Zurich, the city on the Limmat: the back story

About Zurich, the city on the Limmat: the back story

By the ULTIMATE Zurich Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

Zurich grew up where the Limmat leaves the lake. On the left bank, the Lindenhof was the site of a Roman fort in the 4th century and of a palace built by Charlemagne’s grandson in the 9th; below it the Fraumünster was founded in 853 by King Louis the German. On the right bank the Grossmünster stands over the graves of the city’s patron saints, Felix and Regula. Around 1800 the lake basin was opened up as the city’s great public park, and Zurich turned from a town on a river into a city by a lake.

The two minsters

The Grossmünster, on the Zwingliplatz, has windows by Sigmar Polke and Augusto Giacometti and 187 steps up its Karlsturm; it is being renovated from January 2025 to 2029. Across the river, the Fraumünster has a five-part cycle of windows by Marc Chagall in its chancel and windows by Augusto Giacometti in the north transept.

The Old Town

From the Lindenhof you look down on the Limmat, the Grossmünster and the City Hall, the Rathaus, which stands in the river. The Niederdorf, which locals call the “Dörfli”, runs along the right bank as a pedestrian lane of shops, restaurants and bars.

Walk both banks of the Limmat, then take a boat on the lake.

The lake

The lake promenade runs from the Mythenquai past the Bürkliplatz to the Utoquai and the Seefeldquai, where the Chinese Garden, a gift from Zurich’s partner city Kunming, stands near the Zürichhorn and the Pavillon Le Corbusier.

The hills

The Uetliberg, 871 metres above sea level, is Zurich’s own mountain, often above the November fog; the Zürichberg, on the other side, holds the Zoo and The Dolder Grand.

Our advice: buy a Zürich Card for the trams, boats and museums.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Zurich, the city on the Limmat: the back story before you go.