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TRAVELLER
79
Over the past decade, Zürich has
experienced a real liberalisation of its
culture and attitudes
let him reopen themunicipal Schanzengraben pool after
swimming hours as Bar Rimini (
rimini.ch
), an intimate
outdoor bar and restaurant. The venue’s low-key, boho
glamour – all floor cushions, fairy lights and pot plants – was
an instant success. Within 12months, nighttime plans had
been hatched for Oberer Letten, whose PierWest DJ nights
are now the best-loved dance parties in town (this year, it’s
been renamed Bar Panama) and Seebad Enge, which has
built on its chic, 30-something appeal with cosy acoustic
concerts. Even venerable Frauenbad has got in on the act,
albeit in suitably classical style, its Barfussbar (barefoot bar,
barfussbar.ch
) hostingmusic recitals, literature readings
and dancing ¬ shoeless, natch – with the illuminatedOld
Town for a backdrop. Still upping its ante, Bar Rimini now
puts on occasional DJ sessions, including a humdinger
on the day of Zurich’s annual Street Parade (this year on 11
August). It also runs the weeklymarket (Mondays, 7.30pm
until midnight), a gathering of stalls selling designer goods,
alternative and vintage fashions, and artisan foods.
This is all a relatively recent development, as over the
past decade, Zürich has experienced a real liberalisation of
its culture and attitudes. Attracting the creamof corporate
types fromall over the world – ex-pats account for 30% of
the populace – with its sky-high salaries and a standard
of city living repeatedly ranked by analysts as among the
world’s highest, the city is also the hub of Switzerland’s
ZÜRICH