What to do in Root

Designer clothes, jewelry, watches, perfume and shoes: Shopaholics will be in their element on Bahnhofstrasse. Zurich’s major thoroughfare runs 1,530 yards (1.4 kilometers) through the center of the city. The stretch from Zurich Hauptbahnhof, the main train terminal to the north, down to Lake Zurich is pedestrianized, except for trams. Allow yourself two or three hours to walk the length of Bahnhofstrasse.

Chapel Bridge is located in the heart of Lucerne and serves as a symbol of Switzerland’s medieval town. Also referred to as Kapellbrücke, the bridge is named after nearby St. Peter’s Chapel. The bridge is famed as an architectural masterpiece, because of its wood construction and iconic covered style. It is the oldest covered bridge in Europe, dating back to the 14th century.

See a slice of Switzerland’s age-old history at the Swiss National Museum (Landsmuseum Zürich). Learn about prehistoric lifestyles, national arts and crafts, present-day history and up-to-date social issues. The Swiss National Museum has a collection of more than 840,000 original artifacts as well as interactive and audiovisual displays. The exhibits are spread throughout the halls of a fairy-tale chateau built in 1898 by the revered architect Gustav Gull.

Since 1959, the Swiss Museum of Transport (also called Verkehrshaus der Schweiz) has been a focal point of Lucerne. The museum takes you on a trip through time, where you can explore the past and future of our world’s transportation methods.

The Renaissance-style building of Zurich Town Hall looks solid enough to withstand the fate of its earlier incarnations. The structure has been standing quite securely since its incarnation in the late 17th century. The earlier two buildings, one a courthouse from the 13th century, were made of wood, which probably explains their demise.