Bahnhofstrasse (, ), in the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, is the city's main downtown street and one of the world's most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues. In 2011, a study named Bahnhofstrasse the most expensive street for retail property in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the third-most-expensive worldwide. In 2016, the street ranked ninth.

History

Bahnhofstrasse came into existence when the city

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s were demolished in 1864 and the ditch in front of the walls was filled in. Until that time, the name of the location had been Fröschengraben (), which then was changed to Bahnhofstrasse.

Layout

At its northern end, Bahnhofstrasse starts at Bahnhofplatz () in front of the station building of

Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof, often shortened to Zürich HB or just HB, and known in English as Zurich Main Station, is the largest railway station in Switzerland and one of the busiest in Europe. It is a major railway hub, with services to and from a ...

, the city's main

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

(), and fountain with the statue of

Alfred Escher Johann Heinrich Alfred Escher vom Glas colloquially Alfred Escher (20 February 1819 – 6 December 1882) was a Swiss business magnate, banker, railway pioneer and politician who most notably served on the National Council from 1848 to 1882 for th ...

. Running in a mostly southerly direction, it passes the Pestalozziwiese (named after

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (; ; ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach. He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking ...

), Rennweg,

Augustinergasse ''Augustinergasse'' is a medieval lane that today is part of the innercity pedestrian zone of Zürich, Switzerland. It is named after the former Augustinian Abbey that is now Augustinerkirche, the former church of the convent that was disestabl ...

and

Paradeplatz Paradeplatz () is a square on Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zurich, Switzerland. It is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Switzerland and has become synonymous with wealth and the Swiss banks, being the location of the headquart ...

, before it ends after at Bürkliplatz () on the northern shore of

Lake Zurich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

. Paradeplatz, one of the most famous squares in Switzerland, is situated on the southern portion of Bahnhofstrasse. The two largest Swiss

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

s—

UBS UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the ...

and the

Credit Suisse Group Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...

—have their headquarters there, the former in a building named

Münzhof Münzhof is a historic building in Zurich, Switzerland. Located on Bahnhofstrasse, between St. Peterstrasse and Pelikanstrasse, it was built in 1917 as a branch of the Union Bank of Switzerland (today's UBS). It is now part of the company's head ...

. Another building on Bahnhofstrasse and at the northeastern edge of Paradeplatz is Peterhof. Paradeplatz is also known for its

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

shop and

cafe A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargil ...

Confiserie Sprüngli The Confiserie Sprüngli (; English language, English: Sprüngli Confectionery) is a Swiss luxury confectionery manufacturer and retailer headquartered in Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. Founded in 1836 by David Sprüngli, it has been an inde ...

. Aside from the many shops (see below), there are also several restaurants and hotels, the Beyer Watch and Clock Museum and the Urania public observatory (the latter is located in Uraniastrasse but very close to Bahnhofstrasse).

Shops

Some of the many shops along Bahnhofstrasse include: * Ambassadour House *

Apple Store The Apple Store is a chain of Retail, retail stores owned and operated by Apple Inc. The stores sell, service and repair various Apple products, including Macintosh, Mac desktop and MacBook laptop personal computers, iPhone smartphones, iPad ta ...

* Beyer Watches & Jewellery *

Blancpain Blancpain SA () is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, headquartered in Paudex/Le Brassus, Switzerland. It designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells prestige and luxury mechanical watches. Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, Swit ...

* Breguet *

Burberry Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry and headquartered in London, England. It designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats, leather accessories, and footwear. It is l ...

Bvlgari Bulgari (, ; stylized as BVLGARI) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1884 and known for its jewellery, watches, fragrances, accessories, and leather goods. Headquartered in Rome, the company was acquired by the French conglomerate ...

Cartier Cartier may refer to: People * Cartier (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Cartier Martin (born 1984), American basketball player Places * Cartier Island, an island north-west of Australia that is part of Australi ...

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

* Ermenegildo Zegna * *

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

Globus GLOBUS is a radar system in the town of Vardø in Vardø Municipality, Finnmark county, Norway. It is operated by the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) and its official uses are primarily space observation and Arctic airspace monitoring for Nor ...

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

Hackett London Hackett Limited is a British multi-channel retailer of clothing for men and boys, with a broad range of apparel and accessories. It was founded in 1983 in London, England. As of June 2019, the company had 160 stores globally, with its flagship ...

Hermès Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...

* H&M *

Jelmoli Jelmoli (officially Jelmoli Ltd.) is a Swiss department store founded in 1833 by Johann Peter Jelmoli in Zürich, Switzerland. It was the oldest and largest of its kind in Switzerland. After its 190th anniversary the store will be officially clo ...

Louis Vuitton Louis Vuitton Malletier SAS, commonly known as Louis Vuitton (, ), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house and company founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton (designer), Louis Vuitton. The label's LV monogram appears on most of its products, ...

Mont Blanc Mont Blanc (, ) is a mountain in the Alps, rising above sea level, located right at the Franco-Italian border. It is the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, the second-most prominent mountain in Europe (after Mount E ...

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

Salvatore Ferragamo Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930 ...

* Tiffany and Co. *

Tissot Tissot SA () is a Swiss luxury watch brand owned by the Swatch Group. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. Tissot is not associated with Mathey-Tissot, anoth ...

Tommy Hilfiger Thomas Jacob Hilfiger ( ; born March 24, 1951) is an American fashion designer and the founder of Tommy Hilfiger (company), Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. After starting his career by co-founding a chain of jeans/fashion stores called People's P ...

Trois Pommes ''Trois'' is a 2000 erotic thriller film directed by Rob Hardy and produced by William Packer. It stars Gary Dourdan, Kenya Moore and Gretchen Palmer. The film was given a limited theatrical release and was one of the year's highest grossing ...

Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin SA () is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755. Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an unint ...

Victorinox Victorinox () is a knife manufacturer and watchmaker based in the town of Ibach, in the Canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. It is known for its Swiss Army knives. Since its acquisition of rival Wenger in 2005, it has become the sole supplier of mul ...

Zara Zara may refer to: Businesses * Zara (retailer), a fashion retail company based in Spain * Zara Investment Holding, a Jordanian holding company * Continental Hotel Zara, Budapest, Hungary People and fictional characters * Zara (name), primari ...

Transport

Bahnhofstrasse - Uraniastrasse - Beatengasse 2010-08-27 19-07-46 ShiftN

The street is largely

pedestrianised Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

, but is also an important link in the Zurich tram network of VBZ. *North of Paradeplatz, Bahnhofstrasse carries tram routes , , , and *South of Paradeplatz, it carries lines , , and There are several tram stops along Bahnhofstrasse, named Bahnhofstrasse/HB (near

Zurich Main Station Zurich (; ) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The urban area was home to 1.45 mi ...

), Rennweg,

, Kantonalbank and Bürkliplatz. Nodal stations are at Bürkliplatz, Paradeplatz and Central Station. The Lake Zurich navigation company has a

landing stage A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piles or pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, boat docking an ...

at Bürkliplatz. The street is mostly closed to

private transport Private transport (as opposed to public transport) is the personal or individual use of transportation which are not available for use by the general public, where in theory the user can decide freely on the time and route of transit ('choice ...

, except for a short stretch near Rennweg, but there are nearby parking facilities. Bahnhofstrasse can also be easily reached from

Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...

References

External links