Zurich is consistently voted the city with the best quality of life, but does it have as much to offer the business traveller? Jenny Southan visits Switzerland’s financial heartland to find out.
Given the low tax rates and high quality of living in Zurich it is not surprising many international companies have been relocating there – Kraft Foods and Google, to name but two. Stefano Alborghetti, manager of the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, moved to Zurich two years ago. He says: “I have lived in many different cities, including Milan, Munich and Abu Dhabi, but I think Zurich offers the perfect combination of wealthy businesses and good quality of life. There is probably no better place to invest than here and it’s well prepared to accept many people from the outside.”
So much for living there, but what is it like for the business traveller?
TRANSPORT
Zurich airport is 10km north-east of the city and, thanks to an easily accessible station beneath the main concourse and frequent train services, travellers can rely on public transport to get them into the city centre for around £3. On the other hand, taxis are on the expensive side, with the same journey costing around £50.
Zurich has a system of direct democracy, allowing local residents to vote for or against government initiatives. As a result, a proposal for an underground subway system in the seventies was rejected in favour of the more eco-friendly network of trams. This streetcar system will be extended to connect the up-and-coming district of Zurich West to the city centre by 2012 – at present the easiest way to get there is via Hauptbahnhof train station and one stop to Hardbrucke station. But while public transport does live up to its excellent reputation, and is completely free if you buy a Zurich Card (see box page 65), the centre is so small you can get everywhere on foot in minutes.
RESTAURANTS AND BARS
Eating out is far more than fondue (although if you do want to experience this try Raclette Stube on Zahringerstrasse 16 in the old town). This cosmopolitan city has around 2,000 restaurants and bars – roughly one for every 18 people living there – and the experiences, as well as the food, are extremely varied: from dining beneath original Picassos in Kronenhalle (which serves gourmet Swiss and contemporary fare), to sitting in complete darkness in Blinde Kuh, the first restaurant in the world to be run by blind people.
In addition, dotted around the city are medieval guild houses and, as Andrea Jacomet of Zurich Tourism notes, many have restaurants on the first floor and can be hired for conferences and banquets. “They often have beautiful décor and are a great place to go for a traditional Swiss lunch or dinner,” she says. Look out for local delicacies such as zurigschnatzlets (veal in a cream and wine sauce) or wurst (sausages) and spatzle (small dumplings made from egg pasta). Alternatively, Zur Schtund, which belongs to the Widder Hotel, is a traditional local haunt which specialises in pizza-like tarte flambée.
Vegetarians will be pleased that the city has a long-standing tradition of serving meat-free cuisine – Hiltl, which opened in 1898, is the oldest vegetarian establishment in Europe. A huge buffet of hot and cold food is available daily 6am-11pm, while the fine-dining restaurant (11am-10pm) has an exceptional international à la carte menu.
GOING OUT
There are more than 500 clubs, bars and lounges in Zurich, and a thriving gay scene. For a quiet drink, try the Jules Verne bar in the Urania Observatory tower, which has 360-degree views (the entrance is through Brasserie Lipp downstairs).
SHOPPING
The modest scale of the city means that you are never far away from anything – from the old town to the main station takes about ten minutes on foot. The more modern west side of the river has fashion outlets such as Burger (Bahnhofstrasse 42), Switzerland’s largest fashion house for men, speciality food markets and high-class shoe stores such as Ludwig Reiter. For Swiss watches, the 1km Bahnhofstrasse has everyone from Beyer and Gubelin to Omega and Chopard – the more expensive shops are nearer the lake end. Opening hours in Zurich are 9am-6.30pm Monday to Friday and 8am-4pm on Saturday, but on Sundays it’s like a ghost town. However, Rail City shopping centre under the main station has over 120 stores, and is open daily until 9pm.
From the main shopping strip, turn off Rennweg and head up to the Lindenhof hill, where local men play giant chess. From up here you can survey the whole of the old town and the river flowing from the lake. Heading down a flight of stone steps and turning left will bring you to cobbled street Wohllebgasse (meaning “live well”), where you will find whisky shop Scot and Scotch, which stocks over 850 different malts.
Those in search of a more local tipple should cross the river to the historic east side and put their head in Schnapps Boutique on Napfgasse – it sells glass demijohns of schnapps, flavoured with everything from pear to herbs, which can then be decanted into smaller bottles to take home. While you’re there, pop into Café Schober opposite, a paradise of sweets and chocolates, and rumour has it that it sells the best hot chocolate in town. At the end of the street is family-run Schwarzenbach, a colonial-style food store selling over 2,000 different products including freshly ground coffee, oil, vinegar, dried fruit and pasta. Up the hill at the other end is Neumarkt 17, a great place to browse for hip interior furnishings.
CULTURE
Zurich has over 50 cinemas, 100 art galleries and 50 museums, but the jewel in its crown is the Kunsthaus gallery, which displays everything from medieval to contemporary art – including the largest collection (outside Norway) of paintings by Edvard Munch, as well as works by Monet, Dali, Chagall, Rothko, Kokoschka and Swiss photo-realist painter Gerhard Richter.
The Kunsthaus owns around 4,000 artworks, but is currently only able to display around 650. However, a £75 million project is underway to build an extension by 2015, which will allow the gallery to show an extra 20 per cent of its collection.
The Kunsthaus has benefited from continuity – as Bjorn Quellenberg, director of press communications, explains: “Each director of the Kunsthaus has stayed almost his whole life. We are only on our fourth one in 100 years – the last director joined in 2000. The collection is the responsibility of the director, so it is up to them to build new highlights into the exhibition. It’s a very personal business – you can see which part of the exhibition each director worked on.”
But the gallery is most proud of its collection of works (the biggest in the world) by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. Quellenberg says: “His brother Bruno, who is over 100 years old now, still lives in Zurich and donates works to us every year.”
However, you don’t have to go to galleries to experience art in Zurich: in fact this summer you won’t even have to leave the airport. From June 6 to August 31, the Kunsthaus is presenting a show called “Shifting Identities – (Swiss) Art Now”, which will be on view not only in the gallery but also at the airport, which will display multi-media and performance art created to “confront the airport as a place of transit”.
A variety of “interventions” are planned for either side of passport control, including billboards, subtle drawings and a policeman doing yoga to Brian Eno’s Music for Airports. “This really says something about Zurich as a city,” says Quellenberg. “We will also be launching a series of ‘friendly attacks’ on the financial centre of the city in Paradeplatz
and Bahnhofstrasse.”
The former power station Haus Konstruktiv (located at Selnaustrasse 25, ten minutes’ walk west of the Bahnhofstrasse), is a vast, echoing building devoted to displaying cutting-edge “constructive and concrete” art. Although neglected by the guidebooks, it is well worth a visit. Here you will find paintings with clean lines and geometric patterns, as well as sculptures and installations such as Stephan Fillitz’s Visibles, a room filled with blinding white light.
From May 29 to August 3, Swiss artist and industrial designer Andreas Christen will be continuing the temporary Visionary Collections exhibitions, with his show Between Painting and Object. The gallery also houses permanent exhibitions such as Fritz Glarner’s The Rockefeller Dining Room, a room almost covered with painted canvas panels, and on the top floor is a space with works for sale, a library and a reading area. Later this year, Haus Konstruktiv will also be the venue for a solo exhibition (November 20 to February 1) by the winner of the 2008 Zurich Art Prize. Creativity in the city is flourishing – as Quellenberg says: “Ten years ago the country’s art scene shifted from Basel to Zurich – now a whole area of Zurich West is dedicated to galleries and artistic projects.”
Zurich West was previously the industrial quarter, but is now undergoing major redevelopment. Disused warehouses and abandoned factories like the Schiffbau – which is home to highbrow eaterie La Salle, two drama stages and Moods jazz club – are being converted into independent galleries, boutiques and dance clubs. Marriott’s Alborghetti says: “Zurich West is seeing less industry and more building of flats and offices. The area is developing like Broadway and the West End in that it’s very trendy and has a lot of nice restaurants, good music, theatres and entertainment.”
However, art lovers don’t have to journey out of the city centre to get a taste of the buzz. Even in Niederdorf, the city’s old town, you can find outlets such as Lumas, an intimate and welcoming photography gallery selling limited edition prints by artists from around the world. And at Spiegelgasse 1 is Cabaret Voltaire, home to the Dada art movement, which started in 1916, and still a venue for quirky theatre productions. But as a spokeswoman for centre notes: “There are not so many Dada performances today as we are trying to promote new ideas and creative spirit.”
ACTIVITIES AND NATURE
Standing on the Quaibrucke bridge facing the Swiss Alps in the distance, you can appreciate that the geographical location of Zurich gives people the perfect opportunity to escape to the surrounding mountains and forests, or in summer, swim in any of the 18 dedicated lakeside, riverside and open-air bathing areas.
Alborghetti says: “There is lots of nature here. Two minutes from my house I am jogging in the forest near Uetliberg and
in ten minutes I am at the lake. And in one to one and half hours you are out of the city and at a ski resort. All you have to do is put your skis on your shoulder and you are there.”
From boat trips on Lake Zurich to day trips to the Rhine Falls, there is plenty to do. And cyclists can use the city’s free bike-rental scheme – all you need is your passport and a CHF20 (£10) deposit. (The main pick-up point is Velogate at the train station next to platform 18.)
From June 7-29, the Euro 2008 football championships will be jointly hosted in Switzerland and Austria, a fact that is everywhere apparent, most notably outside Credit Suisse in Paradeplatz, where a countdown is displayed on a giant clock. According to Maurus Lauber, head of marketing for Zurich Tourism, there will be an extra 80-100,000 hotel guests in June. “During Euro 2008 we will have much less business tourism, especially less meetings and congresses – but much more leisure tourism,” he says.
So, while the championships will give an additional boost to the city’s economy, there is no doubt that there will be some disruption when it comes to doing business. Lauber says that, if people are there on business, they shouldn’t miss out on the action: “In the evening they [business travellers] can be part of the Euro 2008 games in the most attractive public viewing area directly at Lake Zurich with three giant screens – one of them in the lake – and with space for up to 60,000 people. Entrance is free but the tribune seats may be reserved online at euro.zuerich.com.”
For more information visit zuerichtourism.ch.
HOTEL CHECK
Widder Hotel
WHAT’S IT LIKE? Opened in 1995, the hotel is made up of eight townhouses dating back to the 11th century, and the architect retained much of the original character during the renovation. It’s a stylish place (and part of Design Hotels): furniture by the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier sits alongside antiques and original works by artists ranging from Warhol to Giacometti. At the heart of the hotel are the glass and chrome lifts, which connect all eight floors.
WHERE IS IT? On the west side of the Limmat river on Rennweg, just off the main shopping street, Bahnhofstrasse, which connects the station to the lake.
HOW MANY ROOMS? 42 rooms and seven suites, including a penthouse with a private roof terrace.
ROOM FACILITIES All the rooms are uniquely styled, combining original features such as frescoes and tiled floors, with modern technology (Bang and Olufsen stereos) and classic furnishings. My room was a Superior Double (34 sqm) with a large workdesk, two flatscreen TVs, and a seating area with a leather sofa, armchair and coffee table, which rises electronically to make eating meals more comfortable.
All beds have leather bedspreads, and other features include two phone lines, pay-per-view TV, a safe and a minibar. Wired and wireless internet access is available for CHF30 (£15) for 24 hours (pay with scratch cards from reception or credit cards via Swisscom). The bathrooms have Widder-branded toiletries, double sinks and showers over the bath.
RESTAURANTS AND BARS The Widder Restaurant offers a range of cuisine from Swiss to international and vegetarian options; it also has a good wine list and a separate smoking room. A second restaurant, Zur Schtund, is popular with locals and serves traditional Swiss food. The trendy Widder Bar has sections of red leather and lapis lazuli stone walls, and offers over 180 different single malt whiskies, a light snack menu and live piano music every night. In summer, the courtyard is open for drinks and snacks from 9am-11pm. Year-round, breakfast à la carte is served in the glass-roofed pavilion.
BUSINESS AND MEETING FACILITIES There are eight meeting rooms holding six to 200 people, the largest being a wood-panelled banqueting hall (seating 220 theatre-style). The hotel also features a butchers’ museum – even today, it is home to the butchers’ guild, which convenes annually. If you are not put off by the knives and saws on display, the museum can also be used for events. There is a business centre with two PCs next to the fitness room.
LEISURE FACILITIES There is a small fitness room open 24 hours a day with machines and glowing green glass walls.
VERDICT An inspiring property offering the height of elegance and comfort. For the regular visitor to Zurich, it provides a great antidote to the chains.
PRICE Internet rates for a midweek stay in May started from CHF900 (£452) for a Deluxe Double room.
CONTACT Rennweg 7, 8001 Zurich; tel +41 442 242 526; designhotels.com.
THE DOLDER GRAND
The Dolder Grand originally opened in 1899, but closed in 2004 to undergo a £225 million refurbishment project. Located to the east of the lake up on the hill, the five-star hotel opened its doors again to the public in April, and boasts 173 rooms and suites, two restaurants, a bar with “floating candles” suspended in mid-air, a grand ballroom (which can accommodate up to 500 for a reception), three conference rooms, two libraries, five breakout rooms, a nine-hole golf course and a 4,000-sqm spa. The property, now comprising the main building and two new wings, was designed by Foster and Partners and incorporates a fairy-tale exterior with sophisticated modern interiors, and features stunning views of the city, lake and surrounding countryside. The hotel also has a “green” geothermal energy system, which involved 70 earth probes being sunk 150 metres into the ground, providing heat in the winter and air conditioning in summer.
CONTACT The Dolder Grand, Kurhausstrasse 65, 8032 Zurich; tel +41 44 456 6000; the_doldergrand.com.
CONTACTS
Kunsthaus kunsthaus.ch
Haus Konstruktiv hauskonstruktiv.ch
Lumas Editions Gallery lumas.com
Cabaret Voltaire cabaretvoltaire.ch
Raclette Stube fondue-stuben.ch
Kronenhalle kronenhalle.com
Haus Hiltl hiltl.ch
Jules Verne Panoramabar jules-verne.ch
Scot and Scotch scotandscotch.ch
Café Schober cafe-conditorei-schober.ch
Schwarzenbach Kolonialwaren schwarzenbach.ch
Zurich Tourism zuerichtourism.ch
Free bike-rental scheme zuerirollt.ch
Zurich Card
CHF17 for 24 hours or CHF30 for 72 hours. It covers all public transport, many museums and galleries, boat trips, a welcome drink in selected restaurants and discounts around the city. It can be bought from the tourist office, hotels and ticket offices in the main station.
