After sharing our Zurich guide for culture lovers and the best nightlife venues, today we want to show you the key places where locals meet, eat, and shop.
In fact, if you really want to make the most of your experience in Zurich, we suggest you shed the tourist eye and give a try to the following hotspots.
Let’s discover more!
What locals do in Zurich: the best hotspots
1. Kanzlei Flohmi
The Kanzlei Flohmi is Zurich’s most famous flea market and takes place every Saturday on Kanzleistrasse.
It houses several stalls where locals of all ages love buying everything from coats to electronic equipment, bags, jewelry, or even hot snacks!
2. Im Viadukt
Then, Im Viadukt is a trendy 500-meter shopping area that’s been planned as a meeting place for Zurich’s locals.
So, we recommend you to pop over some of its shops, restaurants, cafés, clubs, and social events!
3. Frau Gerolds Garten
What’s more, you can’t lose the opportunity to visit the Frau Gerolds Garten, which houses a restaurant, bar, shopping area, and urban garden in Zurich West.
This is the perfect place to taste delicious seasonal and local food – as well as grow your own veg on site as locals do!
4. Les Halles
Another place loved by locals is Les Halles, a noisy garage near the Schiffbau theater, which is full of fascinating posters, mirrors, bicycles, and old furniture.
It features a bar, restaurant, and take-away – based on the French cuisine, – serving affordable ‘moules et frites’, pasta dishes, or salads.
5. Riff Raff
While, if you’re a cinema lover, you should absolutely visit the old Riff Raff, Zurich’s major hub for independent, non-mainstream films since 1998!
Here you’ll find a great selection of indie movies, as well as a stylish bar and bistro serving delicious snacks, perfect for socializing with locals and other film enthusiasts.
6. Schiffbau Theater
Still on the subject of art, the Schiffbau theatre is an industrial warehouse that offers not widely known plays. It is also gifted with modern features like:
- The restaurant ‘La Salle’;
- A friendly bar;
- The ‘Moods’ jazz club.
7. Kosmos
On the other side, Kosmos is the perfect place for both contemplation and entertainment.
A wonderful urban living and cultural center on Langstrasse, which combines business and leisure opportunities to meet new people, including:
- A venue for events;
- A large bistro;
- A six-screen cinema;
- A bookstore with a shop and café;
- A sunny plaza;
- A green courtyard.
8. Weisses Kreuz
Weisses Kreuz is the classic ‘old man’s pub’ with a table reserved for regulars.
This peculiarity is part of its charm, along with its exquisite Swiss food – including a special fall ‘Wild menu’ made of venison and wild boar meat!
9. Sternen Grill
When it comes to food, locals – going from students to international stars, celebrities, or business people – also love the Sternen Grill.
This is a cult grill restaurant – well-known for its wonderful sausage and mustard – that offers delicious Swiss food, along with the view of Bellevue and the lake until night.
10. MFO Park
Last but not least, another great hotspot is the park where the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO) once stood, a fascinating and award-winning construction that houses:
- A roof terrace;
- Cultural events and festivals;
- Open-air movie theaters.
