Zürich is Switzerland’s largest and most populous city with over 415,000 inhabitants, yet you might be surprised to learn that it’s not the capital. Instead, the capital is the small medieval city of Bern, which is only the fifth-most populous city in the country! However, Zürich is the financial and cultural centre of Switzerland, as well as the main hub for railways and air traffic.
With its location on the banks of Lake Zürich, the city is known for its beauty. However, this was a little hard to appreciate on the dark, wet and gloomy day that I spent in Zürich with my mum back in November 2022. For a week-long trip to Switzerland in late autumn, we were actually lucky to have only one rainy day. We decided it was best to spend this day in a city rather than nature, as Switzerland’s nature is too beautiful to waste on a gloomy day!
We began our day in Zürich with a visit to the Lindt Home of Chocolate Museum. My mum is a big chocolate enthusiast, so we naturally had to experience the biggest Lindt Chocolate shop in the world, and take the self-guided tour through the factory.
The factory is a wonderland for chocolate lovers, showcasing the history of chocolate itself, the manufacturing process and the history of the Lindt imperium. There is a giant chocolate fountain, a huge Lindt Teddy, and unlimited chocolate tastings during the tour. This included white, milk and dark liquid chocolate, a ‘guess the flavour’ station with chunks of chocolate dropping into your hand, and a section where you can eat all the Lindor balls you want! There wasn’t lots for me to try as a vegan, but I enjoyed the experience nonetheless!
Please note: The Lindt chocolate tour sells out quickly, so I would recommend booking in advance. You can find more information on how to book here!
After eating our weights in delicious Swiss chocolate, it was time to head into the city centre to see what Zürich is all about.
We spent a few hours wandering around the city. We enjoyed the view of the skyline and the river Limmat from the hilltop park, Lindenhof. We walked aimlessly along quaint cobbled streets and looked in several little shops. We visited St Peter, an early 11th-century Baroque church with a clock tower, which is the largest of its kind in Europe. We grabbed lunch and ate it while walking in the rain. We crossed the river and paid a visit to Grossmünster, the most prominent of the four main churches in Zürich, built in the 12th century. We walked the cobbled streets of Zürich’s old town, the historic heart of the city, which dates back to the early medieval period. At the end of our time in the city, we walked down to Lake Zürich to see if we could spot the mountains in the distance, but it was too misty.
All in all, we had a nice day in Zürich despite the rain. I didn’t find the city itself very interesting, however, considering that we were only there for a few hours on a dark and rainy afternoon, I would take my opinion with a grain of salt. That being said, we both really enjoyed visiting the Lindt Home of Chocolate Museum, and would definitely recommend going to Zürich, if only for that experience!
5 COMMENTS
Mike
2 months agoI love the blend of old and new architecture as well as the Lint factory which was really awesome to see. European architecture is probably my favorite and it’s to bad I don’t have many clients that want this type of Architecture. A lot of detail, art and time was taken in the design and building now everything we design is like a shoe box with really no taste.
Anyway, I really am enjoying your trip posts and knowledge of places like Zürich, Switzerland’s and other “Northern” places. It’s great learning about these places.
Thanks
Mike
Mel
2 months ago AUTHORHi Mike, thank you for your comment. I’m glad you’re enjoying my posts!
Also, I agree completely! I love old architecture, be it medieval or early modern period. But I haaate the architecture of today. It’s just so bland… Aarhus Ø in Denmark is a good example of terrible modern architecture!
Mike
2 months agoMel, this is awesome being able to talk with you, thanks for caring about your followers.
I agree, though I have to admit that I had to look up Aarhus 0 to see the buildings. Traditional Dutch architecture had so much taste and character to it but the modern stuff is a bit blah. I like some modern architecture but more into the classics. So, great job on your photo eye and being able to take creative beautiful photos of not only the buildings but also the landscape. Honestly you are able to capture natures beauty. Which must be a natural talent because I had a friend (in College) and she was a photographer so she taught me a lot about how to take a picture working with shadows, light, color and even movement. I also learned an appreciation of photography during architecture school and really enjoyed walking around downtown Dallas/Fort Worth Texas taken pictures of buildings and really learning even more on how to take a picture with an interesting look that draws you in to that image and what’s going on.
Anywho, I look forward to seeing more of your adventures and learning more about Europe and its culture. I also like to follow Lizzie Daly and enjoy learning from her perspective about the various places she goes and the wildlife she interacts with. So, I truly appreciate your passion and bringing it to our homes. America is almost like living in a bubble so some European culture here but not the same as being there.
Thanks again and thanks for the back and forth conversation it’s awesome which is unique since most just want the comments but hardly reply back.
Mike
2 months agoHey I’m hearing that Europe had a massive software glitch by Microsoft / Crowd Source? In America we are hearing that banks are down, power is out, hospitals and airports are down. I don’t exactly trust what News says here because we are in that bubble but wanted to hear it from someone in actually in Europe.
Mel
2 months ago AUTHORThere was some talk about it here, but I didn’t personally experience anything 🙂