While Basel shines during art week, Zurich offers travellers a year-round creative scene and cultural discoveries.
When I checked into my hotel, I noticed a man slumped in the corner of the lobby. He looked dishevelled, more like a jet-lagged backpacker than a guest at a five-star retreat. The front desk staff barely glanced at him, so I thought better of rubbernecking.
It wasn’t until later, while touring the property and admiring works by Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró, that it clicked. I returned to the lobby, got face-to-face with the man in the corner and realised he was no man at all. He was an art installation.
I was at the Dolder Grand, a lavish resort built among Zurich’s wooded hills, like a fairytale castle towering over the Zürichsee. Originally opened in 1899 as a Curhaus, or spa retreat, it still attracts the world’s well-heeled with Alpine views and quiet luxury.
But inside, the Dolder Grand offers a glimpse of a lesser-known Zurich, where art, not just affluence, shapes the experience. With more than 100 pieces by major 20th- and 21st-century artists scattered across the property, the hotel doubles as a gallery, reflecting the city’s deep ties to creativity and design.
Public artwork brings unexpected beauty to everyday life
Zurich is often seen as the domain of financiers, FIFA officials and other members of the Maserati-driving classes. But it also gave the world Dadaism, the radical movement that emerged in 1916 at Cabaret Voltaire and laid the groundwork for surrealism and pop art.
Later, Zurich became the birthplace of Swiss Style, which championed grid-based design, sans-serif typefaces like Helvetica and a pared-back, rational aesthetic that still shapes everything from transport signage to websites.
Its creative spirit isn’t limited to the annals of history, either.
“Zurich is understated but buzzing,” says Jacqueline Uhlmann, manager of the Löwenbräukunst art centre in the up-and-coming Zurich-West district. “There’s a quiet confidence and a collaborative spirit here, driven less by trend and more by substance. It’s a city where design, art, architecture and technology constantly intersect.”
Some of that is credit to the city’s Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (KiöR) programme. It has commissioned and maintained over 1,300 public artworks, ranging from underpass murals to sculptures in cemeteries and playgrounds.
At Zurich Main Station, you’re welcomed by Niki de Saint Phalle’s purple-and-gold ‘Guardian Angel.’ At Zürichhorn, Jean Tinguely’s mechanical ‘Heureka’ greets you with spinning parts and surreal charm. Even Bahnhofstrasse, the city’s high-end shopping boulevard, hosts Max Bill’s minimalist ‘Pavilion Sculpture.’
“There’s a growing movement around reclaiming and creatively using urban space,” explains Milica Vujcic of Zurich Tourism.
Perhaps the most surprising example of Zurich’s artistic undercurrent is found inside the last place you should be: the police station. Here, the entrance features a vivid fresco of blooming flowers painted by Augusto Giacometti. Known as ‘Blüemlihalle,’ it’s a landmark you can visit freely – no arrest required.
A former industrial district now leads Zurich’s creative renaissance
Follow the Limmat River west from Zurich’s medieval centre and the cobblestones give way to train tracks, industrial towers and a different rhythm entirely. Zurich-West, once the city’s manufacturing core, has been transformed into a creative hub humming with energy.
At its heart stands Löwenbräukunst, a red-brick brewery transformed into one of Europe’s most unique cultural complexes. Under a single roof, you’ll find the Kunsthalle Zürich, Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst and major galleries like Hauser & Wirth and Francesca Pia, alongside Edition VFO, which specialises in limited-edition prints.
In one moment, you can be peering at kinetic sculptures and oil paintings, and in the next, you’re eating vegan dishes at Bistro LOI or chatting with gallery owners.
“Zurich’s strength lies in its diversity and density,” says Jacqueline Uhlmann, Löwenbräukunst’s manager.
“While it may be quieter than Basel during art week, it offers a year-round, highly active contemporary art scene with a remarkable mix of galleries, off-spaces, major institutions, collectors and universities – all within walking distance.”
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