Zurich, a beautiful city located at the point the Limmat River flows into Zurich Lake, is one of the most important financial centers in the world. Although it is the home to great banks, there are only a few small skyscrapers. The heart of the city is the Altstadt, with its elegantly-restored buildings and shops. The visitor may wish to explore one of the city's Medieval guildhalls, many of which are now restaurants. The main shopping area of town is the Bahnhofstrasse, which because of its pricey stores, is said to be the most expensive street in the world. Take a few minutes to watch the crowds at the Paradeplatz. Nearby is the Gothic Fraumunster, the Church of Our Lady, with modern stained glass windows by the artist Marc Chagall. The Irish writer James Joyce lived in Zurich during the first world war, and returned to the city in 1941, a month before he died. He is buried at Fluntern Cemetery. Nearby is buried Elias Canetti, winner of the 1981 Nobel Prize for literature. Johanna Spiri, author of Heidi, is buried in Zurich's Central Cemetery. Where to Stay Naturally, such an important city has important hotels. One of the world's great hotels is the Baur au Lac, built in 1844 and renovated in the 1990s. The hotel, on the Bahnhofstrasse overlooking the lake, is a grandly elegant building surrounded by a private park. Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, and many other luminaries stayed here. Across the river is the Hotel Eden au Lac, with a facade that resembles that of the Paris Opera. The Widder Hotel is said to be the most up-to-date deluxe hotel in the city. It consists of 10 interconnected buildings, some dating from Medieval times, that have been thoroughly renovated. This mix also means that each room tends be be decorated in a manner different from that of its neighbors. For those who do not need to be in the thick of things, there is the Arabella Atlantis Sheraton Hotel, which is surrounded by many acres of forest a few miles from the center of the city. |
