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Zurich Springtime Flower Walk

Our favorite springtime walk in Zurich, passing through two big parks with beautiful flowering trees, wild blooms, and cultivated gardens.

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Here’s our favorite spring flower walk in Zurich that explores two big parks and lots of little details along the way. You’ll pass some playgrounds and plenty of green space for running, so bring a ball kick around. These parks are a great place for a picnic too.

The trees and flowers bloom don’t bloom all at the same time, so we like to this walk a few times from late March to mid May so we catch everything.

Thanks to Batmaid for sponsoring this post and supporting our website.

Location:   Zurich City
Address: Start: Bahnhof Zurich Enge
End: Strandbad Mythenquai GPS: 47.355045, 8.535029
By car: parking available at Mythenquai 88, 8002 Zürich
By transit: 10 mins from Zurich HB
   
Trail: 2.3 km one way
Condition: paved, some stairs
Skill: easy
Open: year round, best late March through May

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Walking Route

This walk starts at Bahnhof Zurich Enge, on the west side of the city. It winds its way around the Enge neighborhood, mostly through parks, and ends at the shores of Lake Zurich near the Mythenquai. From here you can join the Zurich Lakeside Walk – West or catch the bus to somewhere else.

Getting There

If you are already in the city, simply take a tram to Bahnhof Enge

If you are driving to Zurich, you could park in the metered Mythenquai parking lot (Mythenquai 88, 8002 Zürich) and do this walk backwards, looping back along the lake.

On the trail…

The walk starts here at Tessinerplatz in front of Bahnhof Enge.

Cross the street and walk south on Seestrasse. In April, the trees lining this street are full of white fluffy blossoms and photos of this street will appear all over Instagram.

Head up the steps to your right and keep going up the stairs to the church. In April, flowers cover the grass and there are a couple flowering trees.

Here’s your view of the city from up here.

Next to the church, there is a big open space around the church where kids can run around and a few white and pink magnolia trees.

Turn left on the street behind the church and head south. On your right, you’ll see some vineyards. There’s a herd of sheep that often grazes on here.

Keep heading straight, crossing the street and staying on the narrow path  next to the school. At the end of this street, turn left on the cobblestone street shown below.

On your left, you’ll find Quartier Treff Enge, which has a fantastic enclosed playground and cafe open in the afternoons.

Turn right into Rieter Park toward Museum Rietberg (shown below).

Before the museum, follow the path to your right, which leads up the hill. Stop to smell the magnolias on this tree that is one of the first to bloom, usually the third week of March.

At the top of the hill, you get a nice view of Uetliberg and the west side of the city.

Continue following this path past the tennis courts and up another little hill past a little house and this funny fish mouth sculpture.

Up ahead there is a sandpit on your right.

Head to the southeast corner of the park to catch this view of Zurich lake and the alps.

Head back through this tree promenade, lovely in all seasons.

On your left, you’ll pass some magnolia trees, usually blooming late March to early April. These white magnolia trees in the middle of Rieter Park is one of the first trees to flower in Zurich. It’s glorious bloom only last a week or two so check back often to catch it at it’s peak. On weekends, it’s often mobbed with people taking picture of it.

There’s a pink tree next door that flowers a bit later.

Looking down the park to Museum Rietberg.

Head down the path through the trees. In 100 m or so on your right, you see this big magnolia tree that we call the “Pink Party” tree. The real charm is walking underneath it to see the pink blossoms lit up by the sun shining through them.

In the lower northeast corner of Rieter park, below the pink tree, there is a playground with a slide and swings.

Follow the path to the south, exit the park, cross the street and enter the gates to Belvoir park.

On your left, there is a little playground. Head to your right, passing by the hotel and outdoor Bistro. Head down the hill on the paved path. The path on the right has stairs, the one on the left no stairs.

These flower gardens near the pond are replanted a few times over the year with different seasonal flowers.

In mid-March, the daffodils start blooming.

In late March, you’ll see a few rogue irises pop out while the big iris beds are still sleeping.

In late spring, about the middle of May, the huge iris garden busts out in a whole rainbow of wonderfulness. There is a picture chart listing all the iris varieties that appear here.

These glorious wisteria arches are in full bloom about the middle of May. It smells heavenly too.

The park has a big grassy area where you’ll see people lounging and kicking the ball around. This turquoise peacock statue hangs out in the southeast corner.

We love this colorful pedestrian tunnel under Seestrasse leading from Belvoir Park to the Mythenquai.

Now you are at the lake at the entrance to the Strandbad Mythenquai, which is free to enter outside summer swimming season. From here you can walk south through this park or…

…or turn left and walk north back up to Zurich center, on the Zurich Lake Walk – West.

I hope you enjoyed this spring walk! See more Zurich City Walks…

To make more time for spring walks, I used the Batmaid to book a cleaner to help with my spring cleaning. I liked that I could easily book a cleaner online, for both regular visits or occasional help like I needed after the long winter hibernation.

While I packed our winter things away and sorted through our summer hiking clothes and gear, my house cleaner worked away that grime that has accumulated from too much inside living over the long cold winter. I was really happy with their service and would definitely use them again. Thanks to Batmaid for sponsoring this post and supporting our website.

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19 Responses

  1. Dear Tanya, thank you for your wonderful blog! I`ve discovered so many fantastic places with you. I took this walk yesterday and enjoyed every minute of it!

    1. So glad you enjoyed this walk and thanks for taking the time to leave this comment to let me know you liked it. Yay!

  2. Hi Tanya! We just did this walk today, starting from Wollishofen, walking on the lake shore then joining the walk after the Mythenquai Badi, and finally ending at Enge.
    It was amazing – nice parks, flowers, nice views, picnic places!
    We’ve been living here for 3+ years and we had no idea this part of Zurich was so beautiful. We cannot thank you enough for helping us discover this beautiful city!!!

    1. Wow, this comment makes me so happy! Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know about your positive experience. Wishing you more beautiful spring walks!

  3. Hi Tanya! We did this flower walk today and it was just amazing . We r in Zurich for the part 6 years and haven’t done this before🙈.. We did see beautify cherry blossoms and magnolia’s( pink and white )This post came at the right time. Thank You! 💖

    1. So happy to hear this feedback. It’s one of my favorite walks, so glad to share it with you. Thanks for taking the time to come back here and leave a comment.

  4. Pingback: Frühlingszeit in Zürich – Pursuing Wonderment
  5. Where exactly, which park, or GPS coordinates can I find the archway? Is it in Belvoir Park? We will be there end of May. Do you think the Wisteria will still be in bloom?

    1. Hi. The GPS for the wisteria archway: 47.356216, 8.533107. Or on google maps here: https://goo.gl/maps/s8v7LWMxnYS2 I checked my pics from previous years. The wisteria was in full bloom around 10 May, then very green but still with wisteria flowers at 22 May. So it’s possible but unlikely that the flowers will still be there by the last week of May.

    2. Super huge thanks! We will be there soon after the 22nd so I will definitely go here, it looks amazing! My fingers will be crossed that it will still be in bloom, but only time will tell. 🙂

    3. Also, is the Saffel Insel free of charge? Are there fun things to do for children at Mythenquai? Thanks again!

    4. Hi Becky, Saffa Insel is just a little island that is part of the big Landiwiese park, no charge for any of this. Just north of this park is the Mythenquai swimming area. Starting in mid-May, that Mythenquai requires a small fee to enter. Inside is a lake beach and swimming area with lifeguards. There are diving platforms and floating platforms in the lake that you can swim to. There is a cafe and a playground, changing rooms, etc. It’s not fancy, just the place where lots of locals go swimming in the summertime. What are you looking for?

    5. Well, one day we wanted to just walk around and enjoy the nature of Lake Zurich. I saw your write up and some of those places look wonderful. As for swimming, I could be wrong, but end of May doesn’t seem warm enough to enjoy outdoor swimming at the lake. I have read that the current is strong, I have four kids….9, 8, 6, 4. My older two are strong swimmers, but not yet my younger too, so I wasn’t thinking that would be ideal. What are your thoughts? I have found an indoor pool, Hallenbad Alstetten that I was thinking of taking public transportation to on a different day. Have you been here before? If we want to walk along the Mythenquai but not swim, is there still a charge to enter into this area?

    6. Hi Becky. The lakeside swimming on Lake Zurich does not have a strong current. It is very safe and there are roped off areas for children where it is shallow. Lots of toddlers splash around in the lake with floaties, perfectly safe. My 8 year old swims out to the floats about 50m out in the lake with his friends, no problem. However, the Limmat river at the bottom of the lake does have a strong current and a couple people die every year from accidents swimming in that river. At the lake, we usually swimm at the Mythenquai, which starts charging around middle of May. It can be warm enough for swimming, it just depends on the weather. If you are walking, you can swim walk behind the Mythenquai and rejoin the lake path a couple 100 m down. Hallenbad Altstetten is fun, with a water slide and diving platforms.

  6. This is such a lovely walk! Perfect for grownups and kids, with enough blooms and playgrounds to keep everyone happy. Your pictures are amazing. I can’t wait to go back in a couple of weeks to see how the gardens have changed. Oh…we found a really cool, giant tree stump hiding behind the gated playground. It was a stage and a pirate ship depending on which of my kids we asked. Sorry can’t figure out how to share a picture.

  7. Thank you Tanya for this amazing photo feature. So much to do in the city in spring! I could nearly smell the wisteria just looking at the gorgeous pictures!

  8. Oh my goodness this is so easy, even I can do it! I will try this tomorrow with the family. I can’t wait to see all the flowers in bloom. Thanks for the easy city walk, this is totally up my alley!

  9. What a wonderful stroll!
    Life, politics, work and everything may be crazy, but nature decides to do her thing yet for another year and brings out the most amazing blooms!

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Hi! I’m Tanya and our family has been living & hiking in Switzerland since 2005, collecting dozens of fun hikes and activities for all ages and abilities. More about us…

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