Discover Winterthur: Old Town, museums and nature

Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich and the capital of the Winterthur district. It was once an important industrial city; today, it is a centre for services, education, culture and leisure, with 16 museums. When choosing a hotel, you can first decide what you want to focus on during your stay: the Old Town and museums, experiments at Technorama, or wildlife and habitats at Bruderhaus Wildlife Park each appeal to different interests.

Old Town and culture

Winterthur’s Old Town is the largest connected pedestrian zone in Switzerland. Rows of compact buildings with colourful façades shape its appearance. From the tower of the town church, you can take in the whole Old Town. Here, the details of the façades meet views across the connected city centre.

The city’s cultural venues also offer a variety of focuses. The Kunst Museum at Villa Flora brings art history to life at three locations. Above the city, the Oskar Reinhart Collection has a historic park. The 20,000-square-metre Stadtgarten connects the two largest Kunstmuseum Winterthur sites, as well as the Summer Theatre, Casino Theatre and City Theatre. For a culture-focused stay, museums, parks and theatres offer a range of options.

The Winterthur Museum Pass provides access to most temporary exhibitions and collections at the museums and castles. Check the current pass conditions before your visit. The Albanifest is an annual tradition in Winterthur. The programme and dates may change; if you would like to plan your trip around it, check the latest dates.

Experiments and wildlife

The Swiss Science Center Technorama offers interactive exhibitions about natural phenomena. It spans three floors and features more than 500 experiment stations. Visitors can carry out experiments independently in a total of seven laboratories, with expert support. The stations and laboratories offer different ways to explore natural phenomena.

Bruderhaus Wildlife Park is located in the middle of the forest on Eschenberg. It is home to native and formerly native wildlife species in enclosures suited to their needs and welfare. Information boards and educational trails help visitors understand the animals and their habitat requirements and needs. Alongside the wildlife itself, the focus is also on what the animals need in their habitats.

City bus route 12 runs every half hour on Wednesdays, weekends and official public holidays from the «Archstrasse/HB» stop directly to the «Bruderhaus» stop by the wildlife park. Check operating days before travelling.

Location and getting there

Winterthur lies in northeastern Switzerland on the Eulach gravel plain. Wooded hills surround the city centre on almost all sides. The Eulach, Töss and Mattenbach rivers flow through Winterthur; apart from a few ponds, there is no lake within the city limits. The upper Töss Valley stretches to the southeast and is a popular recreation area. To the north lies the Zurich Wine Country, where agriculture still plays a significant role in some areas.

Direct train services connect Winterthur with Germany; there are also connections to Zurich Airport. Zurich railway station is 20 minutes away by train. On the road network, the A1, A4 and A7 motorways, or their access roads, converge in Winterthur.

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