Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Zurich

Before you go

What happens when you get there

Trams, trains and boats

Every tram, bus and S-Bahn in the ZVV network takes dogs. A dog up to 30 cm at the shoulder travels free in a bag or basket. Anything bigger needs a half-fare second-class ticket, or the SBB Day Pass Dogs at CHF 25 (CHF 27 from 13 December 2026), which covers trains, boats, PostBus and city transport across Switzerland for the day. Dogs must be on a lead on public transport and at stops and stations, go under your seat on SBB trains, and stay out of the dining car. The same applies on ZSG's Lake Zurich boats from Bürkliplatz and the Limmat boats from the Landesmuseum, where a small dog in a bag rides free and a larger dog pays the reduced second-class fare, and on the themed cruises such as the fondue boat dogs ride free.

Sights

Lindenhof, the Limmat quays, Bürkliplatz and the whole lake promenade are open ground. The Uetliberg summit and its trails are open too, and the S10 up from the main station is a normal ZVV train, so the same dog ticket applies. The Kunsthaus, the FIFA Museum and Zoo Zürich refuse dogs, with assistance dogs the only exception, and the zoo has no dog boxes at the gate. Uto Kulm at the top of the Uetliberg doesn't publish a rule for its restaurant or tower, so ask.

Badis and the lake

The cantonal dog law keeps dogs out of every public bathing establishment, which in Zurich means the fenced badis such as Seebad Enge, Utoquai, Tiefenbrunnen and Oberer Letten, along with cemeteries, school yards and sports pitches. The open shoreline outside the badis is not a bathing establishment, so watch for signs rather than assuming a blanket ban. The canton warns that blue-green algae can appear in the lake at any time of year, so keep a dog out of scummy or discoloured water.

Leads and the forest

Zurich signs a daytime lead rule in most of the city, so expect to keep the dog on a lead in the parks and on the promenade unless a sign says otherwise. In the woods, including the Uetliberg and the Adlisberg behind the Dolder, dogs must be on a lead from 1 April to 31 July and within 50 m of the forest edge, for the breeding season.

Dogs at breakfast

A clear yes at Sorell Seidenhof and Park Hyatt. The Dolder Grand says all restaurants, though it doesn't name breakfast separately. Baur au Lac is a no indoors, terrace at Marguita only. Everywhere else on the list, Storchen, Widder, La Réserve, the Savoy, Neues Schloss and the two airport hotels, publishes nothing, so ask.

Fees and weight

Free at the Hyatt Regency airport with the Happy Dog Package, CHF 40 for a second dog. CHF 20 a night at Sorell Seidenhof and Storchen, CHF 25 at Widder, CHF 45 per stay at Park Hyatt, CHF 45 a night at Baur au Lac, CHF 45 to 50 at La Réserve, CHF 50 at the Dolder, and CHF 50 per stay plus CHF 17 a night at Neues Schloss. Mandarin Oriental Savoy publishes no figure. The only weight cap on the list is 22 kg at the Hyatt Regency. Storchen says size limitations may apply without saying what they are.

Getting there

Zurich Airport is ten minutes by train from the main station. SWISS takes a dog in the cabin up to 8 kg with the carrier for CHF 90 within Europe, and flies direct from London and Dublin, but no airline brings a dog in the cabin into the UK or Ireland, so plan the way home through the hold, the Eurotunnel, or via Amsterdam on KLM for Dublin. Once in Switzerland the SBB rules above apply on every train.

Vets

The University Animal Hospital, Universitäres Tierspital Zürich, at Winterthurerstrasse 260 runs a 24-hour emergency service every day of the year. Small animals +41 44 635 81 12. Ring before you arrive.

Best walks

Up Lindenhof from the Sihlstrasse side for the view over the Limmat to the Grossmünster, then down along the Limmat quays through the Niederdorf. Bürkliplatz and the lake promenade out past the Arboretum to Mythenquai on one shore, or along Utoquai to the Zürichhorn park on the other. The S10 from the main station to the Uetliberg for the summit paths and the Planetenweg ridge walk towards Felsenegg. From the Dolder Grand, the Adlisberg forest trails start at the door.

When to go

May to September for the lake promenade, the terraces and the Uetliberg trails, with the forest lead rule in force until the end of July. October brings the wine hikes around the lake and cooler pavements. November is the fog month, when the city sits under cloud and the Uetliberg summit at 871 m is often above it, which is the one reason to go up then. The Christmas markets run from 19 November to 23 or 24 December 2026 at the main station, Münsterhof, the Niederdorf, Werdmühleplatz, Europaallee and Bellevue, and the Old Town ones get uncomfortably crowded in the evening, so go in the afternoon. In winter the Uetliberg trails become sledge runs, so keep the dog on a lead up there.