The Circle at Zurich Airport: What It Is, How to Get There from the Terminal and What to Do with an Hour
The Circle is the reason Zurich Airport has a district rather than a car park outside its terminal. It opened in November 2020 as Switzerland’s largest building project, two curved blocks by the Japanese architect Riken Yamamoto facing the runway with a park on the slope behind, and it holds two of the hotels on this site. This guide explains what is in it, how to walk there, and what to do with the hour before a flight or the evening after one.
What is there
The Circle has about 180,000 sq m of floor space on a site that reads as a small town: a main square, lanes between the blocks, and a park of 80,000 sq m rising behind it with paths and a viewing point over the airport. Inside are the Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle and the Hyatt Place Zurich Airport The Circle, the Circle Convention Center with 17 rooms for up to 2,500 people, about ten restaurants and cafés, brand shops and the duty-free operator’s landside stores, a University Hospital Zurich outpatient centre with specialist clinics, a pharmacy, co-working and meeting space, and offices for more than 50 companies including Microsoft Switzerland and the airport’s own headquarters. Airport parking P4 is underneath.
Getting there from the terminal
From Arrival 1 or 2, follow the signs for The Circle to the covered passage that begins beside the bus and tram station in front of Check-in 1; the walk to the main square is about five minutes on the flat, with lifts at both ends. From the railway station under Check-in 3 the route is signed Hotels and then The Circle. The tram stop for lines 10 and 12 and the regional bus station are directly in front of the complex, so a traveller arriving by tram from Glattbrugg reaches The Circle before the terminal.
The hotels
The Hyatt Regency Zurich Airport The Circle is the full-service hotel, with the Babel restaurant, Bar Iris, the Regency Club and a sauna, and it runs the convention centre next door. The Hyatt Place Zurich Airport The Circle is the select-service hotel at a lower rate, with the 24-hour ZOOM Bar and market. Both are described room by room on their pages; the short version is that either puts you five covered minutes from check-in without a shuttle, which only the Radisson Blu otherwise manages.
An hour, an evening, a day
With an hour before check-in, the cafés on the main square beat the terminal’s; with an evening, the restaurants (Swiss, Italian, Asian and the Hyatt Regency’s Lebanese Babel) stay open after the airport’s shops and restaurants close at 10:00 pm, and Bar Iris and the ZOOM Bar serve late. With a day and no wish to go into the city, the park has a 30-minute loop with the runway below and the Alps on the horizon in clear weather, and the medical centre handles the lost prescription or the pre-flight check-up. Families use the park and the playground; the family-friendly hotels guide has the rest.
Events
The Circle Convention Center takes conferences of up to 2,500 and is the usual venue for airport-side congresses, which is when the two Hyatts and the Radisson Blu, with its 52 meeting rooms, sell out weeks ahead; the shuttle hotels in Glattbrugg (Mövenpick, Dorint, Hilton) are the fallback. Check the convention calendar before a weekday trip in spring and autumn.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Circle at Zurich Airport?
A 180,000 sq m complex opened in November 2020 across the road from the terminal, designed by Riken Yamamoto, with two Hyatt hotels, a convention centre for 2,500 people, shops, about ten restaurants and cafés, offices for more than 50 companies, a University Hospital Zurich outpatient centre and a park on the hill behind it.
How do I walk from the terminal to The Circle?
From arrivals, follow the signs for The Circle to the covered passage that starts beside the bus and tram station; it takes about five minutes to the main square. The Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Place are signposted from there, and the railway station is on the same route.
Is The Circle open to passengers who are not hotel guests?
Yes, all of it except the hotel floors: the shops, restaurants, the park and the medical centre are public, and the restaurants are the best place near the terminal for a proper meal, since the airport's own close by 10:00 pm.
Can I stay at The Circle and walk to my flight?
Yes. The Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Place are inside the complex, five minutes on foot from check-in through the covered passage, with no shuttle involved; they are the walkable hotels after the Radisson Blu, which has its own walkway.
Information last verified: October 2, 2026