Baur au Lac, the hotel in its park, and Zurich’s other old-town luxury hotels compared

Of the Zurich old town hotels, Baur au Lac is the one that keeps a park: it sits just outside the lanes, between city and lake. On 28 September 2026 the official site asked €1,144 to €1,779 a night for 2 before breakfast, and there is no spa or pool.

11 min readHow we write the guide

The hotel from above in summer: its park of old trees beside the Schanzengraben, and the roofs and towers of Zurich behind

Who the Baur au Lac is for

Why choose it

You want to walk everywhere, the lake 3 minutes away and a quiet room over the park, in a hotel one family has kept since 1844.

What is included

When to look elsewhere

You need a spa, or a smaller bill: there is no spa or pool, nights start at €1,250 on the official site before breakfast, and the Kindli has 20 rooms in a historic townhouse.

The centre’s other hotels

From 1844 to the seventh generation

Johannes Baur built it to look at the Alps. The park still works as an open-air entrance hall: the street on one side, then Le Hall under glass, and the lake beyond.

Johannes Baur opened the hotel in 1844 on the lake shore, over what was left of the old war harbour. 10 years later Empress Sisi came for the summer, the hotel recounts.

In 1889 it passed to his granddaughter Emmy, married to the hotelier Karl Kracht, and by 1898 it had grown to the size it is today. The Krachts have run it ever since and are now on their seventh generation.

Alfred Nobel and Bertha von Suttner used to meet in Le Hall, which Pierre-Yves Rochon redesigned in 2014. In 2024 the 2-Michelin-star Pavillon made way for Marguita.

Today it has 119 rooms, 3 MICHELIN Keys and seventh place among Zurich’s 140 hotels on Tripadvisor.

We wanted to know how the lake feels from the Baur au Lac, so we read 11 pages of the hotel’s website and those of 5 neighbours, watched the 6 videos in this guide and searched the 956 Google reviews that carry a text. The lake runs through 57 of them, Bahnhofstrasse through 12. For 25 guests the hotel stands right on the shore, «direkt am See» as the German-language reviews put it. A lake view is not promised from every room, though.

The palace in its park, between the lake and the Schanzengraben

The park and the canal from the garden gate, Le Hall under its glass cupola, a Double Room, a suite with a balcony over the lake, a wooden launch on the Limmat and Zurich under snow.

YouTube
0:15
From the garden gate: the park, the façade with its geraniums, the courtyard and the Schanzengraben with its boatsfrom 0:15 · PrivateUpgrades · 4 September 2024Watch on YouTube
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2:23
Le Hall: the glass cupola with its chandelier, the trees and the blue sofas beneathfrom 2:23 · Ramin’s Travel Guide · 30 March 2025Watch on YouTube
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0:07
A wooden launch with a Swiss flag on the lake and the Limmat towards the Fraumünster, then Marguita’s terracefrom 0:07 · Denandra by I. Lartisien & L du Boislouveau · 14 September 2024Watch on YouTube
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Zurich and the lake under snow from a drone, then the hotel’s snow-covered park and its façade on the canalBaur au Lac · 16 February 2022Watch on YouTube

A day at the Baur au Lac, hour by hour

The day turns on Le Hall and the park; in summer, ask for the bag for Zurich’s public lake baths and head for the water. Each restaurant keeps its own calendar: afternoon tea starts on 19 October, and the Brasserie reopens on the 12th.

06:30

The fitness club

Fifth floor, 6.30am to 10pm, with the lake to look at between sets.

07:00

Breakfast

Served at Marguita from 7am to 10.30am on weekdays, at CHF 52 a head on top of the room.

10:00

The city on foot

The lake at Bürkliplatz in 3 minutes, Paradeplatz in 5, the Lindenhof in 11, timed on OpenStreetMap routes.

12:00

Lunch at Marguita

Mediterranean cooking with 15 GaultMillau points, from noon to 1.45pm; in summer, lunch moves out to the terrace in the park.

15:00

Le Hall

The lobby under the glass cupola, open from 8.30am to 11pm. Afternoon tea starts on 19 October, from CHF 99.

18:00

Baur’s bar

Named Switzerland’s best hotel bar at the Swiss Bar Awards 2025. Open until midnight and it takes no bookings, so the stools go to whoever turns up.

19:00

Dinner

Marguita serves until 9.45pm; otherwise there is Baur’s Brasserie, back from 12 October.

The Baur au Lac and the centre’s other hotels

Start in the park on the Schanzengraben, cut through Paradeplatz to the Limmat and the old town; further out, on the lake at Utoquai, stands La Réserve Eden.

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  1. Baur au LacIn its own park, a 3-minute walk from the lake
  2. Paradeplatz5 minutes’ walk, 375 metres
  3. The old townThe Storchen, the Widder and the Kindli, between the Limmat and the Lindenhof hill

What the room rate includes

What the room rate already covers, and what lands on the bill, from the hotel’s pages as read on 27 and 28 September 2026.

In the room rate

  • The minibar’s soft drinks, and the alcohol too in suites
  • Twice-daily housekeeping
  • Valet parking for hotel guests
  • The fifth-floor fitness club, and VAT

The Baur au Lac in figures

From the hotel’s pages, read on 27 and 28 September 2026.

Since1844, the same family, now in its seventh generation
Rooms119, 46 of them suites, from the 25 m² Single to the 90 m² Lakeside Corner Suite
RestaurantsMarguita, 15 GaultMillau points, and Baur’s Brasserie, 14; the lobby serves from morning to night
The parkProtected trees, 80,000 bees since 2016 and Art in the Park each year before Art Basel
WellbeingNo spa or pool; fitness club on the fifth floor from 6.30am to 10pm
Arrival and departureCheck-in from 3pm, check-out by noon; dogs CHF 45 a day
Recognition3 MICHELIN Keys; a member of The Leading Hotels of the World

The lakeside suites

For the lake in your window, start with the Lakeside suites on the garden side.

The bedroom of a Lakeside Suite, seen through a doorway: a padded wall, a bed with pale cushions and a navy bench
The bedroom of a Lakeside Suite, seen through a doorway: a padded wall, a bed with pale cushions and a navy bench
The living room of the Lakeside Corner Suite: a navy sofa, red roses on a marble table and tall windows over the park
The living room of the Lakeside Corner Suite: a navy sofa, red roses on a marble table and tall windows over the park

The Lakeside Suite, about 70 m², gives you the park and the lake from an antique desk, with a living room of its own. The Lakeside Corner Suite, about 90 m², turns the corner and adds the Schanzengraben to the view, plus a guest WC. Balconies come with only some rooms.

The rooms and suites, with photographs

The centre’s other luxury hotels

Rooms, restaurants and services as each hotel describes them, and the walk from each to Paradeplatz.

Search for Zurich old town hotels and Google hands you lists, from Booking.com to Tripadvisor, with hotels at every price jumbled together; there is even one actually called «Hotel Old Town». We set the Baur au Lac beside the centre’s other luxury and boutique hotels, the Savoy on Paradeplatz, the Storchen, the Widder, the Kindli and La Réserve Eden au Lac, and read each one’s own pages.

HotelWhereRoomsFrom its pageOn foot from Paradeplatz
Baur au LacIn its park on the Schanzengraben, 3 minutes from the lake119Marguita and Baur’s, Le Hall under its cupola; no spa5 min · 375 m
Mandarin Oriental SavoyOn Paradeplatz7044 rooms and 26 suites; ORSINI, Italian, with a 2-Michelin-star consultant chef1 min · 72 m
Storchen ZürichOn the Limmat, at Weinplatz64A fine-dining restaurant, a terrace above the Limmat and a rooftop bar5 min · 347 m
Widder HotelIn the old town, on Rennweg49 and 5 residencesHistoric houses joined together, a gourmet restaurant and an award-winning bar6 min · 437 m
Hotel KindliIn the old town, below the Lindenhof20A historic townhouse with a Swiss restaurant6 min · 465 m
La Réserve Eden au LacOn the lake, at UtoquaiNot published on the pages readEden Kitchen, La Muña rooftop bar, a fitness club and a hair spa16 min · 1270 m

Minutes and metres on foot between each hotel and Paradeplatz, measured on 28 September 2026 with OSRM on OpenStreetMap roads. The hotels’ pages were read on 28 September 2026, and each name links to its own; the Park Hyatt is not in the comparison because its site could not be read.

  • What guests say

    Scores on 27 September 2026: 4.6 out of 5 on Google from 1,928 reviews, 4.7 on Tripadvisor, 9.2 on Booking.com. Guests love the hotel, the service, the location and the breakfast.

Questions about Zurich’s old-town hotels

Which is best, which is nearest Paradeplatz, which has a spa, what it costs and how far the lake is.

Which is the best hotel in Zurich’s old town?

For a park and the lake, the Baur au Lac: it is the largest and the only one with a park, 3 minutes from the water. For the banking square, the Mandarin Oriental Savoy, right on Paradeplatz; for the river, the Storchen on the Limmat; for the lanes, the Widder and the Kindli, inside the old town.

Which old-town hotel is closest to Paradeplatz?

The Savoy, which stands on it: 1 minute. Then the Storchen and the Baur au Lac at 5, and the Widder and the Kindli at 6, according to OSRM.

Does the Baur au Lac have a spa?

No. There is no spa and no pool, as the hotel itself says, only a fitness club on the fifth floor. For a spa in Zurich, go up to the Dolder Grand, above the city.

What does it cost to stay at the Baur au Lac?

Well over a thousand euros a night for 2. On 28 September 2026 Google Hotels showed the official site asking €1,250 for 13 October, €1,144 for 9 February and €1,779 for 15 June; breakfast is CHF 52 per person on top.

How far is the Baur au Lac from the lake and the station?

The lake is a 3-minute walk, 191 metres to Bürkliplatz; the main station 19 minutes, 1.4 km, or a ride on tram 11. The airport is 12.6 km by car.

Ask for a room on the park or the courtyard: those on the street are noisier

The rooms on the official site

Written and checked by Lumina, independently of Baur au Lac. Lumina sells no rooms or tickets: every link leads to its source.

Sources
  1. Baur au Lac, the facts: an independent city hotel, no spa, family-run in its seventh generation
  2. Baur au Lac, its history since 1844
  3. Baur au Lac, the rooms: Single and Double Room
  4. Baur au Lac, the Junior Suites
  5. Baur au Lac, the suites
  6. Baur au Lac, Le Hall: hours and afternoon tea
  7. Baur au Lac, the restaurants: Marguita, Baur’s, Le Hall
  8. Baur au Lac, the park and its bees
  9. Baur au Lac, the fifth-floor fitness club
  10. Baur au Lac, the garage
  11. Baur au Lac, transfers
  12. MICHELIN Guide, the Baur au Lac: 3 Keys
  13. Tripadvisor, the Baur au Lac: 4.7 out of 5, seventh of 140 hotels in Zurich
  14. Google Hotels, the Baur au Lac’s prices read on 28 September 2026
  15. OSRM, the walking profile on OpenStreetMap roads: the routes to Paradeplatz
  16. Tripadvisor, the best hotels in Zurich’s old town: the first result for «hotel zurich old town» in the UK
  17. Widder Hotel: 49 rooms and suites in the old town, restaurant and bar
  18. Storchen Zürich: 64 rooms and suites on the Limmat, terrace and rooftop bar
  19. Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich: 44 rooms and 26 suites on Paradeplatz, ORSINI
  20. La Réserve Eden au Lac: on the lake at Utoquai, Eden Kitchen and La Muña
  21. Kindli: 20 rooms in a historic old-town house
  22. Google, the Baur au Lac’s reviews read on 28 September 2026
A story insideHeld by a hotel whose character has, in our reading, one of the highest readings in the guide, and whose history begins before 1950.31 hotels of 335 hold it.

This guide is written with Lumina, the marketing system for hotels.