Zurich
Official UEFA football Euro 2008 website -
Zurich
Matches - Monday 9 June, 18.00 - Group C : Romania v France Friday 13 June, 18.00 - Group C : Romania v Italy Tuesday 17 June, 20.45 - Group C : France v Italy
Tickets - Fair play if you've managed to bag yourself a ticket via the official UEFA ticketing website. For the rest of us it'll be the usual hanging around train stations, haggling with touts for overpriced, unwanted corporate cast-offs. The main train station - Bahnhof - is located on the west bank of the river near the Old Town. First one to spot a scouser in a tracksuit wins. Stadium - FC Zurich's home ground - the Letzigrund - has been redeveloped with a 30,000 capacity for the tournament, after which they'll share it with their rivals from across the tracks - Grasshoppers. The Letzigrund is two miles north-west of the city centre and is served by tram lines 2 & 3 if you can't be arsed to walk. Ultra Culture - Whilst hardly Boca Juniors v River Plate, the rivalry between FC Zurich and Grasshoppers is the most intense in Switzerland.
THE CITY
Overview - The largest and most dynamic city in Switzerland, Zurich is both rich and radical, with superb nightlife and shopping to boot. Add a beautiful lake-and-mountains location and you're all set for a great European football travel summer break. Airport & Transfers - Kloten Airport - 6 miles north of the city, linked by trains every 15mins, taking 10mins at a cost of CHF6. Taxi's CHF50 (20mins). Nightlife - Exit the train station (Bahnhof), cross the first bridge you see(Bahnhofbrucke) and you're straight into Niederdorfstrasse - a narrow street rammed with late-night bars and the hub of Zurich's pulsating nightlife scene. There are more bars along the river quays - popular in Summer - and amongst the former factories of the rapidly gentrifying industrial area north-west of the Bahnhof around Escherwyssplatz. Shopping - Big name designers rub shoulders with high-street favourites on Bahnhofstrasse, directly to the south of the train station.
Further reading -
Switzerland (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
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