An Easter break to Switzerland needs to make an appearance on your bucket list.
I didn’t know much about this small landlocked country before I visited and if someone had asked my general impressions, I would have mentioned a deep appreciation of Lint bunnies and Swiss chocolate, coveting beautifully designed watches and jewellery, a vague knowledge of the country’s neutral political stance being similar to that of Ireland and a liking for a certain tennis player by the name of Roger Federer. Well let me tell you, there’s a lot more to Switzerland than my crazy collection of knowledge and half facts!
Things I now know include learning that it’s not a bad place to be born. According to the Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) 2013 Quality of Life Index, a survey which takes 11 significant factors into account, including how happy people say they are, crime levels, trust in public institutions, climate, employment, gender equality, quality of family life and material well-being – it’s the best place to live in the world. A pretty big claim but after visiting you can see that this claim has legs.
The Swiss seem to have it sussed. Excellent transport links make it easy to access bordering countries within hours. A jaunt to Lake Como, Paris or skiing in Austria usually takes a good bit of planning, Skyskanning or Tripadvising before you even think of leaving Dublin or London for a weekend. If you’re based in Switzerland, don’t bother sweating the small stuff, you can pinball around Europe all weekend long if you wish! Zürich central station is one of Europe’s main railway intersections, with over 1,900 connections every day and it was impressive to witness no delays during my stay.
It’s always hard to pick out best parts of a weekend but I‘ll give a few top-tips if you happen to get to this gorgeous country. Luzern is less than an hour by train from Zurich and the snowy capped mountains and stunning lake views make it a wow destination. You must make time to wander through Zurich’s old town and take in the wide variety of bars and restaurants, galleries and shops. A highlight was a shop making custom leather shoes. They lined the walls drying out and a man sat getting his feet measured as we looked around.
Grab a coffee and stroll through the leafy parks that line Lake Zurich and stop by the small bars with deck chairs that pop up along the route in the summer season. It if rains during your stay, shelter in the Kunsthaus modern art gallery and see works by Magritte, Gauguin and Van Gough. I loved stormy landscape pieces by the artist Emil Nolde, a German, Danish painter. We spent a beyond relaxing day at the Thermalbad & Spa which has a rooftop infinity pool with view of the city and lake Zurich.
Bar wise in Zurich, sample a mean gin fizz cocktail at DANTE, it was talked up but it didn’t disappoint! It may have even bumped my love of Porn Star Martinis for now and that’s saying something. Loft 5 in the city centre does great beer and pizza that I’m now on a quest to find the equivalent of in London! For a recovery Sunday brunch, make sure to get the eggs Benedict and a Proscecco at Bohemia. Yep, you’ll be busy as a bee if you visit!
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