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Discovering Zürich West (one designer shop at a time)

This past weekend, we finally decided to leave the familiar parts of Zürich (yes, that's you, Old Town, and Bahnhofstrasse) and instead set foot in Zürich West. As it turns out, this previously industrial part of the city has been completely transformed with new building projects, cultural spaces, and trendy shops.

Needless to say, we loved it!

First Stop: Freitag Store

Going with the theme, the makers of the iconic Freitag messenger bags have cleverly upgraded a compound of used shipping containers as their flagship store:

Discovering Zurich West - Freitag Store

On the inside, we were surprised to find hundreds of neatly labeled drawers containing all colors, shapes, and sizes of bags. The Freitag brothers' genius idea to re-use old truck tarps even got their original bag a spot in the MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City!

Discovering Zurich West - Freitag Store

Discovering Zurich West - Freitag Store

After climbing several fleets of stairs from container to container, we finally approached the "Observation Deck"! How cool is that?

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

We love a good view any day of the week, so we would go as far as adding the Freitag Store Observation Deck as #5 in our list of 4 Best Views From The Roofs of Zürich!

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

The Freitag Shop is located at Geroldstrasse 17 in Zürich.

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

Next Stop: Im Viaduct

Located just a short walk down the street is the latest of Zürich's shopping districts, called Im Viaduct. You really cannot miss it if you just look for a series of arches with the occasional S-Bahn train passing overhead!

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

This 500 m/5.5 football fields long arcade features the finest in designer clothing and furniture, as well as high-end electronics and funky accessories. There is something for everyone, especially if you are into gifts and knick-knacks which can otherwise only be found in London, New York, or Tokyo!

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

As for us, the restaurant inside the permanent indoor market stole the show, though. The market features some 50 stalls run by local farmers, and the restaurant uses ingredients exclusively from these merchants!

By the way: We had the olive spread with freshly baked bread, as well as the walnut gorgonzola fusilli pasta. It was so tasty, it will be tough to go for any other dish the next time we return to the Markthalle im Viaduct!

Discovering Zurich West - Im Viadukt

What's your favorite spot in Zürich West? This is your time to shine by sharing your ultimate shop, hairdresser, art gallery, or restaurant with our readers...

Dimitri Burkhard

As the founder, editor, and community manager of Newly Swissed, Dimitri owns the strategic vision. He is passionate about storytelling and is a member of Swiss Travel Communicators. Dimitri loves discovering new trends and covers architecture, design, start-ups and tourism.

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Dimitri Burkhard

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