Zürich’s cinemas are mostly two- or three-screen houses showing the latest releases, almost always in their original language, although afternoon shows are sometimes dubbed. Check in the listings for “E/d/f”, which means English spoken with German and French subtitles. Non-English-language films are rarely given English subtitles. Prices are universally high (Fr.15–17) but every cinema in the city has cut-price Fr.11 tickets for all shows on Mondays.

City-centre cinemas showing Hollywood releases abound. There are two art-house cinemas with daily changing programmes of retrospectives and experimental movies from around the world: Xenix Filmclub, Kanzleistrasse 56 at Helvetiaplatz; and Filmpodium im Studio 4, Nüschelerstrasse 11.

Classical music, opera and theatre
The acoustically superb Tonhalle concert hall, Claridenstrasse 7 (01/206 34 34), inaugurated by Brahms in 1895, has a programme of world-class classical music of all kinds from both the resident Tonhalle and Zürich Chamber orchestras and guest performers. Many of Zürich’s churches – principally the Grossmünster, Fraumünster, Predigerkirche and St Peter’s – host regular concerts of organ, choral and chamber music, as does the Conservatory (Florhofgasse 6), the Dolder Grand Hotel and the Kunsthaus. The city’s large Opernhaus (01/268 66 66) has an impressive programme of both opera and ballet: performances sell out quickly, but you can check on the season’s schedule at www.operabase.com and write for tickets, which go on sale a month ahead of time, to: Opernhaus Billetkasse, Falkenstrasse 1, CH-8008 Zürich.

The Schauspielhaus theatre, Rämistrasse 34 (01/265 58 58), is one of the German-speaking world’s finest: during World War II, it was Europe’s only German-language theatre that continued to stage productions independent of Nazi censorship. The main stage remains Zürich’s most prestigious, while the cellar-studio hosts avant-garde productions. Zürich also has more than a dozen other theatres, big and small, presenting everything from tragedy to puppetry, but all in German. Perhaps the most accessible performances for non-German speakers are the top-quality cabaret shows at the Hechtplatz Theatre (01/216 31 26).