The small picturesque town of Zug, located 23 km south of Zurich, can offer tourists a measured and very high-quality vacation among fantastically beautiful landscapes and proximity to the entertainment of the Swiss capital. Zug is curled up in a cozy valley between Lake Zug and Zug Mountain, it is very compact and charming. In summer, people swim in the purest water and go hiking in the mountains, in winter they go skiing and enjoy picturesque views at any time of the year. The Swiss unanimously recognize the sunsets in Zug as the most beautiful in the entire Confederation. In addition, Zug cherries are famous throughout Switzerland and decorate the tops of cakes in the country’s best pastry shops.
How to get to Zug
According to Wholevehicles, Zug is most conveniently reached by commuter trains from Zurich or Lucerne. Trains depart from the stations of these cities every half an hour, the journey time from the Swiss capital is about 20 minutes.
Transport in the city
It is possible (and recommended) to travel around Zug on foot – the town is very compact, and it will not be difficult to walk it from end to end. It makes sense to cover longer distances by municipal buses (cheaper) or taxis (more expensive). Well, outside the city, it is most reasonable to get out on the same commuter trains.
Zug Hotels
At the service of tourists in Zug there are about thirty different hotels – both modern, designed for businessmen, and in the spirit of antiquity – housed in old buildings, and country park hotels. Most establishments are four or three star categories that serve breakfast. The service is Swiss impeccable. On average, double occupancy will cost from 120-140 EUR per night in a modest hotel, for more comfortable options they will be asked to pay 250-340 EUR.
Cuisine and restaurants
Zug boasts several delicious delicacies at once. The first thing to do here is to try the freshest Arctic trout from Lake Zug, which is traditionally grilled and served with potatoes, broccoli and white sauce. The peak of the trout season is in November.
Vegetarians and fruit lovers won’t be disappointed either: their taste buds will be delighted with cherries, which are eaten here fresh, in cakes, in the form of strong liqueur, and even in the version of cherry sausages. The cultivation of cherry trees in Zug is even officially included in the UNESCO List of Human Traditions.
Cherry pie has been made in Zug for more than a hundred years, and during this time he managed to win a lot of awards in various culinary competitions. However, it doesn’t look at all the way the imagination draws it: you should not look for a tall hat of cherries – the main thing in the pie is a delicious butter cream with a generous dose of cherry kirsch liqueur.
By the way, residents of Zug drink this very liquor as an aperitif, digestif, and just in the mood.
There are absolutely no problems with catering establishments in Zug: you can kill a worm in the city’s eateries, and for a higher gastronomic experience, you should go to the shores of Lake Zug, where you can taste fish dishes and enjoy the sunset.
Shopping and shops
In search of souvenirs from Zug, first of all, you should look into the shop at the Tourist Office called “Wunderbox”. There you can find the symbol of Zug – the good troll Zugiblubby in all shapes and sizes. For the aforementioned cherry pies, head to the Confectionery Speck, founded in 1895 and now run by the fourth generation of owners. In addition to cherry pie, here you can buy chocolates with Cherry Angel liqueur, chocolate bells filled with alcohol or “empty”, as well as zugerli biscuit cookies. Cherry liqueur in its purest form, without any unnecessary chocolate, we recommend purchasing at the Etter Sons winery, leading its history since 1870, at the Hainer winery (70 types of alcohol from cherry alone!) or at the well-deserved winery in all respects. manufactured by Fassbind.
Entertainment and attractions of Zug
The historic center of Zug is an old town located on the lake. There are a lot of very picturesque medieval buildings, painted in bright, cheerful colors with indispensable contrasting shutters. You can see the remains of the fortress walls of the old Zug in the Knopfleeturm area – the stonework dates back to the 16th century, and the original wooden parapets were restored quite recently. The Zug Town Hall is over 500 years old, a charming four-story building with tall wooden windows adorned with flower boxes. The market was once located on the ground floor, and city officials sat on the upper tiers.
The clock tower is one of the most remarkable buildings in Zug, whose white-and-blue-tiled façade can be seen from almost anywhere in the city. Built in the 13th century, the tower rises to 52 meters, and its clock also shows the month, moon phase, day of the week, and whether a given year is a leap year or not.
You can enter the Clock Tower by borrowing a key from the Wunderbox during opening hours. If, however, tourists feel like going up to the clock at an inopportune time, they need to go to the reception of the Okhsen Hotel. This is truly Swiss simplicity!
Other interesting towers of Zug are the Old Powder Tower with a phenomenal wall thickness at the base – 2.7 meters, the Capuchin Tower (16th century), the Huviler Tower (16th century). Also, you should definitely see a wonderful example of half-timbered architecture – Burg-Zug Castle, in which three eminent Zug dynasties lived, replacing each other, the Capuchin Monastery, the oldest church of Zug Liebfrauen (13th century) and the magnificent Gothic church of St. Oswald (15th century).
Note also the pretty fountain that immortalized a certain Gret Schell carrying her drunken husband home.
You should definitely see the nature of the surroundings of Zug in all its glory. The most convenient way to do this is to take the funicular, which takes you to the top of the Zug Mountain in 8 minutes. More than 80 km of hiking trails with cozy restaurants on the roadsides are laid on its slopes. Another natural must-see is the Holgrot caves with underground lakes and skillfully illuminated stalactites and stalagmites. And from April to October, you can take a boat ride on Lake Zug, for example, to enjoy the legendary local sunsets.
Museums of Zug: Prehistoric, Zug Old Town Museum, Art Gallery, Fisheries Museum and Tile Museum.
