Car rental in Zurich

Car rental at Zurich Airport

Zurich International Airport ( Zurich Airport or Kloten Airport ) - download the scheme
IATA code: ZRH
Location: 12 km from Zurich
Official website: www.zurich-airport.com
Information: +41 43 816 22 11

At Zurich Airport, car rental services are provided by international rental companies: Hertz, Europcar, Avis, Enterprise, Alamo, Budget, Thrifty, Dollar, Sixt, Inter Rent and others. Local companies such as Elite, King Rent, and Edel & Stark also work. Thanks to the convenient navigation system, you will quickly find the Rent-a-car zone and choose the right car. At the main terminal of the airport there are three multi-storey car parks (P1, P2 and P3), there are also places for short-term and long-term parking, which are located near the airport.

What to see in Zurich: interesting sights of the city

Grossmunster Church

The symbol of the city, one of the most important churches of Zurich, built in the Romanesque style. The construction of the cathedral began in 1090, but began to use it much later - around 1220. One of the legends says that the horse of Charlemagne fell in front of the grave of the city’s patron saints Felix and Regula, and soon the Grossmunster monastery was built on this site, which was repeatedly rebuilt in different architectural styles. From the towers of the church offers a wonderful view of the city and Lake Zurich. On the last Friday of the month, free night excursions take place in the Grossmunster bell tower, allowing you to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of a real medieval church.

Swiss National Museum

Museumstrasse 2

The whole history of Switzerland from prehistoric times to the present is presented here in this beautiful building resembling a castle. The museum has a rich collection of Gothic art and objects of knightly culture. The museum complex also includes the Mint, the Armory and the Collection Gallery, which showcases antique Swiss furniture and the diorama of the Battle of Murten, the largest battle of the Burgundian Wars, in which the Swiss defeated the army of the Burgundian Duke Karl the Bold. The museum has several picturesque courtyards and parks.

Square Burkliterrasse

If you saw Lake Zurich, you wanted to swim on it in a boat, then head to the square Burkliterrasse. There is a boat station where you can rent a boat and go on a short trip, enjoying the beauty and charm of a small harbor. In the square you will also find the famous sculpture of Zeus and Ganymede, installed in 1952: it depicts Ganymede, who begs the thunderer, depicted in the form of an eagle, to bring him to Olympus. 

Johan Jacobson Coffee Culture Museum

District 8

An interactive museum where the main character and the main masterpiece is coffee. It contains everything that tells about the long history of coffee, which is already more than 500 years old. Archival photos, coffee packaging, the first advertisement, antique dishes for making a drink and various video presentations will introduce you to the traditions of coffee culture of different nations and countries. The museum has a library where, for a cup of your favorite drink, you can read, for example, about how coffee was made in the Middle Ages. A pleasant museum, where spicy coffee aroma is everywhere.

Chancellor's flea market

If you want to bring home something that will remind you of Switzerland, then come on Saturday morning to the flea market on Kantslay Street. Here you can find everything from flower pots to antique furniture and vintage dresses. Empty-handed, you definitely won’t leave and you’ll definitely get a cute trinket with a story. Do not forget to bargain with talkative sellers!

In the vicinity of Zurich: the best car routes

Utliberg

Having rented a car, go to Mount Uetliberg and be sure to climb to the observation deck, which offers the best view of Zurich. Here you can take a break, have lunch, and in cold weather, warm yourself with aromatic mulled wine. And if you climb the observation tower, which is not fenced with any bars, you can literally lose your head from the beauty that stretches out in front of you.

Rappersville yona

30 minutes from Zurich by car and you find yourself in the "city of roses" - as the locals call the small town of Rapperswil, located on Lake Superior Zurich. The main attraction of this ancient place is a medieval castle, towering on a hill, from which a wonderful view of the lake and mountains opens. A wide staircase decorated with roses, which are symbols of the city, leads to the castle: they are depicted on the coat of arms of Rapperswil and grow in every garden of the city, turning it into a real flower garden. Here is also the largest pedestrian wooden bridge in Switzerland. You should come to Rapperswil for one day to stroll along the cobbled streets of the city, relax in one of the three gardens with roses, dine in the cafe on the castle grounds, and then go to the local zoo and feed the elephants.

Winterthur

Art lovers are advised to stay in the city of Winterthur, which in Switzerland is called the “city of museums”, known for its collections of masterpieces of European art. In the private house of the famous collector Oscar Reinhart, you can find a unique collection of “Römerholz” (Am Römerholz), which includes more than 200 outstanding works, including paintings by Monet, Cezanne and Renoir, as well as individual paintings by great artists such as Rubens, Brueghel and Goya. A large museum of the same collector has been opened in the city park, which contains works by Swiss, German and Austrian artists. Those who want to create some kind of physical phenomenon with their own hands should definitely visit the Technorama Research Center, where over 500 experimental stations are located on an area of ​​6500 km ² .

Rhine Falls

The Rhine Falls is considered the largest waterfall in Europe in terms of the amount of water being thrown down, its height is 23 meters and its width is 150 meters. The volume of water varies depending on the time of the year, during the period of snowmelt, the volume of water discharged reaches 600 cubic meters per second. The most impressive Rhine Falls looks in the summer, when the amount of water increases significantly. In order to take a closer look at the waterfall, several viewing platforms are equipped here, but the best view is opened from the main platform, which is located in a rock in the very center of the waterfall - you can get there on a tourist boat.

It is most convenient to get to the Rhine Falls in a rented car, at the same time driving to Schaffhausen, a well-preserved medieval town, where houses are decorated with wooden balconies, bay windows, emblems and flowers. Very cozy and quiet place, ideal for relaxing after a tiring road. 

Zug

It’s worth to come to Zug for the seafront and the lake, as well as the most beautiful sunset in Switzerland - the sun sets right here above the mirror surface of the lake. Leave your rented car in the parking lot and take a walk around the city, pay attention to the chapel of the former Cistercian Abbey (Catholic monastic order) in the early Gothic style and drop by the Museum of Art, which hosts contemporary art exhibitions annually. And to enjoy the most picturesque view of Lake Zug, we advise you to climb the neighboring Zugerberg mountain. By the way, it was in Zug that the action of Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s novel “The Night is Tender” unfolds - and this is another reason to rent a car and come here.

Food: atmospheric restaurants, cafes and bars

Kronenhalle

Raemistrasse 4 www.kronenhalle.ch

If you want to have dinner with Picasso, Kandinsky and Matisse, then you definitely need to look into Kronenhalle. Of course, you will not find artists alive here (alas), but you can see the originals of their paintings and feel like in a museum. In the 1920s, the restaurant owners, the Zumsteg couple, began to collect works of art and exhibit rare exhibits in the restaurant hall - this turned Kronenhalle into Zurich's most popular and prestigious venue. The menu includes Swiss and Bavarian cuisine at its best. Keep in mind that the prices here are above average, but if you want to turn into a true bourgeois for one evening without losing a fortune, you can limit yourself to a cup of aromatic coffee and watch the local bohemia.

Cabaret voltaire

Spiegelgasse 1 www.cabaretvoltaire.ch

The legendary cabaret cafe that Lenin loved to go into (he and Krupskaya rented an apartment next door in early 1916). However, this place was made legendary not by Lenin, but by the German poet and playwright Hugo Ball: in 1916 he opened the Voltaire cafe, which became the birthplace of Dadaism - the avant-garde movement in literature, cinema, theater and the visual arts. Be sure to check here to skip a couple of glasses of something strong and imagine that perhaps many years ago one of the Dadaists sat in your place and thought over the plot of his new book or picture. And do not forget to buy something as a keepsake in a small bookstore located in the building of the cafe - inexpensive works of contemporary artists are sold there.

Onyx bar

Beethoven-Strasse 21 www.zurich.park.hyatt.com

A bar reminiscent of the aesthetics of James Bond movies: dim lights, tall dark wood chairs, a long bar counter, fine alcohol and a bartender who, from your glance, can figure out which drink you prefer today. A place decorated with impeccable taste, a bar where you do not need to drop in, but go for a long time so that you can slowly drink your bourbon and enjoy the view from the panoramic windows. And if you suddenly overdo it a little with a drink or just don’t want to go far, then one of the rooms at Park Hyatt Hotel is at your disposal, in the building of which Onyx is located.

Manzoni

Bahnhofstrasse 87 www.manzonibar.ch

Running into a fresh croissant in the morning and having a cocktail and talking with a stranger in a couple of phrases about how beautiful Zurich is at this time of year is a good scenario for those who, walking around the city, noticed a small cafe with a contrasting black and white signboard Manzoni. If you overslept breakfast at the hotel or just missed aerial pastries and Italian snacks with mozzarella, then this place is for you. The cafe itself is quite crowded, so we recommend going outside and having a snack, sitting on a wooden windowsill, like a real city dweller. Yet there is some kind of romance in this, isn’t that so?

Geeren

Obere Geerenstrasse 72 www.geeren.ch

If you went to a restaurant and saw that most of the visitors are local, it means that you have come to the right place. Geeren is just one of those places that the Swiss often choose for family dinners. The restaurant building is a typical farmhouse located on the outskirts of the city, where, incidentally, it is very convenient to get there by car. Geeren is furnished in a country style: light walls, shabby wooden furniture, floral curtains and simple dishes that the villagers usually use. Traditional Swiss food, large portions, homely atmosphere and fresh air all around - everything is perfect in this family-run restaurant.

Where to live: comfortable hotels in Zurich

EMA House Hotel Suites

Nordstrasse 1
+ 41 44 368 36 68 www.ema-house.ch double room - from CHF 368

Modern hotel overlooking the Limat River near the Old Town. Spacious rooms are ideal for families with children. Light walls, pastel-colored furniture and large windows create a feeling of large and free space - in the morning the room is filled with sunlight, which invigorates and gives a boost of energy for the whole day. For those who like to start in the morning with a cup of coffee in bed, the room has a Nespresso coffee machine - a pleasant and fragrant start to the day is guaranteed.

Hotel helmhaus

Schifflände 30
+41 (0) 44 266 95 95 www.helmhaus.ch double room - from CHF 270

The hotel is located in the center of the Old Town near Lake Zurich, within walking distance of the main attractions. During the day, from the hotel room you can hear the ringing of the Grossmunster church. Small bright rooms with stylish furniture in a typical European style. The price includes breakfast. The friendly hotel staff will happily tell you the best route around the city. 

Hotel adler

Rosengasse 10
+ 41 44 266 96 96 www.hotel-adler.ch double room - from CHF 200

The hotel is located in a historic building in the Old Town. The decor of the rooms is done in warm brown tones, wooden beams and furniture with an embossed eagle create the feeling that you are in a country house somewhere in a small village. On the walls are paintings with city landscapes. Pleasant bonuses for guests: a free city map, WiFi and a minibar with free drinks. In Adler you can live with pets, here they created the only bar in Zurich, on which animals are fed water. 

Walhalla hotel

Limmatstrasse 5
+ 41 44 446 54 00
double room - from CHF 180

Due to its convenient location (on the corner of the Central Station), this hotel is ideal for those who do not like to sit still and plan to travel to the cities of Switzerland. Comfortable rooms with a pleasant design, free Wi-Fi, a delicious and varied breakfast are the perfect combination for people who value convenience for reasonable money. By the way, next to the hotel is the Museum of Design (Museum für Gestaltung), where in addition to works on modern design, graphics and applied art, you can find a collection of engravings by Swiss masters of the 15th — 21st centuries.

Holiday Inn Zurich Messe

Wallisellen St 48
+ 41 44 316 11 00 www.ihg.com double room - from CHF 174

The hotel is located on the northern outskirts of the city near the Oerlikon train station. The city center can be reached in a couple of minutes by a rented car, which, incidentally, can be left at the hotel - for guests of the Holiday Inn parking is here equipped for a moderate fee. Spacious rooms with bright design and all necessary amenities, including free Wi-Fi. Sports enthusiasts can use the 24-hour fitness center. Simple and tasteful - this is perhaps the brief description of this hotel.

Where to park a rented car in Zurich