A Walk around Zurich looking for the Easter Rose Fountains

Monday April 6, 2026 -- After a short two-hour walk along the Sihl River just south of Zurich (photos HERE), we took a 15-minute train ride into town and spent another 90 minutes walking through the old town looking for the "Rose Fountains". 

I had recently read that during Covid in 2020, the Evangelical Church in Zurich had decorated seven of the city's water fountains with thousands of roses over the Easter days, to add some brightness to those dark days. It was such a hit with the locals, that they have continued this tradition every Easter Time (till April 7th this year). So we wanted to have a look for ourselves.

The main fountains with the roses (all next to large churches) are:

• Münsterhof next to Fraumünster
• Münzplatz next to Augustinerkirche
• Zähringerplatz next to Predigerkirche
• Helmhaus next to Wasserkirche

We had a rough idea of where these fountains were, and walking around the old town, we discovered three of the ones on this list (we didn't go to the one at Zähringerplatz, which was a bit out of the way). Even though it was now at the end of the roses' perfect bloom, it was still pretty, and the number of people was not overwhelming. On the way back to the train station, we also discovered a road lined with flowering Japanese Cherry Trees, also a hit in the city. 

Together with the walk along the Sihl River, we did 11 km of walking this day!

After walking along the Sihl River for two hours, we took the 13:15 train from Adliswil into the city of Zurich. Instead of going all the way to the Haupbahnhof, we got off at the stop called Selnau, and from there walked eastward into the old town. This river is a canal which leaves Lake Zurich and joins the Sihl River near the Main train station. (Interesting fact: Instead of diverting the river when expanding the main station, platform levels were built above and below the river). 

Many of the buildings in the city are made with sandstone. This is called St.Annahof, a monument-protected building which is currently a department store. 

First we headed to the Lindenhof, a raised park very popular with tourists, because you get a nice view of the Limmat River. 

The large park called Lindenhof, very popular with tourists. I find it weird that there is no grass here. I walked via this park on a different walk I did in Zurich in November 2022. 

View from Lindenhof Park

View from Lindenhof Park onto the Limmat River. Across the river is the steeple of the Predigerkirche at the Zähringenplatz. There is another fountain of roses there, but we didn't want to walk that way. Behind the church you can see the buildings of the University. 

Starting at the Selnau station at 1:30 p.m., we walked through the Lindenhof district, then south to the fountain next to the Fraumünster church, then crossed the river on the Münster bridge to the Helmhaus fountain, back to Rathausplatz, and past the St.Peter church to the final of three fountains at Münzplatz next to the Augustiner church. We got to the train station at 14:40 for the 14:51 train back to Zug. 

Walking down the alleyway toward the St.Peter Church. This church is famous for its clock face, which is the largest in Europe. It is the oldest parish church in Zurich, still with its original 9th-Century foundation. 

Walking down the cobblestone road toward St.Peter church. (We didn't go into the St.Peter Church this time, because I had visited in on my November 2022 walk. Here are some details on this PHOTO). The clock-face is 8.7 meters in diameter, the largest in Europe. 

This house is one of the oldest in this section of the old town. It was already used as a private residence in 1325 and first used as a tavern in 1487, and later totally restored and retrofitted in 1934, and is now a fancy restaurant.   

Past St.Peter's we got to the large square in front of the Fraumünster Church (Münsterhof). By the looks of the large crowd over there, we think we have found the first of the Rose Fountains!

This is the Fraumünster church. This is one of four Evangelical churches in the city and used to be the site of a Benedictine Monastery (for women) from at least mid-14th Century. We did not go inside.... I will postpone a church visit in Zurich to a later date!

The little fountain in the front should also be full of roses, but it's getting to the end of the display now (the final day is April 7th). There are many people here! The rose fountains are a popular tourist attraction as well. 

All the lovely and colourful roses (flowers only) on the surface of the fountain water. Kids love to touch them and pick them up!

Houses around the Münsterhof

We then headed across the "Münsterbrücke" (Münster Bridge) to the right side of the Limmat River, where there was supposed to be a less-frequented rose fountain. The famous Grossmünster Church is covered in scaffolding (from very recently till end of 2027) because the sandstone towers desperately need restoration, which requires specialized stonemasons. (Information HERE).  

Looking south from the Münsterbrücke. On a clear day you can see the snow-covered Alps. 

A tour boat has just passed beneath the bridge. 

From the bridge, a really good look at the tower of the St.Peter's church. 

The building across the street is called the "Wasserkirche", or "Water Church", and there is apparently a fountain called Helmhaus. We walked to the south end of the building and found nothing, but when we returned, we discovered the small fountain inside the hall with the arched windows!

Inside the hall we saw a gathering of people, and sure enough, here was the little fountain!

This was the Helmhaus Fountain at the Wasserkirche. (The latter, by the way, is only open for viewing from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on all days except Monday, which was today!!! It was currently 2:10 p.m., so on any other weekday we could have gone in. )

Once again, small hands playing with the water and the roses.... From here we then crossed back to the left side of the river over the Rathaus bridge, heading north toward the train station via another fountain.

Here we pass another historical Tavern where some important historical figures have spent the night. For example, the German poet Goethe was here in 1779. The text above the door, translated, reads: "Why are you standing outside? Is there not a door and gate? If you come inside, you will surely be welcome!"

Up ahead is the spire of the Augustinerkirche (Augustinian Church), where the third fountain which we want to visit is located. This church was originally built as a Gothic Monastery church in 1270, but after the Reformation (mid 16th Century) converted to a Mint (coin currency production) and warehouse. Later it became a Catholic Church again. 

Near the Münzplatz

This large square across from the Augustinerkirche is called the Münzplatz (the name is related to the time that the building was used as the City Mint, i.e. Münz = Coins). Up ahead is obviously another fountain of interest!

A single photo of me on this Zurich outing!

Such a nice variety of colours!

Time to head back toward the Main Train Station (Hauptbahnhof). It is now 2:30 p.m. 

This is a very beautiful door!

We spotted a flowering Japanese Maple on a parallel road and so we headed over there. There are several boulevards in the city lined with these pink-blossoming trees, but by now these are mostly finished now!

Looking down the road across from the Hauptbahnhof at a line of Japanese Cherry Trees!

What our walk looks like on Google Satellite Maps. 

This photo of the Münsterhof Fountain WITHOUT people around it was taken from the website https://www.zhkath.ch/kirche-aktuell/gemeindeleben/ohne-dornen-keine-rose. A link there also features a couple of videos (https://reformiert-zuerich.ch/-4/kirchenkreis-1/home~1680/-home-artikel~3262/rosenbrunnen-altstadtkirchen/91111/)

 

A Section of the Lake Zurich Circular Trail from Sihlwald to Adliswil

Monday April 6, 2026 -- After two trips to the region around the city of Bern, and two 10-km walks or more, we just really didn't want to travel far or walk a long way on this fourth Easter Weekend day. So we just sort of settled for a riverside walk along the Sihl River between Zug and Zurich, starting in Sihlwald where we had ended another section of walking along the Sihl River (photos HERE) and walking just two hours to a convenient train station in Adliswil. This also adds another piece to my hopes of walking the entire "Lake Zurich Circular Trail" (Zürichsee Rundweg), a total 130-km themed trail all around the lake. 

[The Sihl is a 69-kilometer long river which flows out of Lake Sihlsee near Einsiedeln, with its source in the Schwyzer Alps, and flows into the Limmat River at the city of Zurich, after first passing THROUGH the Zurich train station (They built the railway lines above and below the river there, instead of diverting the river).] 

As far as riverside walks go, it wasn't really charming, as you start heading into industrial districts. And the narrow "unofficial" path I had wanted to walk was off-limits due to construction. Also, we walked quite a bit on the shady side, so it was a bit cool. The best part of the excursion was the getting there, as we rode a very small van bus over the mountain from Horgen on Lake Zurich, zipping along very narrow forest roads, and discovering an upper plateau we didn't know about.

The main reason for this walk near Zurich was to head into the city afterwards, which we don't often do. We had heard that over Easter, the Evangelical church decorates several of the fountains with colourful roses, and we thought it might be worth going to have a look. Photos HERE.

Heading north away from Zug at 10 a.m. and a look back to the beautiful Bernese Alps, and I am already regretting the decision to do a riverside walk in a valley without a view! So many other places we could have gone on this beautiful day... oh well. 

In Horgen Oberdorf we left the train station with a view of Lake Zurich. First I thought this was our bus, but afterwards, a much smaller van showed up!

This is our transport to get over the hill to Sihlwald! There were already quite a few people who had boarded before us. The seats had very little leg room! 

An interesting ride on a narrow road mostly through forest on both sides, but in between there was this high-plateau with lots of farmland. (Horgenberg?). We never knew about this! You can even see the snow-covered Alps from here. 

The bus dropped us off at the Sihlwald train station, which is an end-station for the small railway line from Zurich to the north. We caught the train here once when we walked a section of the Sihl River to the south of here. (March 2019, a similar stretch to what we are doing this day, but less industry). 

Further downstream is a wooden bridge, but it is closed due to damage. So we had to walk south again (upstream) and cross this bridge, which is the one we crossed with the little van as it came down that hillside on the left. 

Across from the bridge is this cute little building, which is (or used to be) the forester's home. 

This was a short walk for us, just 7½ kilometers along the Sihl River between Sihlwald (at 10:30) and Adliswil (15:15). But I usually don't walk more than two hours on riverside walks. After reaching Adliswil, we took the train for 15 minutes into the city of Zurich and walked another 3½ kilometers there. 

Crossing the Sihl River and looking upstream. 

Now we head north (downstream) on a partly shaded trail on the right side of the river. This is the wooden bridge which would have been more convenient for us to cross, but it is currently off-limits due to damage. 

The Sihl is a 69-kilometer long river which flows out of Lake Sihlsee near Einsiedeln, with its source in the Schwyzer Alps, and flows into the Limmat River at the city of Zurich, after first passing THROUGH the Zurich train station (They built the railway lines above and below the river there, instead of diverting the river). 

Quite a lot of shade still on this side of the river, so it was a bit cool. 

There were quite a few people on this trail as well, several families with little kids riding tiny bikes! This little guy was an expert with his pedal bike! (Others rode bikes with no pedals and had to push with their feet, it looked very uncomfortable!)

Signs of spring with the blossoming trees were a welcome sight. 

We then arrived at a town called Gattikon, where the train crosses this bridge and continues along the left side of the river. But according to my map, that section of trail was closed due to construction and rerouted on the main road. But on this side is a small path which I was hoping to follow, so we headed down those stairs....

...and then discovered that the trail on this side of the river was unfortunately blocked off as well. So we had no choice but to follow the main road for the one kilometer detour. 

We are following Regional Trail no.84: "Zurichsee Rundweg" (i.e. a themed trail all around the lake). We have come 45 minutes (or more) from the train station in Sihlwald, and still have about an hour to walk to the train station in Adliswil. This part of the riverside trail is also called "Sihl Erlebnis Weg", or "Sihl River Adventure Trail".

This is an industrial building, but nice to see blossoming trees being trained up the side of the building!

We are always delighted to see herons close by!

Following the "Sihl River Adventure Trail"!!!

We passed two artificial ponds on the other side of the trail. These have been created to provide an environment for the endangered "midwife toad". ("Midwife toads are called midwives because the male helps the female in giving birth")

I did see a frog (and lots of tadpoles), but this one is not a "Midwife toad", but rather a "Marsh Frog", which is Europe's largest frog.

At 12:30 we found a convenient bench for our picnic lunch, with just enough shade, so not too hot!

Getting closer to the end of our relatively short walk!

Looking back up the river. 

Not our bridge to cross yet!

So glad that spring is finally here!

We also often see Cormorants, lovely large birds, but they have become a nuisance. There are too many, and they eat too many fish in the rivers and the lakes!

Up ahead now is the final bridge on our planned tour, the one we will cross to the railway station in Adliswil. 

The bridge across the Sihl River in Adliswil.

View south up the Sihl River. There's a church on a little hill which might be worth a visit some time!

At 13:08 we reached the train station in Adliswil. From here we caught the 13:15 train for the 16-minute ride into Zurich, for the second part of this outing. 

This is what our hike looks like on Google Satellite maps. Starting in Sihlwald at about 10:30, we caught the train in Adliswil at 1:15 p.m. This was a fairly short 7½-kilometer walk, but afterwards we walked another 3½ kilometers around the city of Zurich, so 11 kilometers in all!

After spending about an hour and a half walking around Zurich, we were back on our way home at just after 3 p.m. This is the view south along lake Zurich, with more great views of the mountains. 

As the train heads south along Lake Zug, I am surprised that the cherry trees are already in full bloom here!

So many blossoming trees along Lake Zug (this is near Walchwil). I have decided to come back here in the next couple of days to do a walk along the Cherry Trail here!