Top 10 Things to Do in Zurich with Kids!

Visiting Switzerland with Children

Looking for great things to do in Zurich with kids?  Zurich is a great travel destination for families, you can take the kids along to the outdoor attractions as well as many interesting museums  and on tours but here is a list of the top 10 things to do in Zurich with kids. 

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•  Zoological Gardens - The Zurich Zoo is one of the best in Europe and houses over three hundred species of animals from around the world. Kids will love this small but animal packed zoo, it had an elephant house, penguins, and more, each animal is housed in an environment resembling his natural habitat. So you can see a simulated rainforest in the "Masaola Rainforest" section. At the "Zoolino" petting zoo kids can get up close and personal with the critters. There is always a special attraction going on and this could be anything from feeding time to an animal parade. If you want more animal related kid's attractions in Zurich visit the Zoological Museum.  Zurich Zoo is not to be missed!

•  Swiss National Museum - If your kids like knights, castles and stories of ancient battles they'll love this museum with an expansive weapons collection and models which reenact famous battlefields complete with miniature soldiers. This one of the great things to do when visiting Zurich! Visit the museum's website here!

•  Zurich Toy Museum - The museum has over 1,200 antique toys of every shape and form, kids will love the miniature trains, dolls, cars, doll's houses, spinning tops, wagons, cards, blocks and lots, lots more! When you've finished looking at the toys in the museum visit Zurich's biggest toy shop on Bahnhofstrasse. Read more here. 

•  Alpamare This is an expansive (one of the biggest in Europe) water park and will make a pleasant break from the historic sites of Zurich. The water park has 4 pools, 10 slides, a wave pool, a salt water thermal pool, 6 saunas and 2 steam baths and it is all indoors so there is no need to worry about the cold. In fact the water park is a great attraction to keep in reserve for a rainy day. If the weather is fine there is also a heated pool which goes indoors and out called the Rio Mare. 

•  Boat Ride of the Lake - You can hire paddle boats or small motor boats and explore the lake with your kids. Walk along the beach and over the Quai Bridge, go through some of the smaller parks and look for the boat renting sites. You can also take the Limmat boat for a ride on the Limmat River which gently twists and turns until ending up at Lake Zurich. The boat has a glass roof so you can get a good look at the beautiful views. lovely and peaceful thing to do in Zurich!

•  A Zurich Trolley Ride - The classic trolley takes travelers through the city with an audio guide in 8 languages. The journey takes two hours and is much better than a tour bus as it has the added excitement of this unique form of transport. The tour takes you past the major attractions of Zurich including some of the rural areas, the University district and past the lake. This is a great thing to do with kids!

More Things to do in Zurich with Kids

• Go fishing - Get ready to catch some fish! With the natural beauty of Zurich's lakes fishing is a great sport to partake in! Flyfishing Switzerland offers guided fishing tours to help you catch your dinner! Read more here.

• Don't forget to sample all the delicious Swiss Food! From fondues to chocolate kid's love to eat in Switzerland! 

• A Zurich Park - Known for its greenery Zurich has many kid friendly parks and playgrounds. Visit GZ Wipkingen, which also has a petting zoo and café. Try Backeranlage a park with lots of trees, a playground, sandpit and restaurant. Zurichhorn has a paddling pool, playground and wide open spaces. At the Schigu Park kids will find ping pong tables, a football field, playground and art activities on Wednesdays and Friday. This is one of the best things to do in Zurich!

•  Funicular Rides - There are 3 funicular rides your kids will enjoy, the Rigiblickbahn, the Dolderbahn and the Polybahn. The Polybahn, a cable car running every 3 minutes from the middle of the city up to the university buildings will bring you conveniently close to the Zoological Museum. If you take the Rigiblickbahn and then a bus from the top you can easily reach the Zoo as well. The Dolderbahn will give you the longest trip. One of the most interesting things to do in Zurich with kids!

•  Schokoladefabrik - Lindt and Sprungli The Sprungli Chocolate Factory is most famous for producing Lindt chocolate. Visitors to the factory can learn about how chocolate is made, see the process and sample some of the products! There is also a chocolate shop for those who want more and who doesn't?).  The factory is in the suburb of Kilchberg, Zurich.

• Strandbad Mythenquai - Along Lake Zurich Strandbad Mythenquai is a beach resort where locals and tourists alike flock to in the summer. There is a sandy beach, kid's playground, waterfront restaurants and a diving platform. Further along you can find another kid friendly lakeside resort, Seebad Enge, here there are also spa treatments and floating rafts in the water.

Tell us all about the things to do in Zurich you liked most! 

More Ideas for Visiting Switzerland with Kids

See also

•   Things to Do In Geneva
• Hotels In Geneva, Switzerland
• Swiss Food
• Switzerland for Kids
• Zurich Tourism Office

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