Not many people fancy being captured on holiday – after all, kidnapping is not what you come away for – but there is a rather more pleasant way of being taken captive in Zurich. This particular trap is one that many a visitor walks into – and you could be next. It all starts with unsuspecting tourists leaving their luxury Zurich hotels by being told they will really like the Altstadt (Old Town), but none realise just how much they will be enraptured by it until they get there.
Dating from medieval times, the Altstadt constituted Zurich in its entirety until the city boundaries were first expanded in 1893. But however much the modern city has developed since then, the Renaissance-era district still draws people in. The hearts and minds of visitors are taken hostage by its old houses, twisted and contorted as age has taken its toll. Yet it has aged so well. The narrow streets always hint at something enticing, the Guildhall and Town Hall tell an unspoken tale of past grandeur. And with every step visitors are drawn in deeper, slowly falling in love with this beautiful place.
The list grows: Who can fail to be captured by the splendour of the double towers of the Grossmünster, the city’s main landmark? Who could not be fascinated by the largest clock face in Europe, on the Peterskirche, or mesmerised by the magnificent Fraumünster, with its delightful stained glass windows by Giacometti and Chagall? If all this was not enough, the area is filled with a rich array of modern entertainments. Nightclubs abound and there are fine restaurants, cafes and boutique stores.
To visit the Altstadt is to become immersed in culture, architecture, history and a sense of fun. This has long been the place to be in Zurich, so don’t be surprised that your heart has been captured. Of course, every visitor is free to go. Indeed, sooner or later you must. But the Altstadt really does capture something of every visitor who goes there. It is not so much Stockholm syndrome as Zurich syndrome; nobody leaves without feeling they have left something of themselves behind.
