The Limmatquai is the broad promenade that runs along the right bank of the Limmat between the Grossmünster and the railway station bridge — about 700 metres of medieval and early-modern facades looking across the water to the old town. The lower stretch holds Zurich's grandest Zunfthäuser (guild houses) — the Saffran, Zimmerleuten, Rüden, Haue — built and rebuilt in the 13th–17th centuries by the merchant and craft guilds that ran the city. Several still operate restaurants you can eat in.
A tram line runs the full length, but on foot is better. Stop on the Münsterbrücke for the picture-postcard view of the Fraumünster spire reflected in the river. The riverbank fills with after-work drinkers and lunchtime sun-seekers in summer; in winter it is quieter and the Zunfthaus windows light up beautifully against the dark. Walking the Limmatquai is the simplest way to grasp the geography of old Zurich.