Swiss rock
Toni Molterei. platted. is one ot the many mohouses converted into clubs in Zwich’s Kreis 8 district. pictured below
Celeste Neill-Duvoisin traces Zurich's transformation from dusty banking city to clubbing capital of west Europe
n my first visit to Zurich. my Swiss
boyfriend dragged me along to the city‘s
annual Street Parade. 1 went along expecting a paler version of Berlin's famous Love Parade and was bowled over by some 800,000 people partying frantically through the city streets and into the clubs. I quickly discovered it‘s not just Street Parade that is attracting European clubbing connoisseurs to a city most people associate with chocolate and rich bankers. In fact. Zurich boasts the highest ratio of nightclubs-to-population in Europe. and now has designs on Berlin’s reputation as Europe‘s centre of cutting-edge youth culture.
The scene is focused around the industrial district of Zurich West which has quietly been mutating over the last ten years. giving rise to a vibrant alternative arts and club culture movement. The area. known as Kreis 5. stretches from the Limmat River to the railway line. extending almost as far as the Europabrucke bridge. Formerly home to Zurich's industrial revolution. the grubby. urban sprawl of vast factories and dusty warehouses is far removed from the old money and fur coat feeling of the smart city centre. But. since the mid-90s. Kreis 5 has gone through a radical revolution of a very different kind.
The old hydro pumping station has been transformed into the vast Rohstoffiager night club. which now pumps out extreme techno from the likes of Sven Vath and his Cocoon label residency. regularly enjoyed by up to 2.500 euphoric dancers.
Just across the road the minimalist industrial space of an old yoghurt factory provides a tasteful backdrop for the funky Toni Molkerei club. known for highlighting the best new hip hop DJs. While these two venues showcase the diverse range of music heard in Zurich clubs. the scene tends to focus. like Berlin. on minimal electro. Headman. one of the best-known Swiss
16 THE LIST 14—28 Feb 2008
dance music exports thanks to his acid punk pop anthem ‘()n & On‘ (Comma). plays regular sets at the nearby Q Club. There's a thriving home- grown scene of DJs and producers whose spiritual home is the intimate and moody Zukunft club. perhaps Switzerland‘s best kept secret. which favours a pitched-down. disco- electro sound.
But the area doesn't just cater for 2()-something clubbers partying until dawn. The old ship building factory known as the Schiflbau is the base for one of the city‘s most stylish restaurants. La Salle. while the recent opening of the ultra- hip lounge bar La Suite en Folie. just behind the Shiffbau and with a sumptuous. decadent ambience symbolises the start of a new. grown- up era in Zurich West’s club culture.
The combination of these vast (and cheap) empty spaces with Zurich‘s recently extended club closing times — many in the area are open well past 6am ~ has all made for an organic transformation of Zurich West into the clubbing metropolis of Switzerland.
For further information on Zurich visit www.1uerich.com. BMI flies direct to Zurich from Edinburgh and Glasgow (ww.flybrni.com) from £150 return
Blow the budget
Celeb Spotting? How very 905. For SUlIOUSl‘, cool star-gazing, you need to head south, to the Pic Du Midi. This mountain in the Pyrenees is famous for its observatory; among its collection of telescopes is a 108cm Whopper which was installed in 1963. With funding from NASA. and used to take detailed photographs of the surface of the moon in preparation for the Apollo miSSions. But you don't have to be Neil Armstrong to appreCiate the facilities. At nearly BOOOrn high, the Pic du Midi also boasts some of the most spectacular Views in France. and, for adrenalin-seeking adventurers. access to both great mountain biking trails and spectacolar off- piste skiing. Better still, it has started offering Sleepovers. For around £1 10 per person per night you get cable car tickets. an aperitif, a guided tour of the observatory. B8B and. this being France. a gourmet dinner. wwwpicdumidicom. OO 83 825 00 2877.
Onashoestring
You don't have to have an astronomical budget to enjoy a starry night. At Court Farm, near St Austell in Cornwall, camping pitches cost from £9.50 for a two-man tent and come With access to a 9.5m Newtonion reflector telescope. positioned in a nearby field (who says Size isn't everything?). If you want more than just a clueless gawp skywards, the farm can arrange for an expert from the Roseland Observatory to deliver a tailored talk. Or, on nights when natural pyrotechnics such as meteor showers or passmg comets are promised, wannabe Patrick Moores can enjoy the alfresco ‘star parties' which are sometimes held on Site. There's plenty to keep Visitors occupied during daylight hours. too. The leafy Eden Proiect and Lost Gardens of Heligan are both only six miles away, while quiet beaches. quaint fishing villages and some of Cornwall's best surfing breaks are also easily reached. www.courtfarmcornwallcouk, 01726 823684. (Rhiannon Batten)