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Zurich: Old Town Walking Tour & Lake Cruise

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Duration4h

GroupUp to 18

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Medieval Streets & a Ferry Ride: What Zurich Looks Like From the Water

You walk the Old Town's cobblestone streets and parks with a local guide, ride a funicular to a viewpoint above the Alps, visit Fraumünster Church to see Marc Chagall's stained glass windows, then board a 90-minute ferry cruise on Lake Zurich past the Lindt factory and the lakeside villas of the Golden Coast. The funicular ticket and ferry ticket are included, so you don't buy them separately at each stop.

Step-by-step itinerary

Take funicular to Polyterasse
Enjoy views of Old Town and Alps
Visit Lindenhof for city views
Walk through financial district and Bahnhofstrasse
Explore Zurich Old Town with guide
Visit Fraumünster Church stained glass
Take ferry cruise on Lake Zurich
Admire Lindt Factory and Golden Coast

The Experience

You don't expect a city this polished to have 1,200 public fountains, or that you'd actually want to stop at them. The tour starts with a short funicular ride up to Polyterasse — a viewpoint that sits above the Old Town and the Alps — and from there the guide walks you through the medieval streets, past Lindenhof (a quiet park in the middle of everything that overlooks the Limmat river and the Grossmünster), and down to Bahnhofstrasse, where the Swiss banking headquarters line the avenue like a financial monument. It's the kind of Zurich walking tour that doesn't rush the small things: the cobblestones, the way the light hits the church facades, the sound of the bells.

The Fraumünster Church is the stop where the stained glass actually stops you. Marc Chagall designed the windows in the chancel and the south transept — blues and reds that fill the whole interior with color — and Augusto Giacometti did the north transept. Your guide will explain what you're looking at, which makes the difference between seeing glass and understanding why it matters. After the Old Town, you head to Burkliplatz to board the ferry for the 90-minute Lake Zurich cruise, which takes you past the Lindt Chocolate Factory and along the "Golden Coast," where the lakeside villas sit behind gates and gardens.

The whole experience runs about four to five hours depending on the season. Summer tours start at 9:45 AM from the Landesmuseum; winter tours depart at 11:45 AM from the Limmathof Hotel. Small groups mean you're not herded through the streets, and the local licensed guide brings the history without the script — the kind of person who knows which fountain has the best water and why the city still feels medieval even though it's one of the world's most expensive places to live.

What’s included

Local licensed guide leading the walking tour.
funicular ride ticket to Polyterasse.
ferry cruise ticket for the 90-minute Lake Zurich journey.
access to Zurich Old Town, Lindenhof park, Bahnhofstrasse, and Fraumünster Church with its Marc Chagall and Augusto Giacometti stained glass windows.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by WOW ZURICH TOURS

Is this one for you?Choose this tour if you want to see the main landmarks of Zurich's Old Town and Lake Zurich in one morning or late-morning outing without arranging separate tickets or transport — the guide, the funicular, and the ferry are all coordinated into a single itinerary.