Zurich from above – Grossmünster Tower

When we were out and about in Zurich’s Niederdorf last Saturday and marched past the city’s landmark, the Grossmünster, we suddenly wondered whether the towers were open to the public. It’s sometimes fascinating, you fly thousands of kilometers to foreign cities, see everything there down to the last detail and the sights of your own city don’t interest you at all. Of course, we wanted to change this situation immediately and looked it up in the cathedral.

Zurich from the Grossmünster

The Grossmünster is a Protestant church. In the middle of the 16th century, it formed the starting point of the German-Swiss Reformation under Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger. Together with the Fraumünster and St. Peter’s Church opposite, the Grossmünster is one of the most famous churches in the city of Zurich. (For more information, see Grossmünster.ch)

When you enter the church, you immediately realize that you have landed in a Reformed church. Compared to Catholic church buildings, it looks very sober and not very decorated. In the middle of the nave you will find the entrance to the Karlsturm, one of the two towers of the Grossmünster. We were pleased to find out that the entrance fee for adults is “only” 4 CHF. But the ascent is tough. There is no elevator and therefore everyone has to tackle the 187 steps. For me, this was quite a challenge, as I always have to fight slightly with my fear of heights.

At the top of the tower there are four viewing terraces and I think the following pictures speak for themselves… Isn’t the view simply breathtaking?

By the way, there were surprisingly few people at the top of the tower. So it was by no means a crowd and you could take your time everywhere to enjoy the view.

Actually, I would still have footage of all this, because I took my new GoPro Hero 3 Black with me for first test purposes. But my film skills are still expandable and so you have to be patient until the first video :-).

Culinary tip: If you need a refreshment after the strenuous ascent, I recommend heading for Café Henrici, which is located in the immediate vicinity at Niederdorfstrasse 1. The NZZ am Sonntag rightly awarded the restaurant the title of “Zurich’s best coffee. Another plus point are the super delicious tarte flambée (from 18.50 CHF) and the homemade, unsweetened (!) Iced tea.