Our third and final hotel stay during our trip to Switzerland was right in the centre of Zurich’s Old Town, my favourite part of the city with its gorgeous old style architecture, cobblestone streets, small cute chocolate shops and intimate restaurants.

Hotel Adler is right in the heart of it all, surrounded by all the main sights of the Old Town, just a few steps from the river and a short walk to the famous shopping street. The balcony in our room looked out directly onto a little square with colourful buildings and pretty rooftops where we sat outside watching the street below come to life early in the morning with locals setting up their market stalls and tourists beginning their day of exploring.

Despite the mostly wet weather during our trip, we still sat outside on the balcony enjoying great coffee and even greater chocolates from some of the best nearby shops – just one of the many perks of being in such a fantastic central location.

I love staying in unique hotels that offer something a little bit different and Hotel Adler had just that. Every room, as well as some of the public areas of the hotel, were covered in paintings and murals on the walls by the artist Heinz Blum. Each mural shows a different part of the city of Zurich, important landmarks, and beautiful areas of the city and this, along with the extremely friendly staff, is what had the place oozing with charm. If I ever had the time to read I would have loved to have sat with a book in the amazing painted courtyard that spanned several floors inside the hotel.

As soon as we stepped into our room it was the giant painting splashed across the wall that caught our eye. As well as the exposed wooden beams and warm comforting tones, the decor made the room feel extremely homely and traditional, making us feel really welcomed to Zurich. I loved waking up each morning and seeing the painting at the end of my bed, knowing that we were going to be out exploring this beautiful city in a couple of hours.

The painting was also a great source of entertainment for Evie who was always looking up at it as I pointed things out to her.

The rest of the room was perfect for a two night stay for myself, Evie and my sister. We had a huge (and I mean huge) double bed plus a sofa bed that was so comfortable my sister happily slept there while I shared the bed with Evie (because you know she never sleeps in her crib where she’s actually supposed to). It was also brilliant that our room had a bath for Evie to splash about in which is quite hard to find in most city hotels nowadays. Baths are a great find for young children when travelling as there are only a few sinks that will fit a one year old in for a sink bath!

As soon as you enter the hotel you cannot fail to notice the extremely strong smell of cheese in the reception area. This is thanks to Swiss Chuchi, the restaurant connected to the hotel, which is very popular for its cheese fondue. So popular that we had to book a table way in advance and there was always a long queue outside!

If you’re thinking “ewww cheese smell!!” believe me when I say just try it! You really cannot go to Switzerland without trying cheese fondue and this is the place to have it in Zurich. I already included the restaurant in my last post The Chocolate, Cheese & Coffee Lover’s Guide to Zurich but I’ll share some more photos here anyway for you to drool over.

The traditional fondue made with four cheeses, cherry liquor and garlic with a basket full of bread for dipping was absolutely divine and the chocolate fondue for dessert (because you can never have too many fondues) with lots of fruit was just as good.

Evie was served a children’s portion of macaroni cheese (although it was big enough that my sister and I gladly helped her out) along with a pot of apple sauce which she loved. All of us were so full and so satisfied that we were glad we could pretty much roll out of the restaurant and straight into bed.

Then we rolled back down again in the morning for breakfast which consisted of all the usual continental buffet style options plus colourful painted eggs and some chocolate goodies as it was Easter weekend.

You can’t really go wrong when a hotel leaves a mini Toblerone on your pillow plus mini Lindt bunnies on your breakfast table. This was the first place that Evie had a proper chocolate treat – I mean how could I take a shiny chocolate bunny away from her when it was right in front of her and it was Easter?? – and since then there’s been no going back. Every time she sees a shiny foil wrapper she absolutely has to have it. Totally blame Hotel Adler for my daughter’s love of chocolate (I’m sure it has absolutely nothing to do with my own cake addiction) but not enough for it to stop me returning to this wonderfully charming hotel if when we visit Zurich again.

What’s your favourite part of a city to stay in? Do you prefer a charming friendly hotel in the old part of town or a more modern luxurious hotel? Let me know in the comments below or at:

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Thank you to Hotel Adler and Swiss Chuchi for our lovely stay and meal during our visit to Zurich