Zürich Spring Flowers – 13 Best Places to Enjoy Them

Spring flowers come earlier to Zürich than you might expect. Already in January, you’ll see the snowdrop flowers appearing while the trees will still be bare for many more weeks. While late snow storms might make us think winter will never end. But when you see the purple crocus blanketing the fields, it’s a sure sign that spring has started.

Since spring is a short season, I made this spring flower calendar so you won’t miss any of the blossoms. Each flower type doesn’t last long, so I take walks around Zürich every week from March through May to make sure I don’t miss any of the flowers at their prime. You might like our Zürich springtime flower walk.

1. Snowdrops – January to March

These are the first to appear, sometimes as early as January. You’ll see them everywhere, no special place to enjoy these flowers.

2. Crocus – March

The crocus flowers start popping out in the lowlands in early March and are usually gone by the end of March. Arboretum park along Zurich lake is great place to enjoy them. At higher elevations in the mountains, you’ll often see crocus in April and early May.

3. Daffodils – mid March through mid April

These usually start the second week of March and continue through early April. You’ll see them in the all parks, but Belvoir park has a huge field of them (see Belvoir park on a map).

4. Magnolia trees – mid-March to early April

These usually start blooming in the third week of March and continue through early April. They only last a week or two, so best to check often to catch them at their peak. The white ones bloom first, then the pink ones a week or two later. For magnolias, we like Rieter Park in Zurich Enge.

I call this one the “pink party” tree.

We also like the magnolias in Platzspitz park north of the Landesmuseum and Zürich HB main train station. See on map.

5. Cherry Blossoms – last week March to first week April

In Zürich city, cherry blossom trees usually start to bloom around last week of March to first week of April. You need to carefully monitor Instagram so you know when peak bloom hits. Idaplatz is a popular place to photograph these trees, with both pink and white ones.

Friedhof Sihlfeld has some gorgeous pink cherry trees. The pink trees are in the northwest corner, closest to the Hubertus bus and tram stops (see on map). It’s a cemetery, so please be respectful when visiting this area. If you came by bike, you are requested to not ride your bike inside the cemetery and preferably park your bike outside the walls.

Seestrasse near Bahnhof Enge is also a nice spot to enjoy them and shows up on Instagram a lot.

I found this little hidden park near Hegibachplatz, that has the most gorgeous cherry blossoms. I’d come here for a little meditation. It’s park of the Neumünster school grounds, so there’s a little playground to use outside school hours.

You might also like the cherry blossom trail in Frick and another cherry blossom trail near Zug.

6. Rose Fountains – Week before Easter

In April, during the week leading up to Easter, the Reformierte Kirche in Zurich usually fills several fountains with roses to inspire hope. See the Rose Fountain map and learn more.

7. Tulips – mid-April through early May

The best place to enjoy tulips is Mainau Island just over the border in Konstanz, Germany, about an hour drive from Zurich. They plant thousands of bulbs and have amazing gardens all over this island. They also have a huge playground and lots of places to picnic. See my full review here.

It’s a long drive from Zürich, but you might also like the free tulip festival in Morges on the shorts of Lake Geneva. It runs from mid March through early May.

I’d also recommend the famous Keukenhof gardens near Amsterdam, where you can also bike around the tulip fields. See my review of Keukenhof here.

8. Apple tree blossoms – mid April to early May

Apple trees start to blossom in Zürich mid April. Rieter Park has an apple orchard that usually blooms in the middle of April (see on map). In fall (usually first week of September), you can pick apples from these trees as part of a community event organized by the local community center, Quartier Treff Enge.

In May, we like the Altnau apple tree trail in northeast Switzerland, which can also be done as a bike ride.

9. Wisteria – early May

This usually starts first or second week of May and lasts for a couple weeks. Belvoir park is the best photo opp for wisteria, with these beautiful arches.

10. Rapeseed – mid April through May

In April, many fields turn bright yellow, filled with rapeseed, which is used to make canola oil. Near Zürich, I like the Zimmerberg walk or bike ride for these flowers. See this location on a map. 

There are more really nice fields behind the Kilchberg cemetery (see on map). These fields occasionally get mowed by farmers, so you might not see them when you go.

11. Irises – mid-May

Belvoir park also has a huge iris garden, with a couple dozen varieties. These usually hit their peak in mid-May and don’t last very long.

12. Rhododendrons – May

About a 30 minute drive southwest of Zurich, you’ll find Seleger Moor (see on map), a huge cultivated garden with many acres of flowers, mostly rhododendrons and azaleas, the largest collection in Switzerland. See my full review here.

13. Dandelions – May

In May, many fields in Switzerland are covered in yellow dandelions, makes for a beautiful. Felsensegg is a good place to enjoy them.

Where are your favorite places to enjoy spring flowers in Switzerland?

Zürich flower map