On my way to the Frietag store I came across the IM Viadukt, which is an amazing example of…read moreredevelopment to revitalise a historical landmark to improve the surrounding community and revitalising the local economy. It was so much fun to walk along and window shop at all the stores they have built into the Viadukt. I especially loved the indoor marketplace they have. Which is the first indoor market in Zurich. Based on the website they also have space for community events and offer tango classes. So cool! Cool factoids: The Viadukt was planned in 1875 and built within three and a half years. In December 1940, the viaduct was bombed, and until 1941, it was part of the longest continues bridge construction in Switzerland.

I visited this little shopping center twice while in Zurich. I reviewed the Markethalle portion…read moreseparately because it was so unique, and it is a separate store, or by American standards, an upscale food court. I really loved it. The rest of the shops are interesting too. They are tucked into the arches of the historic stone Viaduct. It's really charming. There is even a little car parking if you need it, but pretty much everyone, including us, comes by tram, and we saw some on bicycle. There is a #13 tram stop right at the edge of the Viadukt. It is not a large shopping area, and there was no outdoor market the days we were there, but there are several specialty shops I found interesting and would probably use if I lived there. There was a full Lolë store which I have never seen before. I like their women's clothes and find a smaller selection at bigger stores in the US like REI. There was also some trendy younger styles featured at the Roxy/Quicksliver store. There was also a nice store for bags, one for menswear, one of kitchenware and my favorite, outdoors wear with a small selection of gear type items. The salesman was very friendly and pleased to hear we were from Colorado, as he carries some items from local manufacturers right near Boulder, our home. The shops seem mostly for locals as we found this area to be less fluent in English than most of the places we went in Zurich, but they were also some of the most open and friendly.