Uetliberg, Zürich

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That is, assuming the weather is reasonable. If you only want the views...and they are superb....I think there would be little point in going up Zurich's very own little mountain on a less-than-clear day.

But if you want to walk, it's excellent in any sort of weather (barring torrential rain, I suppose). There are lots of potential trails and hikes leading to and from the summit and onwards too.

Uetliberg is exceptionally easy to access, with a train taking you upwards from the Hauptbahnhof (and other stations along the way) to the summit station. It's Europe's stepedt 'ordinary' train track, apparently. YThe S10 train leaves roughly every 30 minutes; you can find info on www.zvv.ch

When I visited in May 2013 work on the station meant that the train terminated a few hundred metres lower than usual but it wasn't a major problem. The walk up from the station is fairly straightforward and not particularly strenuous, taking around 10 minutes.

Although there is a hotel stuck right on the top it's not too intrusive and does not interfere with the views. There's also a 72 metre viewing tower to get even higher....I didn't bother, but lots of people did.

I was entranced by the sound of alpenhorn which drifted around me as I gazed across the city, the lake and the distant mountains...and eventually traced the source. A couple of people had travelled up on the train with me (alpenhorn must come to pieces, as their instrument bags were quite small) and I discovered them practising on a small hillock almost completely surrounded by trees. I can assume they were trying not to annoy the neighbours where they lived but crikey..it was a evocative sound! You can hear it in my video here

We walked all the way from Zürichsee to the top of Üetliberg. It took quite a long time and it was very steep but that was half of the fun. The view was incredible! Also the restaurant up at the mountain was very good (only had wine and snacks, though). Don't miss this wonderful place, especially at sunset!

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Hike up to Uetliberg from Tram end station Triemli or take the tram up and walk down - it is a beautiful walk through the forest and no longer than one hour at a leisurely pace.

With your Zurich card you will receive a free drink in the Restaurant Uto Kulm on top of Uetliberg with any food ordered - we only took a mixed salad and a sandwich - you do not need to oder a full meal.

There is a tower on top of the hill and if you are free of vertigo (which I am not this tower sways a little bit when it is windy) you can walk up to the top of it and get an even better view

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The best viewing point that offers panoramic views around Zurich city and suburbs with its lake and alpine peaks as backdrop. Here you can see some of Bruno Weber's masterworks....his own creation of sculptures. Uetliberg is Zurich's very own local mountain. A must visit if you are in Zurich. Zurich Card is valid here.
Please check my Transportation tip in my Zurichpage.

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Many people take this trip and here is my take on Uetliberg.Here is our trip - Train from Zurich central, change and take the tram up to Uetliberg, lunch at the top, walk for absolutely ages and get cable car down before tram and train back home.

The views at the restaurant are spectacular but the walk itself does not look over Zurichsee much

I'm not sure I would recommend the walk that we did and it is marketed as a 3.5 km bike ride on the website but it seemed like much more. That said we did have children in toe and it would be fine for older ones.

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Heavily forested mountain overlooking Zurich Lake and the city!Ideal for hikers.You'll also get a chance to walk through a model of solar system from Uetliberg Station to Felsenegg.And from there you take a Gondola through the Sihltal valley to Adliswil.

If you are in Zurich you have to visit the Uetliberg. It is just a 20-minute train ride from the central station, there are two trains every hour until midnight. From the top station it is a short walk to Uto Kulm where you have a great view. There are also a hotel and a restaurant, in summer there is a cinema. You can climb a small tower to have a better view.
If you want to take a walk there are a lot of trails, for example it is about 2 hours to Felsenegg, where you can take a cable car to Adliswil and a train back to Zurich.

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Having time to spare in Zurich, I joined an excursion to Uetliberg from the travel agent at the main railway station. It took me up to Uetliberg, where it was snowing and from where I had a wonderful panoramic view of Lake Zurich and Zurich.

It's quite difficult to go to the top of Uetliberg by car, but there is a direct train connection from Zurich Main Station to Uetliberg.

The view from up there is beautiful. You can see the city, the mountains in the background and the Lake Zurich in all it's might.

Tip for couples: Go there slightly before sunset. ;)

The restaurant on top of Zurich is also very good, but quite expensive.

Yes, it may seem unreal to think of Zurich as a sledging sort of place but believe me, we did it. You take the Uetlibergbahn up to the last stop (it departs 06 and 36 past on Track 2 in the Hauptbahnhof), walk up the hill a bit and hey presto, there's the sledgerun.

DO NOT decide to walk up to the Hotel Kulm and sledge from there because, well, the poor people walking will not be impressed if you slam into them. Trust me, I'm often one of them and have been slammed into, I still have the scars. Luckily, we don't believe in suing people for stuff around here.

The run takes you down to the Triemli stop, where you are all set to go back up.

The downside is that there is very seldom enough snow for this, we went maybe 4 times this winter. And there is no sledge rental. But most Swiss people have them so if you're staying with friends, ask them nicely for their "Davoser".

There is a phone number where one can inquire the sledge run's status, it is, however, in German though.
The number is 0800588588