Zurich · Altstadt
Cafés in Altstadt
Both banks of the Limmat: Sprüngli on Bahnhofstrasse, the 1842 Conditorei on Napfgasse, Henrici in the Niederdorf and the Odeon at Bellevue.
Photo: Paolo Bici, Pexels License
The Altstadt is Kreis 1, roughly the ground inside the old ramparts, and the Limmat splits it in two. Lindenhof and City form the medieval town on the left bank, the Rathaus quarter and the Niederdorf the right; Lindenhof, with traces of a Roman customs post, is the oldest settled core.1 Bahnhofstrasse runs 1.4 km from the main station to Bürkliplatz on the lake, laid out in 1864 over the filled-in Fröschengraben ditch.2
The coffee here ranges from confiseries founded in the 19th century to standing espresso bars around Bahnhofplatz. Schwarzenbach on Münstergasse has sold coffee, tea and chocolate since 1864, and its espresso bar next door serves several kinds of drinking chocolate.3 Honold opened on Rennweg in 1905 and is now run by the fourth generation of the family.4
Local tip: Honold's flagship on Rennweg is being renovated until about mid-2027; meanwhile its chocolates and Pain de Gênes are sold from Le Pavillon by the Hercules fountain at the corner of Rennweg.4
At a glance
81Cafés listed
50With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
- Opens earliest: Belcafe, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–23:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–23:00).
- Closes latest: Cabaret Voltaire, until 00:00 (Tue–Thu 17:00–23:00 · Fri–Sat 13:30–00:00 · Sun 13:30–18:00).
- Most common features: outdoor seating (33%), wheelchair access (27%), indoor seating (21%).
Albanesi
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Partial wheelchair access
Babu's Bakery & Coffeehouse
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Bakery café
Belcafe
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Air-con
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
- Open late
- Open by 6am
Bernhard Bar Cafe
Bistro Spitz
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
Blaue Bar
Boréal Coffee
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
Cabaret Voltaire
Café & Conditorei 1842
Cafe Miyuko
- Outdoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
- Toilets
- Smoke-free indoors
Cafe Neumärt
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Open by 6am
Café Yucca
Caffè & Bar Belpaese
Caffé Handelshof
- Partial wheelchair access
Collana Bar e Caffè
- Wheelchair access
- Open late
Commercial - The Project Bahnhofstrasse
Confiserie Honold
Felix
- Outdoor seating
- Air-con
- Indoor seating
- Open late
Gran Café Motta
- Partial wheelchair access
- Open late
Henrici
- Outdoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Open late
John Baker
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
Juni
- Takeaway
Kraftwerk
- Wi-Fi
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Vegetarian options
- Wheelchair access
- Open late
Le Café
Lingo
MaDonna
- Outdoor seating
- Takeaway
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
Manzoni
- Indoor seating
- Open late
Marktlücke
Metropol
- Outdoor seating
- Indoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Open late
Miró
- Open by 6am
Mont Martre
Mops
- Wheelchair access
No Grain Zone
Raffael's Cafe & Bistro
- Partial wheelchair access
- Open late
Rathaus-Café
- Outdoor seating
- Wheelchair access
- Smoke-free indoors
- Open late
Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Zurich.
Coffee chains in Altstadt
Chain
Starbucks
Show 8 locations
- AltstadtMon–Fri 05:45–21:00 · Sat 06:30–21:00 · Sun 06:30–20:30
- Bahnhofplatz 6
- Füsslistrasse 4Mon–Fri 09:00–20:00 · Sat 09:00–18:00
- Limmatquai 144
- Limmatquai 4
- Rennweg 48Mon–Fri 07:00–19:30 · Sat 08:00–19:00 · Sun 10:30–18:00
- Stadelhoferstrasse 8Mon–Thu 06:00–22:30 · Fri–Sat 06:00–23:00 · Sun 06:00–22:00
- Theaterstrasse 8Mon–Fri 09:00–20:00 · Sat 09:00–18:00
Chain
ViCAFE
- Bahnhofstrasse 93Mon–Fri 06:30–18:00 · Sat 07:30–18:00 · Sun 09:00–18:00
- Münsterhof 20Mon–Fri 07:00–18:00 · Sat 08:00–18:00 · Sun 09:00–18:00
- Theaterstrasse 14Mon–Fri 06:30–18:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–18:00
Chain
Caffè Spettacolo
- Bahnhofplatz 15Mon–Sat 05:00–21:00 · Sun 06:00–21:00
- Stadelhoferstrasse 8Mon–Fri 05:30–19:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–18:00
Chain
Joe & The Juice
- Limmatquai 70Mon–Fri 08:00–20:00 · Sat 09:00–20:00
- Schifflände 26Mon–Sat 08:00–20:00 · Sun 09:00–20:00
Chain
Il Baretto
- Bahnhofplatz 15Mon–Fri 07:00–18:00 · Sat–Sun 08:00–18:00
- Museumstrasse 1Mon–Wed 05:30–22:00 · Thu–Fri 05:30–23:00 · Sat 06:00–23:00 · Sun 06:00–22:00
Chain
Ralph's Coffee
Getting around Kreis 1
Trains from the airport reach Zürich HB in about 10 minutes, every 10 to 15 minutes in the daytime.5 Central, Bellevue and the main station are the district's tram hubs.1 Bahnhofstrasse is mostly pedestrianized but carries trams, and private cars may use only a short stretch near Rennweg.2
Henrici at Niederdorfstrasse 1 is about 600 m on foot from the main station, and the Odeon at Bellevue sits where the Limmatquai meets the lake.67
The Niederdorf and Spiegelgasse
The Niederdorf is a grid of alleys, shops and restaurants whose bars fill up in the evening.5 Henrici opened at its northern end in June 2009, a family business modeled on San Francisco coffee culture; it is named after Christian F. Henrici, who wrote the libretto of Bach's Coffee Cantata.68 It opens at 08:00 on weekdays and stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Up the hill, the 1842 Conditorei on Napfgasse fills a protected historic building, decorated so lavishly that Zurich Tourism likens it to the tea party in Alice in Wonderland.8 Its neo-baroque fittings date from the Schober era after 1874.9 The Cabaret Voltaire on Spiegelgasse opens its bar from 17:00 Tuesday to Thursday and from 13:30 at the weekend, and teecafé Schwarzenbach on Münstergasse opens at 09:00 from Monday to Saturday.
Confiseries on the left bank
Sprüngli opened its Paradeplatz shop on Bahnhofstrasse in 1859, after David Sprüngli bought a confectioner's shop in 1836. Its chocolate business split off in 1892 and became Lindt & Sprüngli, while the confiserie stayed independent.10 The Luxemburgerli, a small macaron created by a confectioner from Luxembourg, went on sale in 1957 and is now its flagship.10
Honold on Rennweg is known for Pain de Gênes, an almond sponge made to a family recipe, and for the Bircher muesli in its café.4 Off Paradeplatz, the Milchbar sits in a quiet courtyard and is known for its Mandelgipfel (almond croissant); in winter it puts faux-fur covers on the seats of its covered terrace.11
Early, late and by the river
Cafe Neumärt at Neumarkt 28 and Belcafe on Bellevueplatz open at 06:00 on weekdays, as does Miró at Bahnhofplatz 15, which runs until 21:00. Belcafe stays open until 23:00 every day.
The Odeon at Limmatquai 2 opened on 1 July 1911 as an art nouveau grand café; the Dadaists, Einstein, Lenin and James Joyce all went there. It opens at 07:00 on weekdays and serves until 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.7 Metropol on Fraumünsterstrasse runs until midnight from Monday to Saturday, and the Rathaus-Café at Limmatquai 61 serves coffee and a croissant in the morning and sparkling wine on its summer terrace later.5
Sources
- Altstadt (Zürich), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Bahnhofstrasse, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Schwarzenbach Kolonialwaren, Zürich Tourism (zuerich.com), accessed October 2026
- Confiserie Honold, Zürich Tourism (zuerich.com), accessed October 2026
- Zürich, Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
- Henrici, Zürich Tourism (zuerich.com), accessed October 2026
- Café Bar Odeon, Zürich Tourism (zuerich.com), accessed October 2026
- Cozy cafés in Zurich, Zürich Tourism (zuerich.com), accessed October 2026
- Café & Conditorei 1842, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Confiserie Sprüngli, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
- Zurich's best cafés (Celeste Neill, 16 October 2022), Time Out, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring
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Oberstrass & ETH
21 cafésIn Altstadt, also browse: Outdoor seating Confiseries & bakeries Open late Wi-Fi
FAQ
Altstadt cafés: questions
What are the oldest cafés in Zurich's Altstadt?
Café & Conditorei 1842 on Napfgasse traces back to a sweets shop opened in 1842. Schwarzenbach on Münstergasse has traded in coffee, tea and chocolate since 1864, and Sprüngli has had its Paradeplatz shop on Bahnhofstrasse since 1859. Honold on Rennweg dates from 1905 and the Odeon at Limmatquai 2 from 1911.
Where can you get coffee early in Zurich's Old Town?
Cafe Neumärt at Neumarkt 28 and Belcafe on Bellevueplatz open at 06:00 on weekdays, and so does Miró at Bahnhofplatz 15 by the main station. The Odeon at Limmatquai 2 opens at 07:00 on weekdays and the 1842 Conditorei on Napfgasse at 09:00 every day.
Is Confiserie Honold on Rennweg in Zurich open during its renovation?
Honold's flagship at Rennweg 53 is being renovated, with work expected to finish in the second quarter of 2027. While it is closed, its chocolates, pralines and Pain de Gênes almond sponge are sold from a temporary shop called Le Pavillon, near the Hercules fountain at the corner of Rennweg.
For café owners
Own a café in Altstadt?
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