It’s a hot day in Zurich, on the cusp of summer, and many of the locals have emerged with their swimming gear under their arms. Indeed, bourgeois Zurich, set atop the podium of the cities with the best quality of life in the world, does not only display economic prowess, picture postcard beauty and a national pride for the punctuality of its transport. Zurich is, above all, the paradise of “badis”, which is what they affectionately call their open-air public baths dotted across the whole city on the shores of the Zürichsee (Lake Zurich) and the Limmat and Sihl rivers, like some sweetwater alter ego which rises year after year when the temperatures hits the highs.

Be Water my Friend!

You only need about five minutes to realise that here water is king. They keep it clean, flaunt it and pay homage to it. Not only is this the city with the most drinking water sources in the world – about 1,200 of them. The water that is dispensed is also of unbeatable quality and its flavour up there with the top gourmet mineral waters.

With some thirty bathing facilities, plus nearly twenty open-air swimming pools, no other city in Europe can boast such a high concentration of public baths per capita. Open daily from May to September at sunrise, the badis are the focal point of social life. Each facility has developed its own character over time and there are options to suit all audiences and pockets. And, there’s more! At nightfall, a large number of these pools take on a new life, being transformed into badi-bars serving drinks and dinner, as well as hosting film screenings and providing music until well into the wee hours.

Inspired by the modest size of this small-scale metropolis and determined to save a few francs on transport, we decide to hire a bike at Züri rollt, the free municipal service which, by depositing 20 francs, enables you to enjoy the city on wheels. In the spirit of “do as the locals do”, we set out on our tour.

The Romans Bathed Here!

Zurich’s bathing tradition is no recent fad. Its history goes back 2,000 years, when the Romans unveiled the first public baths in ancient Turicum, Zurich’s Latin name. The ruins of Thermengasse, in the heart of the old town, can still be visited, and detailed information on this ancestral tradition is provided there.

But, it was not until the early-19th century that the bathing scene really took off and the city became swamped with badis. What to begin with emerged as an alternative to providing homes with running water soon spread like wildfire, and by 1900 there were already 20 public baths in existence, although with gender separation, of course!

With such precedents, no wonder that open-air bathing has become ingrained in Zurich’s DNA. The locals take visits to their badis very seriously, while visitors soon find their niche amid such alluring offerings.

Women and Men and Vice Versa

We went on a stroll through the calm waters of the historic centre. The first stop on our route was the veteran Frauenbadi. Built in 1837 on the banks of the river Limmat and reserved exclusively for women ever since its inception, there is no better place to sunbathe if you want the finest views of the Grossmünster, Zurich’s striking cathedral. Rebuilt in Art Nouveau style, the baths preserve all the character of the Belle Époque, with a large timber cloister surrounding the pool, sunbathing platforms and accesses to the crystal-clear waters of the river. By night, this classic badi turns into an elegant Barfussbar, featuring live music, literary nights and dancing, where men and women sip their cocktails, on condition they go barefoot.

And, just as opposite poles attract each other, a few minutes away stands the Flussbad Schanzengraben, the latter’s male counterpart, an oasis of tranquility for men only. This charming badi is the oldest bathing facility in the city as it has been operating since 1864. Surrounded by the remains of an old city wall, the current here is slow and swimming is risk-free. Outside of swimming hours, the premises turn into the Rimini Bar, a highly popular restaurant with an intimate atmosphere in summer, when men and women relax in the chill-out area while dinner is being barbecued. The venue, in discrete, glamorous, 100% Swiss style, is the perfect spot for snacking and having something to drink al fresco, dancing to the rhythm of guest DJs and shopping in their weekly market, featuring local designs and vintage apparel.

Alps, Sand and Sport at the Zürichsee

After a dip in the heart of Zurich, we head for the lake, where you can swim in the company of ducks and swans. The history of the Zürichsee is closely linked to that of the city. The jetties and walkways fringing the shores, inaugurated in 1887, marked Zurich’s entry into the modern era – the city thereby reclaimed land from the lake, decongesting the crowded medieval city.

On the right bank, having passed by the Opera and the emblematic Bellevueplatz, stands the coolest badi of all, the Seebad Utoquai. A bathe in its waters is like travelling back to the 19th century. Having first opened in 1890, this historic badi is a veritable institution in Zurich. Stretches of the original timber building are still intact and the set of pools there makes up one of the trendiest corners in town. There are areas for men, women and mixed, direct accesses to the lake, floating platforms and terraces for sunbathing, all patronised by seemly guests sipping on drinks, chatting congenially or heading to the massage area. If you’re feeling peckish, the restaurant serves dishes and tapas with Mediterranean aromas. But, if what you’re seeking is peace and quiet, you won’t find it here. The surrounding area throngs with boats, yachts and stand up paddles until well into the night. But, it is definitely the place to be for sybarites eager to catch the last shafts of sunlight before the sun sets into the lake.

Cut to a different setting as we switch to the opposite, left bank. We bathe while gazing at the Alps in the Seebad Enge! Open all year around, in summer guests can enjoy mixed pools and floating platforms on the lake, while the sauna is set aside for the colder months. Truth be told, not much swimming gets done here. What with beauty therapy and yoga sessions, relaxation techniques and stand up paddle classes, this badi is first and foremost a social precinct for folks in their thirties where they can show off their latest models of swimwear as well as stare and be stared back at. At the weekend it fills up with youngsters who come for brunch. The badi does not close at night – the bar and barbecue grind into motion, while open-air concerts, poetry slams and cocktails take over.

A beach of fine sand with a Mediterranean air? You have come to Strandbad Mythenquai, the ideal spot for families with children, as it boasts shallow waters and a deep-green lawn where you can lay down your towel, have a picnic or read. The bravest among you can leap off the formidable diving boards, with 1, 3 and 5-metre-high platforms, into the outrageously crystal-clear waters in this urban lake.

Downstream in Zürich West

Welcome to the freestyle paradise! We have arrived in Zurich West, the hyper-creative district and bastion of the young, cool set. Here, anything goes although, if you don’t fancy sticking out like a sore thumb, jump in and let the current carry you downstream.

The badi par excellence is the Flussbad Oberer Letten, an urban venue plastered with graffiti on the banks of the Limmat where there are no written rules – follow the locals and judge for yourself. Whether you choose to sunbathe on the platforms, have a picnic or a refreshing spritz at the Primitivo at Happy Hour – coinciding with afterwork at around 5 p.m.– make sure you are sporting a very fit body and dressed in line with the latest trend. You have come to the heart of hipsterland! If you’re feeling hot, leave your “rags” right where you are and leap into the water – you have four hundred metres of free swimming ahead of you. By night it is the turn of the highly popular Panama Bar to come alive. They serve food and DJ dance music at what is one of the best rave-ups in town.

If you still have an ounce of energy left, continue downstream with your sights set on the Silo, a concrete behemoth unveiled in 2016 for grain storage which is now the second tallest tower in the city. Half way along you will come to the Flussbad Unterer Letten. Here, the current is faster, as attested by the hordes of youngsters who descend on the spot with their airbeds and inflatable dinghies ready to sail downstream. Bathers who jump in are abandoned to their fate, being willy-nilly dragged along by the current. Some struggle in vain against the current in an attempt to swim upstream, but few achieve this. Those who remain on the riverside sit around chatting, drinking wine, unwrapping their picnic baskets or relaxing on the lawn. Oh, yes – in summer, the badi hosts two weeks of open-air independent cinema.

This is Zurich’s “dolce vita”, which reaches its peak during the bathing season – a microcosm which first-time sightseers are amazed at. If you’re thinking of visiting Switzerland’s biggest city in summer, book your Vueling here.

Text by Núria Gurina i Puig

Photos by Zürich Tourism/Caroline Minjolle; Tourism/Elisabeth Real; Zürich Tourism/Martin Rütschi; Roland Fischer; Núria Gurina

By Marco Fiocchi – RondoneR (Travelblog.it and Vistamondo.com)

When Francesco, my boss, called me, I was driving in a hot, chaotic, hectic late morning in the center of Rome.

The proposal to join the blog tour challenge of Vueling, flying on one of the Baleares islands in search of unexplored places, strikes me as a lightning. I am thrilled: Vueling Loves Islands is a beautiful challenge. And I am proud of being chosen to represent travelblog.it for Blogo.

Lovely Elisa Casagrande informs me that my island shall be Menorca. She prepares everything. Flight and hotel. It ‘s great. The island I wanted more. The only one I’ve never seen and I longed to visit. I’ll have plenty of freedom. I’ll be alone. A dream comes true.

I landed in Menorca on Saturday night. The airport is located in the south, also very close to my hotel, which is in S’Algar, just above the most popular beaches and tourist interests.

I immediately decided to rent a car. Menorca is not small, but not even huge So if I wanted to see enough I should own a transport. A motorcycle was really good but I had different equipment. As for the bike I needed more time, and more lungs …

Sunday morning I ventured at once on the south side. As I mentioned, the beaches in this part are very beautiful, but also quite popular. And the tourist building has not always respected the natural setting of the place.

In my tour’s beginning thanks to the dawn, I could enjoy almost single Playa de Punta Prima (where I greeted the sun rising from the sea), Cala de Binibeca and Cala Biniancolla. The Poblat de Pescadors (Binibeca Vell) is particular for the style of the white village. A little artificial, but with a nice mini port.

Going on I met Cala d’Es Canutells, Cales Coves and the beautiful Cala’n Porter, probably the most fascinating bay of the coast. The colour of the water from the mirador, is incredible. It looks as if it’s fake. I do not have time to visit the great cave (Cova d’en Xoroi) that all I say unique.

I move again. Need to return inland to reach other beaches, so I have time to do a hike in one of the many prehistoric sites of the island. Torre d’en Galmés. Such as Sardinia (with Nuraghi) indeed, Menorca preserves several megalithic structures. Talayotic period, which derives from talayot​​, stone structures, which together with the taula and navetas make a great archaeological heritage.Only Thinking here lived our prehistoric ancestors rendered the earth a little ‘more mother. It ‘s strange. It is fascinating.

But it is time to return to the beaches, now I’m a beach blogger. I go down to San Bou, the longest coastline of the island. A spectacular stretch of white sand of 3 km, ruined by a horrible hotel in the east.

The water is turquoise and clear. Crystalline. Almost beside San Bou there is Sant Tomas, with a series of bays, one more beautiful than the other. Vegetation that reaches the coast, red rocks, white beaches, blue water. I can’t resist and give in to the first swim. Divine.

I went down on the camin de ronda which is starting from the first beach and runs along the coast. So I realize now that I’m surrounded by nudists. Actually everywhere on the island. Of all ages. Along with normal people wearing bath suits, many families and a host of children. No one stamps his feet, or be offended. If heaven exists, this placev really looks like.

After having dried, against my will, against the Spanish siren song singing to me to put up a tent inviting me to stay and live here, I left and reached my coche (now I understand why they call it here, the car, because when you let it under the sun, then it “cooks” …).

I have to discover even more places “unexplored”, I was not even Indiana Jones, but this is a race, definitely my rival bloggers have done the same. So arriving at Cala Santa Galdana. Pleasant turquoise baia raped by big hotels and factories.

Here I decide the best thing is to take a boat, one of the many tours who lets you spy on beaches and coves unreachable in a few hours, unless you are a Rambo hounded by vietkong. I go for a ride of three hours. The company is called “Amigo’s”. A “Glass Bottom Boat” who has only a small glass bottom next to the engine, so you can watch only the splash. Cost 15 euros. I can make it.

Very good choice. I can admire from the sea beautiful places, such as Fustam Cala, Cala Escorsxada, the natural arch with the legend of the pirate hidden ship, Cala Mitjana, the beautiful Cala’n Turqueta and the famous Cala Macarella and Maccarelleta, these ones too besieged by boats and yachts. Are they trendy for nudists? But in a boat aren’t you runningaround always naked?

We can swim round the lovely Cala Trebaluger, complete with water slide that shoots you do not know where. When we return the crew offer us an ignoble gin lemon into a lemonade bottle with a funny straw. I understand it’s a tradition, but is seasickness.

May be in the evening I will find out the cause for this tradition, arriving in Ciutadella, Menorca’s second city, not only geographically opposed to Maò, which is the capital, and I will visit the next day.

On 24 June, in fact, is St. John. And here’s a holiday in the country, for the patron saint San Juan de Ciutadella. I immediately understood it because I sensed many caballeros on horseback, all dressed up, including horses.

Rivers of that Anglo-Saxon drink mixed with the local lemon, rain over the picturesque village with the elegant buildings that becomes a sort of big arena for the passage of horses. I’m too tired to attend the various shows, I just go against the crowd, and then I sit down at the restaurant. The most famous one: S’Amarador. I want to taste the dish: caldereta de llagosta.

A soup of lobster stew with bread to eat. I’m sorry for the poor animal that comes alive proudly displayed. But the flavour is exceptional. In the night I run away from the port now besieged by people from the passage of the knights. Above me even a shooting star, but a quilted starry sky. One sees clearly the Milky Way. I almost stop here, I get lost in silence and peace.

The morning after is harder to get up early. A new day in Menorca. The hunt continues. This time I promise to search really the most unexplored places. So after scouring the southern side of the island, probably the most touristic, I headed to north. Crossing diagonally Menorca I notice that the vegetation changes going north. The island is still very green, but here above all. And it’s funny to see white farmhouses, amid bales of hay, grazing cows and lush palm trees.

In a short time I’m at Fornells, the village of the central north coast, in which gulf sailing and mini racing colouring the sea. The village is nice and peaceful, suitable for tourists in search of quiteness. I find a wi-fi hot spot (it’s not so easy in whole island) and I send some pictures around for # MyVuelingCity or to Facebook for Travelblog.it. But it’s already time to leave. Towards Cap de Cavalleria. The northern most point of Menorca.

While ascending, the coast becomes barren, rocky. Red sands and green fields which look like mountain. The sea is always blue. I wish to be Gauguin to paint these horizons. I try with my camera. But I’m not so good…

When I’m close to the lighthouse of Es Cobròmbol, I see on my left a small creek. I left the road and go down a road of orange stones. I do very well. There is a small bay looks like a natural pool. Three beaches in the midst of dark rocks. The smallest one is finally my very private corner of paradise. I can not help it, I’m totally bare. Nudist to the goal. So do I. Now I understand why Menorca iis devoid of any social superstructure.

The only poor witnesses of this naturist epiphany are very nice locals. There are many goats with me! Free and not in difficulty on the sharp rocks. They look tolerant even though I think I’m Colombo kissing the shoreline. What a great place, I want to stay here..

Instead, the duty (is there one more pleasant?) calls me. I reach the lighthouse. Watch Fornells from the promontory. There is a strong wind. On the way back I stop, however, in the most famous beach of the area. Platja de Cavalleria (notice I always use the Catalan language, here it’s like the Holy Bible). A road descends to a fiery red terrace overlooking this tropical half moon. Amazing. But there is “too many” people for me, now I’m used to the wilderness..

On the right of the playa there is a cala even more beautiful. Cala Torta. It seems the Reef. From above I have the feeling of being in Hawaii, but without 24 hours’ jet lag on my shoulders.

I place myself in the car, I still have 3,4 hours before going to catch my return flight that leaves in the evening by Maò to Barcelona. So I decide to point north east. I’m sorry for what I cannot see to my left, the islanders advised me about Cala del Pilar and Cala Algairen, before reaching the famous Cala Morell. But I would never have time to walk so much. Too bad. I’ve lost too much wooing the goats…

Going down clockwise from the south, there are still points delicious, as Cova des Vell Mari or Arsenal Son Saura. But I go to another lighthouse, like in a trip with Virginia Woolf. I am so arrived to Fevarritx Cap. Unusual and moon scenarios. Dark rocks, flat, on a spit of rock bursting from the sea. Cala Presili is the most beautiful, but the whole area is very wild and picturesque.

Now unfortunately my tour ended. There’s only Maò to visit in a hurry after an iced cervesa. Pretty, clean but honestly Ciutadella, despite that funny chaos, it seemed best.

I can return the car. 40 euros for day is not the greatest savings. But if you stay for a week is more convenient. Embarked me on the fly. Vueling wants to surprise me, always on time, even ahead of time. In the same place. The great window 4A. Even during the fly Barcelona to Rome, I admit it without marketing blackmailing. Check those flights if you don’t believe me.

What can I say? It was an amazing experience. I found an island I fell madly in love with, and where I shall return soon. Vueling Thanks! Thanks MyVuelingCity!

By Marco Fiocchi – RondoneR (Travelblog.it and Vistamondo.com)

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.