ZURICH - In Your Pocket

38 NIGHTLIFE
Clubs
Adagio E-5, Gotthardstrasse 5, 8Stockerstrasse, tel.
+41 44 206 36 66, www.adagio.ch. In a mediaeval decor
with big chandeliers, paintings and stonework, the Adagio
hosts a slightly older, well-groomed crowd. Dress up to
party to dance classics, funk, soul and house music. Expect
gentlemen over fifty hunting for girls who might well be you,
as well as thirty-something couples who are just having a big
night out. Not cheap entertainment, but if you are on a budget
trip not the place you want to go anyway. Latin sounds on
Tuesdays, Brazil-party on Wednesdays. Q Open 21:00 - late,
Tue & Wed 20:00- late, Sun & Mon closed. Admission: Tue &
Wed 5-10Sfr, Thu 10Sfr, Fri & Sat 25Sfr. A
For some real partying in style: Kaufleuten. usgang.ch
Encore G-6, Kreuzstrasse 24, 8Kreuzstrasse, tel.
+41 79 555 33 88, www.encore-club.com. The guests
at the small Encore are mostly very young, beautiful and
certainly rich. Buying a single king-size bottle of finest
French champagne here blows the limit of a standard
credit card. And a bottle like that is what it takes to really
impress in this venue. But don’t worry, if you stick to beer,
regular guys like us can afford and enjoy a night out here.
Given you like house, electro and partytunes and you’re
not averse to dressing yourself up a little. Q Open Fri &
Sat 23:00 - late.
Gonzo C-1, Langstrasse 135, 8Helvetiaplatz,
www.gonzoclub.ch. If you see people queuing next to a
public phone box on Langstrasse, then queue up too! This
small but very tight rock and pop club (sctrictly no electro
music) really is worth queuing for. You head down some
stairs just next to the building and arrive in a cellar, where a
dance floor, a bar and a constantly overcrowded smoker’s
room waits for some serious rock ‘n roll with you. Gentlemen,
start your engines! Q Open Thu 22:00 - 04:00, Fri & Sat
23:00 - late. Admission around 15Sfr, Thu 23:00 - 24:00 free.
Jade D-4, Brandschenkestrasse 25,
8Brandschenkestrasse, tel. +41 44 202 80 02,
www.jade.ch. Opened in 2009 in a building which used to
be a post office, the fashionable Jade draws a young, rich
and beautiful party crowd. Have some cash or a credit card
handy, as the style here is to order the spirits by the bottle.
Girls really do dress up (‘tha less tha betta’) and men either
show their muscles or their shirt collar - ideally both. The
music is mainly house, party tunes and electro. On weekdays
the Jade is a restaurant with meat and fish specialities. Q
Open Fri 23: 00 - 04:00, Sat 23:00 - 04:00. Admission around
25Sfr, minimum age 21. AK
Kaufleuten D-3, Pelikanstrasse 18, 8Sihlstrasse, tel.
+41 44 225 33 22, www.kaufleuten.com. The Kaufleuten
club is an institution in Zurich’s nightlife: the rich, the beautiful
and wannabes like us queue up almost every weekday to
party, mostly to electronic music and disco-house sounds
(sometimes r’n’b and hip hop). Dress to impress is the motto,
and for some people here looking the part seems to be very
important. Nevertheless, it’s a good place for a classy night out.
If you don’t make it past the bouncers into the club, there are
a restaurant and two bars (Pelikan and Hof) in the Kaufleuten
complex as well. There are often concerts before the parties.
Q Open 23:00 - 04:00, Mon 21:00 - 02:00, Fri & Sat 23:00 -
06:00, Sun 22:00 - 02:00. Admission around 25Sfr. AEX
NEW
Stairs Baslerstrasse 50, 8Kappeli, www.stairsclub.ch.
When you are queueing for this club, you will know immediately
why it’s name is stairs. Its location on the roof top of the
Letzipark shopping mall means you have to climb quite a few
to get there. But as a fan of progressive, minimal and techno
sounds, it’s well worth the extra effort - you can expect
some wild clubbing. And with the (almost) never-ending after
hours, the party here seems to go on forever. Q Open Fri
23:00 - 08:00, Sat 23:00 - open end. Often free entry until
01:00/02:00. Enter the club from Hohlstrasse.
Adult entertainment
If you are looking for sins of the flesh, and then
probably you’re male, Zurich offers what you can expect
of a city of its size. In Switzerland prostitution is legal,
so in Zurich you can find everything from strip bars to
brothels. Street prostitution is allowed in certain areas
- for example at Häringstrasse in Niederdorf and in the
northern part of the street Sihlquai next to Limmatplatz.
Broadly speaking you have two options: most of the
strip clubs - which are called nightclubs or cabarets - are
located in the Niederdorf part of the old town or around
Langstrasse west of the main train station. What you can
expect there are expensive drinks (i.e. 20Sfr for a beer)
and shows with half-naked ladies dancing on a pole until
they are entirely naked.
Brothels, sex and sauna clubs are generally situated
in the suburbs or just outside the city. In the city
you find such establishments around Häringstrasse
in Niederdorf and around Dienerstrasse in the
Langstrasse district.
As in other places, many prosititutes work because they
have few other income options or, even worse, because
they are forced to. Street prostitutes are particularly
likely to be victims of human trafficking. In the summer
of 2010, several Zurich pimps received prison sentences
for extreme violence against their prostitutes.
Calypso F-3, Niederdorfstrasse 60, 8Central, tel.
+41 44 252 33 70, www.calypso-nightclub.ch. The
Calypso in the Niederdorf claims to have the only shower
show in town. Apart from that there is the standard stage
with two poles and a huge mirror in the back. Opens early.
Q Open 11:00 - 04:00, Sat & Sun 18:00 - 04:00. A
Moulin Rouge F-3, Mühlegasse 14, 8Rudolf-Brun-
Brücke, tel. +41 44 262 07 30, www.nightclub
-moulinrouge.ch. Decorated traditionally with red
leather sofas, columns and table lamps, the Moulin Rouge
has been entertaining gentlemen for more than 25 years.
Centrally located. Q A
Zurich In Your Pocket zurich.inyourpocket.com
Zurich is undoubtedly Switzerland’s gay and lesbian
capital and is in general quite gay-friendly. What better
proof than the election of lesbian Corinne Mauch as mayor
in 2009? Zurich’s vibrant gay and lesbian scene was one
of the driving forces in creating today’s club culture. Of
course, some of the gay/lesbian venues are cool places to
hang out even if you’re hetero.
Zurich’s gay and lesbian calendar has several major
events, all in spring or summer. For over ten years a
Christopher Street Day has been held in June. Called
Zurich Pride Festival since 2010, this is a full week
event with parties, open-air bars and a colourful march
through the city. For some this is getting too mainstream,
giving rise to the Off-Pride. In spring the Pink Apple
film festival shows gay and lesbian films from all over
the world and awards a prize to a young director. But
the lesbian and gay scene is also very lively, big events
aside. Whether you’re looking for a gay-friendly bar to
relax in, gay and lesbian clubbing or venues of a more
raunchy kind, you’ll find it in Zurich. At the moment there
are only two clubs which are gay day in, day out, so most
gay clubbing takes place in other venues. We list some
of the best events, but check out the websites or ask in
some of the bars too.
Cafés, Bars & Hotels
Cranberry F-3, Metzgergasse 3, 8Rathaus, tel. +41
44 261 27 72, www.cranberry.ch. Campari is a major
theme in this minimalist bar - a play on the most famous
Swiss German pop song Campari Soda? You can certainly
order campari soda, but the team will make you most any
other cocktail - and well. The Cranberry is a buzzing bar for
gays, lesbians and anybody gay-friendly. There are occasional
theme parties. Check out the (mainly German) website for
some useful gay links. QOpen 17:00 - 24:00. JA
It doesn’t get boring here: Zurich Pride Festival.
Zurich Pride Festival
Daniel H. C-3, Müllerstrasse 51, 8Stauffacher, tel.
+41 44 241 41 78, www.danielh.ch. Daniel H. is a low-key
star in Zurich’s gay bar scene. With no exuberant glamour
and just the occasional party, Daniel H. is very relaxed
and heterofriendly. The interior is a tasteful take on the
1970s in brown and orange - yes, this can be an atrocious
colour scheme, but here it works a treat. The Italian style
sandwiches are also quite a treat. Good place to pick up flyers
on gay parties and events in Zurich, they also sell tickets for
some events. QOpen 17:00 - 24:00, Fri 17:00 - 02:00, Sat
19:00 - 02:00. Closed Mon & Sun. NK
zurich.inyourpocket.com
GAY ZURICH
Hotel Goldenes Schwert F-3, Marktgasse 14,
8Rathaus, tel. +41 44 250 70 80, fax +41 44 250 70
89, info@g-hotel.ch, www.gayhotel.ch. The ‘Golden Sword’
is an overtly gay hotel, but that doesn’t mean they rub it in your
face. The very clean, bright rooms come with toilet, bathtub,
safe, desk, minibar and a bath robe. There is also Wi-fi in all
rooms. The gay clubs T&M and AAAH! are in the same building,
so it’s easy getting home. Though there’s no restaurant, you
can have breakfast delivered to your room for 15Sfr. Rooms
in the associated guest house around the corner are 40 to
80Sfr cheaper, toilets there are shared. If you book on the
internet, prices can be slightly lower. Parking in the in-house
garage is 28Sfr a night. Q (5 singles 140 - 170Sfr, 14 doubles
170 - 190Sfr, 3 suites 270 - 380Sfr). JA6LW hhh
Predigerhof F-3, Mühlegasse 15, 8Rudolf-Brun
Brücke, tel. +41 44 251 29 85, www.predigerhof.ch.
The Predigerhof in the centre of the Niederdorf area is a sure
bet, open 365 days a year until two in the morning. Order
one of their sandwiches and a beer - or step it up a little and
choose one of their champagnes. Maybe Lotti, the famed
landlady, will join you. You can ask the Thai and Swiss staff
for tips for gay events - but maybe you’ll just want to stay
here, if they’re showing a game of soccer or the Eurovision
song contest. Ask for the free wireless internet access. Q
Open 14:00 - 02:00.
Clubs & Parties
Rage Wagistrasse 13, 8952 Schlieren, www.rage.ch.
Rage is a factory of a cruising club with all the works -
darkrooms, slings, tubs and, of course, bars. Sector c is
fetish pure, with a strict dresscode and changing themes.
Only men are admitted. Get there by train to Schlieren station
or with bus 31 to the stop Wagonsfabrik. Nightbuses on the
weekend. Q Thu 19:00-01:00, Fri 22:00-04:00, Sat 22:00-
05:00, Sun 17:00-01:00 13-20Sfr. NX
T&M and AAAH! F-3, Marktgasse 14, 8Rathaus, tel.
+ 41 44 266 18 18, www.aaah.ch. Mix grand chandeliers,
cubist-style murals and generous amounts of disco lights
- and you get T&M’s decor. Tasteful or tacky, decide for
yourself. The parties are definitely worth it, and while lesbians
and friends are welcome, this is a decidedly gay club. The
regular programm features r’n’b on Fridays while Saturdays
drift more in direction house and charts. There are also
occasional theme parties and regular drag shows, usually at
22:00. Club AAAH! is in the same building and is a plan B for
any day of the week. Q T&M open Wed - Sat 21:30 - 03:00,
AAAH! open 22:30 - late, Sun - Tue 21:30 - late. T&M: free
entry until 23:00, after that usually around 20Sfr, AAAH!: free
admission on weekdays, otherwise around 25Sfr. If you pay
to enter one, you often get free access to the other club.
Tanzleila K-6, Club Exil, Hardstrasse 245, 8Schiffbau,
www.tanzleila.ch. Tanzleila is a women-only dance party,
sounds mixed only by DJanes. It’s not only lesbian, but a
good place if you are. Q Every first Sunday of the month in
Exil club - check website.
Resources
Zürigay online magazine, www .zurigay .ch. Zürigay
is a Zurich-centred gay online community with a certain
amount of English-language content. There’s a chat area,
personals and a small listing of up-coming events. Click
on guide for infos on gay venues. You have to register for
access to some areas, a standard membership is free.
October - November 2012
39