Surroundings, Zurich

To the east of Zurich rises the Zürichberg (679 m/2,228ft), a wooded hill with houses reaching far up its slopes and a number of restaurants commanding extensive views.

From the Central Station and the Paradeplatz there are tram services to the Zoo, one of the finest in Europe (opened 1929), with more than 2,000 animals.

From the Römerhofplatz a funicular 1,328 m/1,453yd long serves the Waldhaus Dolder (548 m/1,798ft), a hotel from which it is possible to continue on foot to the Dolder Grand Hotel, the golf course, the artificial ice rink and the swimming pool with wave-making equipment.

A collection of the painter Werner Coninx (1911-1980) plus temporary exhibitions.

From the Winterthurerstrasse in Zurich a short funicular ascends to the Rigiblick (586 m/1,923ft; view of the Rigi).

To the southwest of Zurich rises the Uetliberg (871 m/2,858ft) the most northerly summit in the Albis ridge. The Uetlibergbahn, a mountain railroad, runs from Selnau station to the upper station at 816 m/2,677ft, from which it is a 10-minute walk to the summit (restaurant). In clear weather there is a superb view from the lookout tower over the Vallais, Bernese and Glarus Alps, with the Black Forest to the north and the Säntis to the east. From here there is an easy ridge walk of just over one hour to the Felsenegg (790 m/2,592ft), from which a cableway descends to Adliswil. The return to Zurich is by the Sihltalbahn (Zürich-Selnau to Sihlbrugg).

From the Stadelhofen station in Zurich another electric railroad, the Forchbahn, runs southeast via Forch to Esslingen in the Zurich Oberland. There are many marked trails in the countryside around Forch.

West of Zurich, to the south of the Berne highway, are two small industrial towns, now part of the city. 8km/5mi west is Schlieren (pop. 12,500), with factories making trucks and elevators, and 12km/7mi west is Dietikon (pop. 25,000).

18km/11mi northwest of Zurich, on an eastern spur of the Lägern hills lies Regensberg (612 m/2,008ft; pop. 500), one of the best preserved medieval towns in the country which was founded about 1245 by the Barons of Regensberg. The round tower (21 m/69ft high) of the old 16th-17th C. castle and the 57 m-/187ft-deep draw-well (the deepest in the country) in the upper ward date from the time of its building. The church, originally 13th C., was rebuilt in 1506. Among the carefully restored old burghers' houses the half-timbered "Rote Rose" house (1540), with the Rose Museum of the painter Lotte Günthard, is particularly notable.

The sleepy old town of Greifensee (437 m/1,434ft; pop. 5,500) lies 15km/ 9mi east of Zurich on the northeastern shore of the lake of the same name (area 8.6 sq. km/3 sq. mi; depth 34 m/112ft; nature reserve). The castle was once the seat of the provincial governor Salomon Landolt. The church (ca. 1330), in High Gothic style, has an unusual triangular plan. Trips on the Greifensee can be made in the motor ship "Heimat" or in the steamship "Greif" which was restored in the mid 1980s. About 5km/3mi southeast of Greifensee is the town of Uster (pop. 23,000).

Andelfingen is a small village with an annual two-day festival that takes place in late September or early-October.