in, respect services and keep quiet, and follow each site's rules on photography and climbing towers
• the streets and the Lindenhof square themselves have no uniform religious etiquette.

Travel tips

• For the main lanes on both banks and the Lindenhof, allow 1.5–2 hours on foot
• if you enter the Grossmünster, climb a tower or visit archaeological windows, allow at least another 30–90 minutes. The tourist office's official Old Town tour takes about 2 hours, starting from the main station and passing the Lindenhof on the way to the Grossmünster
• walking on your own requires no ticket for the area. Some streets are cobbled and sloping, and not every route up to the Lindenhof is fully accessible, so visitors with limited mobility should check the tourist office's route information. Churches, museums and archaeological windows have separate opening hours and tickets, and keys for several of the underground windows must be collected from a city service point, subject to office hours. The lakeshore is long
• if you also want to see the National Museum and the Kunsthaus that day, keep the Old Town to one main route rather than treating the whole of old Zurich as a sight with a fixed entrance and fixed duration.