Cafés and café-bars crowd the waterfront and the Old Town squares, and they do a roaring trade amongst the flood of tour groups passing through the town. Better places, frequented by locals, abound in less-trod corners.

Café Hug, Mühlenplatz. Superb breakfast café, open from 7am, with warm fresh bread and croissants, that also has quality inexpensive lunch menus (Fr.13–17). Closed Sun.

Café Parterre, Mythenstrasse 7. Relaxed and inexpensive locals’ hangout, open daily from breakfast until after midnight, with quality lunchtime menus (Fr.14). Go ahead and try their English breakfast (Fr.14), but don’t hold out too many hopes.

Heini’s Tearoom, Falkenplatz. Perfect place for cakes and pastries on a broad, people-watching corner in the Old Town.

Jazz Kantine, Grabenstrasse 8. Buzzing Old Town hub, open during the day for coffee and beers, and on into the late night as a hopping bar and meeting point, with DJs and live music downstairs.

Löwengraben, Löwengraben 18. Chic postmodern café-bar in the old prison (see “Accommodation”) that’s the in-place of the moment.

Opus, Bahnhofstrasse 16. Pricey but excellent waterside café and wine-bar, with a bright warm interior and a huge salad buffet (Fr.15 buys a ton of the stuff).

Panorama, in the Astoria hotel, Pilatusstrasse 29. Rooftop bar with big views and bigger sofas.