Until recent decades, shipping containers were seen as purely utilitarian means to transport goods across the vast expanses of the oceans. Amid growing environmental consciousness, more and more unused containers have ended up as building blocks for unusual structures. One such example is Zurich’s Freitag Tower, nestled next to Hardbrücke Central Station.

Towering 26 meters (85 feet) over the city’s former industrial zone, this shipping container skyscraper is made up of nine units stacked on each other. The eye-catching structure serves as the flagship store of the Freitag bag company, which is devoted to making bags from fully recycled materials like truck tarps and bicycle tires and tubes. In fact, the Freitag Tower is home to the world’s largest collection of “plastic freeway bags,” amounting to a whopping 1,600 bags.

To make things even better, the tower’s ninth floor features an outdoor observation deck that offers a breathtaking view of the city’s Industriequartier and beyond. Adjacent to the Freitag Tower is Frau Gerolds Garten, an outdoor gathering place that changes with the seasons. During the warmer months, there are open-air bars, a garden kitchen, and sun terraces. During the winter months, you can find campfires throughout the gardens. There are also small, locally owned shops and various activities and events held throughout the year.

Located about 10 kilometers from downtown Zurich, the town of Schlieren was a regional industrial powerhouse for much of its recent history. Whereas nowadays this Zurich suburb is far more hi-tech oriented, it still abounds with relics from its bygone era. Once part of a four gas-holder cluster, Gasometer No.1 of Schlieren, built in 1898, is the only extant structure of its kind in Switzerland. At its heyday, this industrial vestige illuminated the streets of Zurich and later served as a heating source for homes during wintertime.

Along with its three counterparts, the plant had an average capacity of 25,000 cubic meters of gas, making it by far the largest energy plant in the country at that time. Following technological advancements, the gas storage facility was rendered obsolete and ceased operations in 1974. After dodging the grim fate of its siblings, all of which were demolished, Gasometer No.1 was ultimately preserved in 2005. Its skeletal remains are closed to the public most of the year for safety reasons, albeit this former technological marvel is remarkably impressive even for mere onlookers.

Complementing Zurich’s rich urban scenery is a series of natural nooks that function as the city’s green belt. Ensconced in the eastern outskirts of Zurich, Adlisberg is a wooded hill with dozens of hiking trails and recreational facilities. Rising above the dense forest is the Loorenkopf Lookout Tower. Constructed in 1954 by the local municipal beautification association, the wooden tower is merely 33 meters tall (100 feet). However, when taking its elevation into account, the tower surpasses most of the world’s famous skyscrapers, reaching a height of 690 meters.

The timber structure has a 152-step spiral staircase that leads to a pair of viewing platforms and an observation deck situated at the top of the tower. The 30-meter-tall observatory offers not only a stunning panoramic view of the city but also a distant glimpse of several alpine peaks, including Jungfrau, Mönch, and Eiger. The Loorenkopf Lookout Tower is about 2 kilometers from the Bergstation Dolderbahn funicular station and is accessible via a 25-minute hike along a wooded trail.

As the name implies, Lake Zurich, or Zürichsee, is Zurich’s main geographical feature, with much of the lake’s northwestern tip located within the city itself. While there aren’t many swimmable parts in the downtown area, a single public bath stands out as one of the only places where locals and visitors can dip into the waters of the lake. Tucked away along Zürichsee’s eastern shore, Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen is a historic water park originally created in 1886.

In 1954, the complex was redesigned by Otto Dürr, Joseph Schütz, and Hans Nussbaumer, who updated the lido according to the living garden style. Among its well-maintained facilities are an open-air spa, sun terraces, and a verdant park. However, the true centerpiece of Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen is its outdoor circular pool. Protruding into the lake, the pool boasts stunning vistas of the lake and the nearby Alps. The wooden perimeter deck that gives the pool its round shape also serves as a sunbathing platform during the summer months.

Parks around the world come in many sizes and forms, yet one park in Zurich’s northern district of Oerlikon defies all conventions. Previously the site of the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon company, where electric locomotives were mass-manufactured in the 19th century, the site was redeveloped in 2002 into an unusual public park.

Named after its predecessor (Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon), the MFO Park fits precisely on the land plot where one of the factory’s buildings once stood. Unlike ordinary gardens, the park doesn’t have lawns or woodlands. Instead, a 35-meter-wide, 100-meter-long, and 17-meter-tall steel-frame structure provides an ample habitat for a plethora of creepers, forming a vertical garden that spans the park’s multiple trellises.

Sandwiched between the structure’s double walls is a set of staircases granting access to platforms and balconies that protrude inward. The crown jewel of the MFO Park, however, is its rooftop terrace, offering stunning views of Zurich’s northern parts. This hanging garden changes with the seasons, as the climbing plants are either leafless during winter, blooming in spring, green in summer, or strikingly red in autumn.

Like many European countries, Switzerland has no shortage of lavish castles that mirror the continent’s rich cultural heritage. In contrast to the awe-inspiring palaces that attract throngs of tourists, some castles are abandoned and well-hidden, making them incredibly off-the-beaten-path places. Tucked away in the middle of Uetliberg’s hilly forest, west of Zurich, not much is left of Friesenberg Castle these days. Nevertheless, the castle’s deep forest location, coupled with the lack of visitors, contrasts with its otherwise dystopian state.

Although its actual age was never fully verified, it is estimated that this fief dates back to the 11th century, when the country was governed by the feudal system. Perching on a spur that juts out of the steep slope nearby, the medieval castle was once owned and managed by the Mülner family, known for its formidable knights. Amid growing tensions between the different noble families who ruled over the region, the castle was ultimately ravaged around 1300. More than six centuries later, the ruins were excavated and partly reconstructed by the local authorities. As of today, the fort is accessible via a wooded hiking trail and, thanks to its high elevation, serves as a scenic point from which one can gaze at the city below.

As you’ve probably realized by now, Zurich abounds with scores of former industrial facilities that were converted into public or commercial spaces. Nestled along the shore of Lake Zurich, Rote Fabrik is among the city’s most conspicuous repurposed buildings. Erected in 1892 as a silk mill, Rote Fabrik (Red Factory) definitely lives up to its name, with its façade being dominated by red bricks.

Following its decommissioning in 1972, the municipality of Zurich designated the building for demolition, as it sought to widen the nearby street. However, a political campaign by the Social Democratic Party, followed by massive demonstrations and riots by young activists, who wanted to convert the edifice into a cultural youth center, ultimately turned the tide and forced the authorities to revise their initial plans.

Inaugurated in 1980, the Rote Fabrik cultural center has been serving as an alternative venue for theater shows, music concerts, and other types of events ever since. In fact, many of the world’s most famous artists performed at the center long before they became globally famous, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Nirvana. Besides the building’s main function as a hub for alternative culture, it is also home to a modern-art gallery, a restaurant, and a mind-boggling array of murals and graffiti. If you wish to attend a live concert, please check Rote Fabrik’s website for more details.

At first glance, the verdant hill known as Monte Diggelmann, on Zurich’s northern outskirts, might seem like a seamless part of the city’s extensive natural landscape. Nonetheless, few people know that this grassy knoll is actually the result of a persistent battle by one person who fought against an entire system.

In 1962, as the University of Zurich sought to expand northwards into the empty tracts of land in the Oberstrass district, it designated an area named “Irchel” for its brand-new campus. Surprisingly, it faced fierce opposition from a single person—Walter Diggelmann, the then-president of the district association of Oberstrass. While Diggelmann eventually lost his struggle when the plan for the new campus was approved, he managed to save a small percentage of the land from development.

Subsequently, 15 percent of the original campus plan was allocated as a natural zone. The 6-meter-tall Monte Diggelmann was created in the early 1970s from the excavated soil accumulated during the construction of the nearby campus. Nowadays, the artificially built hill serves as a lookout with incredible views of downtown Zurich, the Limmat valley, the Lägern ridge, as well as the city’s international airport. Every winter, the green heap also becomes a popular tobogganing spot among locals.