A map of Zurich and helpful tips to get around the city

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Reading a map of Zurich allows you to wander around this city in your mind. There’s the lake with its promenade, the financial district and the old town.

I find maps to be essential tools in planning any trip. They contain all the necessary information to get around a place. Be it a sightseeing map with illustrations of the main highlights, an area map for Zurich or a town guide with a directory of cool boutiques - maps take on different shapes and forms.

Seen from another perspective, maps are also design objects. The designer’s task may be to convey information in a clean and easy to read way. Or they are given expressive freedom to interpret a place and illustrate it as they please.

Here's a downloadable overview map of Zurich for better orientation.

Zurich Tourism offers the below map of Zurich City free of charge. It lists all the important tourist attractions and even outlines a walking tour of the old town. You can either view it online or pick it up at any tourist information booth.

If you would like to have a paper map of Zurich for travel planning, Sygic Travel offers a beautiful printable tourist map as well as a companion smartphone app.

My advice: if you get lost in Zurich, simply ask a local to point you in the direction of the lake or the main station. (Or both.) This will allow you to find your way back to a landmark.

And here are various specialty maps of Zurich:

The best way to get around Zurich is by public transportation. Here is a downloadable bus and tram map of Zurich.

I like this family walking tour map of Zurich by Swiss Family Fun. It is a five-kilometer loop tour starting at the main station, but it can be adjusted to make it fit. Tanya has pinned all the family friendly highlights along the way on her free map.

The runners and joggers among you should check out the Green Marathon Zurich, a 42 km connected running trail. Find a running map of Zurich for your device of choice.

For bicyclers, there is a printable cycling map of Zurich provided by the city. Why not pass by some of Zurich’s public drinking fountains? Someone has programmed a helpful map highlighting the 1200 water fountains of Zurich!

For my fellow gourmands, I highly recommend the ViaMichelin map of Zurich which lists all Michelin recommended restaurants.

And for a more regional overview, there is a dedicated Zurich Region map that encompasses experiences in the entire lake area.

Oh, and my favorite Swiss map illustrator is Ursula Hitz. Her signature approach is to assemble the place names so that the typography takes on a shape. Here is the artist holding her limited edition map of Zurich: