The most famous
place in Zurich for nightlife is the Old
Town, on the left bank of the River Limmat, with many
bars and cafés tucked away on the side streets
such as Niederdorfstrasse and Oberdorfstrasse.
New clubs and bars keep opening up in the city, especially to the
west of the Hauptbahnhof in the fourth and fifth districts, around
Langstrasse and Escher-Wyss-Platz.
The majority of clubs and bars close around
0200 but there are bars and discos open until 0300 or 0400.
Minimum drinking age is 18 years. Not many clubs
have a dress code.
Information on club
nights and performances (as well as concerts, theatres and opera)
is listed in Züri
Tipp, published in Friday’s Tages Anzeiger . Clubbers
should get hold of Forecast, published monthly, which has listings
of Zurich’s club scene.
Bars
A number of the city’s best bars serve food
or have a restaurant. Kaufleuten,
Pelikanstrasse 18 (tel: (01) 225 3300), is a well-liked bar with
a hip restaurant.
Upmarket and trendy
Café Bar Odeon, Limmatquai 2, attracts the
beautiful people and those who think they are (tel: (01) 251 1650).
Fairly more irreverent is Iroquois,
Seefeldstrasse 120 , a bar with a Tex-Mex restaurant.
BaBaLu, Schmidgasse 6 (tel: (01) 383 7077),
is an eclectic place, sometimes hosting very interesting
live music.
The Jules Verne Panorama Bar, on the 11th floor
between the Brasserie Lipp and the Urania Observatory, Uraniastrasse
9 (tel: (01) 211 1155), is always crowded but offers spectacular
views over the city.
The Ziegel oh Lac bar and restaurant, in the Rote
Fabrik arts centre, Seestrasse 395 (tel: (01) 481 6242), has
waterside seating in the summer and very reasonably priced food.
Casino
Even though gambling is legal in Switzerland, there is at
present no casino in Zurich. The major complex which is
currently being built at the airport will contain a casino. However,
it will be several years before it opens.
Clubs
In Switzerland ‘nightclubs’ refer to
the venues with erotic floorshows and/or lap or table dancing. ‘Discos’
or ‘dance clubs’ refer to the clubs
with music for dancing. Many of the new clubs are
located in Langstrasse/Zurich West, the former
red light and industrial district, now being redeveloped as the
heart of young Zurich.
Excellent new clubs
often including restaurants and bars include Labor,
Schiffbaustrasse 3 (tel: (01) 272 4402) also used for the TV show
‘Aeschbacher’; Soul Cafe, Löwenstrasse
2 (tel: (01) 211 6367) for hip hop, soul and Latin music; and Supermarket,
Geroldstrasse 17 (tel: (01) 440 2005).
Many of the older established clubs are part of
larger arts and entertainment complexes with cafés or restaurants.
In Rote
Fabrik, Seestrasse 395 , 5km south of the centre (bus 161 or
165 from Bürkliplatz), are the Klubraum and
the Aktionshalle; a wide range of dance music is
played, as well as live acts. Limmatbar is part
of Palais X-tra,
Limmatstrasse 118 (tel: (01) 448 1500) featuring DJs, live bands
and it attracts a trendy crowd. Kanzlei,
Kanzleistrasse 56, near Helvetiaplatz (tel: (01) 241 5311) features
different nights with house, techno and disco.
For alternative and techno dance
music, Rohstofflager,
Duttweilerstrasse, Ecke Pfingsweicerstrasse (tel: (01) 439 9090)
is still a good bet, as is the Dynamo,
part of the Jungendkulturhaus, Wasserwerkstrasse 21 (tel: (01) 365
3444) which also features live concerts, usually
of punkish music. Funk and salsa
are featured nightly at El Cubanito, Bleicherweg
5 (tel: (01) 226 2012).
Music
The Opernhaus
Zürich, Falkenstrasse 1 (tel: (01) 268 6666), is the venue
for ballet and opera performances. First opened in 1891, its neo
Baroque auditorium and location by the lakeside promenade adds to
the atmosphere of a romantic evening. The Zurich Chamber Orchestra
or Zürcher Kammerorchester
(tel: (0848) 848 844) plays at the Tonhalle,
Claridenstrasse 7 (tel: (01) 206 3434), from August-June, while
the Tonhalle Orchester,
founded in 1868, performs symphonic concerts. The Tonhalle is well-known
for its acoustics and has two halls – the larger seats 1455
and the smaller 636. Part of the Kongresshaus Zürich, it was
built in the year 1895 and the concert chamber was inaugurated by
Johannes Brahms.
Live Music
Large rock concerts are held in the Hallenstadion,
in the Oerlikon district, but this is closed for renovation until
August 2005, so in the meanwhile they will be held either in the
Stadion Hardturm, Hardturmstrasse 321 (tel: (01)
447 4646), or the Volkshaus, Stauffacherstrasse
60 (tel: (01) 241 6404).
For top-flight jazz in a remarkable setting, there
is Moods Jazz Club,
Schiffbaustrasse 6 (tel: (01) 276 8000), which is part of the major
cultural centre in the former Sulzer shipbuilding works. The building
also has a theatre and restaurant. There are concerts from Tuesday-Sunday
but only two concerts per week in summer.
Casa
Bar, Münstergasse 30 (tel: (01) 261 2002), is Zürich’s
longest-running jazz venue offering nightly entertainment.
The chic Hotel
Bar Widder, Widdergasse 6, has successfully revitalized the
old jazz nights on Wednesdays. An older clientele is drawn to the
elegant Dolder
Grand Hotel Bar, Kurhausstrasse 65 (tel: (01) 269 3000), for
the very popular piano music.
Theatre
The Schauspielhaus
Zürich, Rämistrasse 34 (tel: (01) 258 7777), is one
of the biggest and most important theatres
in Switzerland. Some 14 new productions are staged here every year,
varying from Shakespeare to Zurich’s own Friedrich Dürrenmatt.
Built in the late 19th century, the theatre consist of 2 venues
– the 745-seat Grosse Haus and the 130-seat Schauspielhaus-Keller,
which stages more alternative and off-beat productions.
Dance
The Zürcher Balletts, Zurich’s
ballet company, performs at the Opernhaus,
Falkenstrasse 1 (tel: (01) 268 6666). Modern and experimental dance
can be seen in several venues, including the Rote
Fabrik, Seestrasse 395 (tel: (01) 481 9143).
Film
Films shown in Zurich are almost always in
their original language with subtitles. Open-air
screenings take place on the lakeside at Zürichhorn
in the month of July and August. There are about 50 cinemas
in the city, including repertory and art
house cinemas such as Xenix,
Kanzleistrasse 56 (tel: (01) 242 0411). There are also numerous
multiple screen cinemas showing the latest
mainstream films. The 10-screen Cinemax
complex, Heinrichstrasse 269 (tel: (022) 273 2222), is the largest.
KinoTel (tel: (0900) 900 999) provides detailed
information on screenings. |
