From banking to trendy bistros; Where gold bars vie with chocolate

Everything you have ever heard about Zurich is probably true. Yet if you can get over the obsessive tidiness and punctuality, the secret bank accounts and the oompah music, there is a surprisingly hip side to be discovered in Switzerland's financial capital.

This once-staid mecca to the banking world has rapidly been transforming itself over the past decade into the new Berlin - replete with a thriving nightlife of trendy bars and restaurants, but there are also shops where gold bars vie with chocolate bars for your attention.

Yes, there really are mountains of gold squirreled away in the bank vaults under the Bahnhofstrasse, and the cobbled streets of the twelfth century old town are adorably restored and pristine. To be expected, street crime here is almost nonexistent.

However, a traveller will also find museums, experimental theatres, nightclubs and art galore, including a fair sprinkling of Picassos and a room devoted entirely to Marc Chagall at the Museum of Fine Arts. The city was, after all, the home of Dadaism, the absurdist art movement of the early 20th century, which proves that even during its highly conservative past, Zurich still had a few surprises up its sleeve.

There is no point in renting a car. A taxi from Kloten airport, about six miles north of the city, will take you quickly to the centre - although prepare to be charged like sin for the ride. The more reasonably priced trains run to and from the airport between around 6am and midnight, and the journey takes 10 minutes. Once in the city, the blue trams, which run with minute-perfect reliability, will do the rest of the work if your legs get tired.

Zurich, which sits at the northern end of Lake Zurich and is divided by the Limmat River, is compact and easy to navigate, and can pretty much be seen in a weekend. The best way to begin is by simply getting lost in the narrow alleyways of the old town, peeking into the tiny shop fronts of jewellers, artists and antique shops on both sides of the Limmat. This is a good city for walking. Concrete walkways around the shores of Lake Zurich give way to trees and lawns in the arboretum on the west bank, making the area perfect for strolling.

The Fraumunster Church is also worth a look, if only for the stained glass windows in its choir section, which were created by Marc Chagall in 1970 when he was 83 years old.

Fondue, raclette and bratwurst remain the mainstays of the Swiss diet - although sushi and cocktails can also be had, particularly in the Zuri West part of the city. This has become the trendy quarter over the last decade and a must for any visitor seeking the pulsing heart of the city.

If it's a cuckoo clock you're after, you'll find every imaginable shape, size and design imaginable at the Buerkliplatz flea market, which is also crammed with antique fondue pots and ancient climbing gear.

However, the elegant Bahnhofstrasse, with its large department stores and specialty shops, should not be missed. This street, the heart of financial Zurich, was built on the site of the old city walls, which were torn down 150 years ago. The bank vaults full of gold lie directly below. Alas, there are no visitors allowed.

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