In continuous operation as an inn since 1357 on Weinplatz on the Limmat — sixty-four rooms, the Rôtisserie riverside terrace, the Barchetta Bar, and a position between the Grossmünster and Fraumünster towers that no competing hotel can match.
"In continuous operation as an inn since 1357 — among the longest continuously operating hotels in continental Europe. Sixty-four rooms above the Limmat at Weinplatz, the Rôtisserie riverside terrace facing the Lindenhof, and the only Zurich hotel where the bells of three of the city's four major churches are audible from the bedrooms."
Storchen Zürich (literally "The Stork") has operated continuously as an inn since 1357 on the Weinplatz wine market — the medieval merchants' square on the western bank of the Limmat, directly opposite the Lindenhof. The original 14th-century timber-framed inn was rebuilt several times across the centuries; the current building dates to 1939 (after the previous structure was demolished and rebuilt to add modern amenities while preserving the Weinplatz position). The Storchen has been continuously owned and operated by the Zurich Stock Exchange-listed Swiss Prime Site Hospitality group through the post-war and modern decades, and underwent a full renovation in 2017 that brought the property to a current contemporary five-star standard while preserving the historic character.
The 64 rooms (across nine categories) are arranged across the building's seven floors. River-view categories — the Riverside Rooms and Riverside Suites — have direct exposure to the Limmat with the Lindenhof, the Fraumünster, and the Grossmünster all visible from the windows. The Storchen Suite — the property's flagship — occupies the top-floor corner with a private terrace overlooking the Limmat and the Old Town. Standard rooms run smaller (around 22 square metres) but the position and the river views are the substitute. The 2017 renovation maintained the property's distinctly Swiss character — warm woods, Alpine textile patterns, restrained colour palette — rather than imposing a generic international five-star vocabulary.
The dining is the property's quiet strength. La Rôtisserie — the riverside restaurant on the Weinplatz terrace — runs a Swiss-French-Italian seasonal menu and is the most photographed hotel-restaurant terrace in Zurich (the Limmat in front, the Lindenhof above, the Grossmünster towers on the eastern bank). The Barchetta Bar is the cocktail venue; the breakfast room overlooks the river. The hotel's afternoon-tea programme is a long-running Swiss tradition. The dining is genuinely engaged with the city — Zurich residents themselves use the Rôtisserie regularly, particularly for the al-fresco summer service — which the more international five-star competitors cannot reliably claim.
Service holds the small-property European standard — the 64-room scale gives the Storchen a recognition-and-attention quality that the larger hotels cannot match. The Preferred Hotels & Resorts affiliation gives international guests a quality benchmark; the property is on the Lifestyle Boutique Hotel programme. The Old Town setting is the property's central proposition: Bahnhofstrasse is two minutes' walk via the Wühre arcade, Paradeplatz four, the Lindenhof one, the Grossmünster six across the Münsterbrücke, the Fraumünster three, the Augustiner-quarter two. For guests wanting the most authentic continuously-operating Swiss-hotel experience the Storchen is the single best answer in Zurich, and arguably in Switzerland.
A Zurich anniversary at the Storchen is the historical-and-Swiss choice. A Riverside Suite for the milestone year, dinner at La Rôtisserie on the Weinplatz terrace, the Barchetta Bar afterward. The 670-year continuous operation gives the city anniversary a depth that no competitor — not even the 180-year Baur au Lac — can match.
A Zurich honeymoon at the Storchen has the historical flavour the Belle Époque grand hotels cannot quite match — the medieval-inn heritage, the Limmat-and-Lindenhof position, the Old Town walking access to all the city's significant cultural sites. Riverside Suites are the central honeymoon booking; the Storchen Suite for the milestone version. The property is an unusually photogenic setting for the honeymoon photo programme.
For Zurich solo retreats — a writer's week, a research trip, a quieter cultural visit — the Storchen is the most enjoyable choice for guests who want the Old Town setting. The Rôtisserie at lunch is a comfortable solo-dining venue; the Barchetta Bar is set up for solo evenings; the river-view rooms are the most reliable reading-and-thinking environment in any Old Town Zurich hotel.
Weinplatz 2
8001 Zurich (Altstadt)
Switzerland
Rennweg tram interchange 3 minutes' walk; Bahnhofstrasse 2 minutes; Paradeplatz 4 minutes; Zurich Hauptbahnhof 7 minutes by tram
64 rooms across 9 categories
Standard Rooms from CHF 480/night
Riverside Rooms from CHF 620/night
Riverside Suites from CHF 1,100/night
Storchen Suite from CHF 2,200/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Continuously operating as an inn since 1357; renovated 2017; Preferred Hotels & Resorts
La Rôtisserie riverside terrace
Barchetta Bar
Breakfast room overlooking Limmat
Storchen Suite with private terrace
Position between Grossmünster & Fraumünster
Lifestyle Boutique Hotel
From CHF 480/night. Riverside categories book three months ahead for spring weekends; the Storchen Suite books five months ahead for any peak week. Preferred Hotels & Resorts I Prefer benefits apply.
Book This Hotel →Nine medieval interconnected buildings on Rennweg restored as 49 individually designed Old Town rooms.
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