ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Zurich is within three hours by train from most parts of Switzerland, and whether you’re visiting for a day trip or an overnight, build in time for a walking tour.

Inside Schloss Sihlberg, a private castle in the centre of Zurich

If you don’t know the city at all, the Zurich Tourism Office provides a good collection of guided walking tours, privately and for groups. The city’s history is rich and its present remains dynamic – you’ll soon understand why Switzerland’s largest city adds far more to the economy than just banking, with all the clichés about gold and gnomes under the Bahnhofstrasse.

Schloss Sihlberg at night, Zurich

For those who, like me, visit Zurich a few times a year on business, give yourself at least a half hour to enjoy the architecture, one neighbourhood at a time.

I was in Zurich Monday and Tuesday for the Memoire des Vins Suisse & Friends, a major wine-tasting event for people in the business as well as the public.

There is nothing better after a late-night banquet than a good morning walk, so before hitting the congress centre for the wine-tasting, I took my camera for a hike around the Niederdorf quarter, where I’d been staying.

Everyone refers to its lively nightlife, but I like Niederdorf, and its long steps up from the edge of the Limmat riverbank, best in the morning when it sleepily begins to open its shutters. You have a chance to see the buildings at their best, not just the stream of people.

I began near the Limmatquai, which runs parallel to the Bahnhofstrasse, where the river goes before it empties into the lake. Climb towards Grossmuenster church and explore from there, making sure you climb up to the residential and office areas, not just the fun little shops along Oberdorfstrasse.