Shopping – All our local tips

The flagship Swiss confectionery and café moved to its current address in 1859. The confectionery prides itself for selling the Luxemburgerli and the Grand Crus (chocolate truffles from wild cocoa beans). The café serves the best hot chocolate and deserts in town. Legend had it that it had been a contact place for affluent mature ladies and younger men.

I started visiting the café shortly after arriving to Zurich in the summer of 2000. In the midst of the stock market bubble, the pretentious me needed a place to read a financial newspaper on Saturday afternoon and dream about being able to predict future market movements while enjoying a small cigar and a hot chocolate.

Nine years later the hot chocolate remains. Stock markets are not predictable, smoking is prohibited and affluent ladies find pleasure in shopping (at least on Saturday afternoon). And I have moved from the main area on the upper floor to the ground floor with its large glass windows and small tables with small sofas: a cozier and more relaxing alternative.

I begin with a tiny warm focaccia (tomato, mozzarella sandwich) which sells at the scandalous price of 9 CHF (fully worth it) before I move to sweeter delights.

When weather permits, there are tables outside. I recommend sitting along the few ones just outside the glass windows rather that the ones on the other side of the pavement.

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Confiserie Sprüngli | Coffee & tea, Shopping, Snacks | Hot chocolate CHF 6.20
Bahnhofstrasse 21 | Kreis 1 City | +41442244740
Mon – Fri 07:30 – 17:30, Sat 08:00 – 15:00, Sun 09:30 – 17:30 (Cafe only)

The flea market at the Kanzlei is one of the biggest – if not the biggest – regular flea markets in Switzerland.

Every Saturday between up to 400 sellers offer their goods at this place, where also the cinema Xenix is. I suggest you stop by on a Saturday morning after breakfast and before you start your shopping spree at the well-known places like the Bahnhofstrasse or the Niederdorf.

Because, first of all, it’s much cheaper, and – secondly – you can find gizmos you won’t find anywhere else in the world. I drop by from time to time to look for new cheap Videogames or old disney comic books, and I would go there more often if I wasn’t such a lazy Saturday-late riser. But you won’t rise late, will you, dear traveller? Surely you don’t want to waste your time in Zurich sleeping…

Get the idea? No? Okay, I’ll go into a little more detail: On this flea market you can find bicycles, televisors, radios, mobile phones, chargers for mobile phones, accessory for mobile phones, books, comics, DVDs, Playstation-Games, xBox-Games, PC-Games, Gameboy-Games, bicycles, bicycles pumps, pumps, sneakers, boots , loafers, lamps, chairs, clocks, forks, knives, spoons, shirts, trousers, beanies, gloves, saxophones, guitars, trumpets, basses, violins, hammers, candle-holders, electric cables (for everything), blenders, kettles, steamers, frying pans, pictures, picture frames, hammers, screws, screwdrivers, nails, old vases, jewellery, toys, board games, card games, hats, flags, iron ware, and rummage, rummage, rummage.

And much more.

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Flohmarkt Kanzlei | Art & culture, Shopping
Kanzleistrasse 56 | Kreis 4 Aussersihl
Sat 08:00 – 16:00

The Langstrasse area, in Kreis (districts) 4 and 5, is known for both its multicultural scene and its design community. As such, it plays host every year to Kreislauf 4 + 5, when sixty or so shops and ateliers open their doors to show their works and give the public an opportunity to speak with the designers.

This year, it’s on the 9-10 May, but if you don’t happen to be in Zurich that weekend, it’s still worth checking out the event’s website, one of the best and most complete lists of Zurich’s many ateliers and designers, ranging from fashion and interior to jewellery and art. The entry for each label includes a short description along with a picture and the shop address . Under “Quartierplan” you’ll also find a map with which you can do your own tour all year round.

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Kreislauf 4+5 | Art & culture, Shopping | Free
Kreis 4 and 5 | Kreis 4 Aussersihl
Depends on atelier

As an avid reader, there’s one thing concerning travelling that I lose sleep over: How many books do I carry with me and what do I do when I’ve read them? If I hit the road for several months, there’s no way I can take along all the books I will read in that time. Feel me? Good.

If you have the same fear as me and like to read in English, you don’t have to worry any more – it’s all gonna be good: Orel Füssli Bookshop is packed with English books. So if you’re looking for new reading material you won’t have to be content with the inferior stuff (ehm…I mean… limited choice) you find at train stations and airports: A basement full of Sci-Fi and Fantasy-Books, a ground floor with novels, modern and classics, and a first (if you’re American second) floor with all kinds of special interest material will satisfy your needs.

Oh by the way, dear fellow reading addicts. If you’ve finished a book and have a craving for soup, I have a suggestion for you: check out the Limmatlädeli, they do not only offer delicious soup but they have also a take-one-leave-one bookshelve. Maybe you’re lucky.

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Orell Füssli: The Bookshop | Shopping
Bahnhofstrasse 70 | Kreis 1 City | +41442110444
Mon – Fri 09:00 – 20:00, Sat 09:00 – 17:00

Rimini may well be an Italian city on the Adriatic Sea, but it’s also an open-air bar within the river pool area Schanzengraben. During the day the swimming area is for men only (there’s another one just for women at the Limmat near Bürkliplatz).

It was built in 1864 and is therefore the oldest pool area in town with original features. The Schanzengraben was part of the city’s fortification in the 17th century and its atmosphere is often compared to the canals in Venice. Like all pool areas located at one of Zurich’s rivers, entry is free.

In the evening the venue is open to the public and offers pizza and drinks in a beach-style environment, where you’ll feel like you’re in the Mediterranean. This season also sees a market every Monday eve, when various stalls line up around the pool providing an original mix of flee market and design fair. Each week has a different theme ranging from accessories to streetwear but mostly includes fashion and related goodies.

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Rimini – Männerbad Schanzengraben | Relaxing, Shopping | Free
Badweg 10 | Kreis 1 City | +41442119594
Sun – Thu 19:15 – 00:00, Fri 18:15 – 00:00, Sat 11:00 – 00:00 unless it’s raining

One of the best stores in town, with shelves full of the most inspiring travel books from all over the world and not only in German. You’ll find travel guides and stories, maps, specialized and illustrated books as well as contemporary literature about and from all countries and regions on this planet.

There are books to learn exotic languages, books for children, cooking books, design books, books on relgion, politics, fairy tales, architecture, medicine, jewelry, trees, women or economy.

There are books that you won’t be able to find anywhere else, because the woman owning the store has friends spread all over the world that organize special prints for her. If you’re lucky you catch her in the store and she will share her many (many!) travelling experiences with you. Often she is out in the world though, following her passion. This passion is omnipresent in the store and highly contagious.

There is an atmosphere that makes you want to pack your bags and explore the world. And if there is no way to get out there at the moment, then you just go back to the store on a regular basis, because stepping in already makes you feel like a bit of a globetrotter.

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Travel Book Shop | Shopping | Free
Rindermarkt 20 | Kreis 1 City
Mon 13:00 – 18:30, Tue – Fri 09:00 – 18:30, Sat 09:00 – 17:00