Zurich Cityscape — 3D Map of the Altstadt and Lake Zurich

Zurich occupies one of the most beautiful urban settings in Europe. The Limmat River flows north out of Lake Zurich through the heart of the Altstadt — the medieval old town — before crossing beneath Bahnhofbrücke and continuing toward the main station. The city grew on both banks of the river, with the Grossmünster's twin towers on the eastern bank facing the Fraumünster and Lindenhof hill on the west, and the broad northern tip of Lake Zurich opening out to the south. From directly above, the relationship between city and water is the model's defining characteristic — and the blue water option reveals it most clearly.

This model runs from the Opernhaus Zürich in the south to Bahnhofbrücke in the north at 1:5000 scale, capturing the full length of the Altstadt along the Limmat, with the northern shore of Lake Zurich at the base of the frame. Cast in white resin and mounted in an oak frame, it works equally well hanging on a wall or displayed flat on a desk or tabletop.

The area

The model covers Zurich's District 1 — the historic Altstadt — in its entirety, from the lakefront to the northern edge of the old town. The Opernhaus Zürich, the city's grand neoclassical opera house, anchors the southern boundary at Bürkliplatz on the western shore of Lake Zurich. From there the frame extends northward along both banks of the Limmat: the Limmatquai on the eastern bank, lined with Baroque guild houses, and the Bahnhofstrasse on the western bank — one of the world's most celebrated shopping streets, running dead straight from the lake to the main station. The Grossmünster, the Romanesque church whose twin towers have defined Zurich's skyline for nine centuries, sits on the eastern bank at the centre of the frame, facing the Fraumünster on the west. Lindenhof hill — the elevated plateau that marks the origin point of the city, built on the site of a Roman fort — rises between the two riverbanks. Bahnhofbrücke closes the northern edge of the model, just short of Zürich Hauptbahnhof.

Options and finish

• Frame: Oak frame, available in light or dark stain
• Acrylic case: Optional
• Lake Zurich and River Limmat: Standard white or optional blue tint — highly recommended for this model
• Display: Hanging system included — display vertically on a wall or horizontally on a desk or tabletop
• Scale: 1:5000

For more on how our cityscapes are made — the satellite data, the process, the thinking behind them — see our 3D cityscape art guide.