Business trips are not exactly the easiest thing to green up – however, I’m not sick of trying yet. Here are a few favourite finds from Zurich, Switzerland. 

“Almost home”:
Finding a hotel

Goal: eco hotel.
Result: design hotel. I was not able to find an eco hotel in Zurich.
So I presume it’s either hiding rather well, or not existing, or booked out and thus not showing in any results, but I’ll stick with b) as in not existing. Also, given Zurich’s status as one of (if not THE) most expensive cities of the world, a night in an all-eco hotel would probably be most exorbitant.
Swiss readers, any ideas? 🙂
So in the end, I’ve ended up in the molto sympatico 25hours hotel Zurich, located in a very urban, new industrial hood Zürich West. Part of the design hotels collection, the 25hours hotel chain originates from Hamburg, Germany, and has a somewhat democratic approach at hospitality: funky, vibrant, modern interiors, open-minded culture of a hip urban club, and with a few nods to the sustainability trend (coop with Freitag bags – you get to use one of their cult upcycled messenger bags during your stay; Ittala glassware; large dispensers of Stop The Water While Using Me! shower gels; quite a decent vegan offering at Neni, the cool in-house restaurant; Nepal Water charity project).
Conveniently, the city centre is also only about 10 tram minutes (Toni-Areal – Sihlquai/Zürich main station) or a short taxi ride away (worth CHF24, mind you).{Cool: basement car park, CHF25 per day; right: this hotel does a lot of talking! – here in the lift}{Ittala tea-light holder at the bar; more talking in the rooms 🙂}{Freitag upcycled messenger bag for the guest; Stop The Water shower gel}

Don’s Skip Lunch – in Zurich

Thanks to my city-savvy friend Mel (LOCALSPOTTER) lunchtime was a gorgeous vegan, gluten-free treat at Hiltl: a veggie institution in Zurich and the world’s first vegetarian restaurant, according to the Guinness World Records. Hiltl today is a self-service buffet with a delicious vegan menu (+ take-away), a bakery, a vegetarian deli and butcher (well gruezi, tofu tartare!), an à la carte restaurant, a bar-lounge, a night club – and a cooking studio.{So there I was, all “tweet it before you eat it” 🙂}{Finding Hiltl}{Neat idea: list all you offer}

Let Me Eat Cake!

Take big-eyed Manga girls, sugar sushi, crazy bunnies, vegan & gluten-free cakes and matcha tea, throw them together, add a lot of colour – and voila: welcome to Les Gourmandises de Miyuko!
Located in the Beckenhofstrasse 7/9 (Zurich 8006), the charming café offers the latest in finest teas (such as matcha and red espresso), whimsical chocolates and cakes, of which many are vegan and gluten-free – and outstandingly delicious.
If you’re on Facebook, like their (German-language) Facebook page to stay up to date.{Design award-winning Matcha chocolate}{Left: the adorable sushi-munching bunny; right: vegan Matcha chocolate}{Cakes; chocolates; cookbook on display}{Inside the café: origami everywhere; Manga wall art; dreamlike Interieurs}{Bunny as wall art inside the café; the café door; merch}

Other city trips on BEAUTYCALYPSE:
Salzburg (with advice on greener business trips)
Prague

Well, I certainly love my city trips. And what is your favourite city, Adventurer?
Where do you plan to go next? Share in the comments – and if you have more tips for a stay in and near Zurich, I’m all ears!