Zürich with Kids!

Stay.

Our favorite hotel: “Beautiful, walking-distance to lake, and won’t break the bank!”

Your ideal European city: clean, easy mass transit, environmentally conscious, kid-friendly with lots of playgrounds and activity areas in restaurants, if you do your research. The drawback: definitely not cheap and zero air conditioning in the summer. Anywhere.

My 5-year-old daughter and I were alone during this leg of our trip, as my husband was working in Austria for the week… So it was mommy and daughter bonding time!

We chose to stay at a mid-level hotel: Hotel Seegarten, wonderfully located just 1 block from the lake. This “Garden of the Lake” is a beautiful, little, boutique hotel with the most friendly and kind front desk staff. They were always kind to my daughter and myself, gave us a thorough and detailed intro and welcome, and even held onto my daughter’s beloved stuffed animal after we left it post check-out. The inclusive breakfasts had lots of variety: fresh croissants, rich coffee, yogurts, fruit, and even “Easter-like” dyed hard-boiled eggs, which my child adored!

The rooms at Hotel Seegarten are fresh, bright, simply decorated, and typical Euro-urban size. Just right for 2-3 people. There is a typical, box-sized elevator that came in useful for carting our heavy luggage and stroller. My daughter also fell in love with the “key exchange”: to keep track of who is entering and leaving hotel, unique and playful “fish” keys were exchanged in a lockbox next to the elevator. She loved finding out fish key everyday as we entered and exited the building!

Eat.

TIBITS: This lovely little European veggie-buffet chain has gourmet salads, cold, and hot dishes, all priced by weight. Not only was mommy happy with yummy local, Swiss cheeses and veggies available, kid was happy with the “hot foods”: pasta, seasoned tofu, fruits and veggies. As a bonus, there was a cute little play area with books and toys to get out that “after-dinner” energy. Reasonably priced: about 20 USD for two of us. Con: no A/C, and Zurich at that time was in a major heat wave.

MANOR: Yes, the department store (similar to Macy’s) on Bahnhofstrasse in Old Town, has GREAT and inexpensive lunch, dinner, and play area! Another “typisch” Swiss buffet, Manor’s top floor restaurant is filled with healthy salad bar, hot foods (pasta bar, Würste counter, and deli area), cold foods, and even a wine and beer self-serve center! All-in-all: awesome. I gobbled down some brushetta to-die-for and a yummy local glass of red wine. My daughter enjoyed some Swiss-style mac’n’cheese and a bratwurst.. All for under 20 USD. A small play area sits in the corner with digital painting, toddler toys, and other fun, after-dinner activities.

COOP & MIGROS: These are your 2 standard grocery stores in Switzerland and can be found almost everywhere: big city or small town. Both carry fresh fruits and veggies, baked goods, dairy, meat, alcohol, and a variety of home products. If you’re staying at an AirB&B or just want something inexpensive for a meal, you’re bound to find it at one of these supermarkets.

Play:

Zürichsee: aka “Lake Zurich” is the largest lake in the city. You seriously can’t miss it, as the city hugs its beautiful, rocky beaches and clean water. During the intense heat wave, we made it to Zurichsee (just a block from our hotel) at least twice for several hours at a time. Though the beaches are not sandy, my daughter loved splashing about in the cool, clean, Swiss waters along with other children, adults, and even pets. There are several pay “beach clubs” you can go through to swim.. Or just find an open, public park, like we did, and take a refreshing dip! The base of the lake is pretty rocky, so I recommend water shoes for the little ones. Though we did not make use of them, there are also several small tour boats that you may ride, kayaks and paddleboard rental companies, and small marinas where you can rent boats for the day. Like many other lakes in Switzerland, Zürichsee has lots of swans to admire and photograph. I advise you do not feed them, as they can be quite aggressive, as we found out quickly!

Zoo Zürich: One of the largest and nicest zoos in all of Europe, this attraction sits at the top of the hill, only a few street tram stops away from downtown. The main attractions here seemed to be the silver-back gorilla enclosures, the elephants, koalas, and tigers. We went during an intense heat wave, so many animals, such as the lions, wolves, and bears were hiding away from the hot sun, but others were out and about, and were delightful to observe. The gorilla house even has fun, faux wooden benches to sit and observe the playful activity, and oddly enough, a couch and Persian rug lounge in another section! The tram is extra: at 2 Swiss Francs a person, it literally goes up the hill and down, but in the midst of a heat wave, any short ride through the hills helped us immensely. There are many small playgrounds throughout the zoo and one large one by their main eating facility. Food here again is typical Swiss salad bar, offering cold and hot foods, and fairly reasonable in price, considering it’s a tourist attraction. Best money saver of all: kids under 6 are free to the zoo! Free for children under 6!

GZ Riesbach: this local community center and massive playground was walking distance from the Seegarten Hotel! Conveniently located next to a Migros grocery store, we happened upon this playground by accident, and my daughter was in love with first play! Completely enclosed, the playground itself has a “natural play area” with a green hill and slide, “earth maze”, and some pump waterplay. The other end has a giant spider-like net to climb, along with a community center that the public can use for snacks, shade, and bathrooms. One evening when we went, there was even a live band and fresh local food being served.. Made for a wonderful evening!

Splashpad “Sechseläutenplatz” (Opera House Square): a beautiful little plaza off-limits to cars across from the lake and down the street from Hotel Seegarten, this little piazza has a typical American “splash pad” where kids can splash and play during the summer heat, run-around chasing pigeons, and grabbing a gelato or snack. Also in view is the picturesque Zurich Opera House which have world-class concerts daily and often performers playing outside during the day!

Street Tram: Don’t… I repeat DON’T take a taxi unless you HAVE to. We literally paid $75 USD from airport to hotel. Suck it up and take the street tram! Will be apporx $16 USD for 1 person ride to old town area Zürich. Also- the street tram was the ONLY place that had any sort of *air conditioning during the hot summer! (*certain cars only). Get a day pass with a Zurich Transport Card and take it right up the hill to the zoo, old town, or other parts of the city! Inexpensive for the day: about $8 for adults and FREE for kids under 6!