Affordable Zürich hotels

The Hotel Franziscaner overlooks the Niederdorf quarter of Zürich, one block uphill from the east bank of the River Limmat.

Thanks to its role as one of Europe's leading financial centers, Zürich has many excellent hotels. Unfortunately, most of them are priced too high for the visitor who isn't blessed with a generous expense account.

The good news is that, if you know where to look, you can find bargains on the Zürich hotel scene. In this article, I'll describe three hotels that I can personally recommend to travelers on medium to fairly low budgets. All three are on the east bank of the River Limmat, within a short walk of the main railroad station.

Hotel Franziskaner
Niederdorfstrasse 1
Hotel Franziskaner Web page

The Franziskaner is located on a tiny square in Niederdorf,  an "old town" neighborhood that is quiet by day and lively at night. The hotel has its own small restaurant with a terrace (summer only) that overlooks the square shown in the photo above.

Rooms are comfortable, and some can be combined into suites. Rates for a double with private shower or bath are CHF 210-230. Singles and extra beds are available, and you can enjoy a rooftop room with terrace for CHF 220 (single) or CHF 270 (double).

If you like being near the action but away from car traffic, this is a great place to stay. You may hear happy whoops from passing nightclubbers after dark, but that's a small price to pay for such a delightful location.

Hotel Du Théâtre
Seilergraben 69
Hotel Du Théâtre Web page

The newly renovated Du Théâtre has long been a practical choice for guests with heavy suitcases or early-morning train departures. It's just across the bridge from the railroad station, near the lower entrance to the 109-year-old Polybahn funicular railway. Soundproof windows insulate guests against noise from the cars and trams outside. And if you have a room on the back side of the hotel, facing the nearby rooftops (see photo), you won't have to worry about noise at all.

Hotel Limmathof
Limmatquai 142
Hotel Limmathof (Zürich Tourism)

The Limmathof has been popular with cost-conscious American and European travelers for decades. It's still an unpretentious budget hotel, but it was renovated a few years ago and now has full plumbing in all of its rooms. Triples and quads are available; rates for a double room were CHF 118-168 the last time I checked, with, breakfast and taxes included.

This hotel is a good bet if you need a family-sized room, prefer economy to atmosphere, and want to be near the train station. (It's just across the Bahnhofbrücke and a few steps down the Limmatquai.)

Also see:

Where to Stay in Switzerland
This Switzerland & Austria for Visitors article has links to other resources, including the Swiss Hotel Association's hotel search engine.

Other Zürich Hotel and City Articles

Continued on page 2

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