36 Hours in Zurich

1. ­­Come to Dada, 4 p.m.

A revolt against more or less everything — reason, order, convention, language, good taste — the absurdist global movement known as Dada began 100 years ago in Zurich, the mischievous bastard child of Hugo Ball, Tristan Tzara, Jean Arp and their subversive coterie of intellectuals and artists. To celebrate the centennial, Kunst­haus Zurich, the city’s excellent modern art museum, is hosting multiple exhibitions and special events. “Dadaglobe Reconstructed” (through May 1) assembles drawings, photomontages, collages, poems and stories from artists all over Europe, including Max Ernst and André Breton, and “Francis Picabia: A Retrospective” ( June 3 to Sept. 25) showcases the abstract and sometimes darkly humorous works of the French painter and writer. The permanent rooms devoted to the Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, who also gets a retrospective this year, are a must. Admission 25 francs ($25).

2. ­Birth of a Notion, 6:30 p.m.

“Explosions of elective imbecility”: That was Tristan Tzara’s description of the perform­ances, readings and other indescribable, and sometimes nonsensical, goings-on at Cabaret Voltaire, the cafe-clubhouse where Dada is said to have been born in 1916. To commemorate this 100th birthday, the cafe will host 165 Dada-themed events and exhibitions this year. The cavernous and rough-walled main room is also an atmospheric spot to sip a latte macchiato (6.50 francs) among scruffy self-styled bohemians. The bookshop can enlighten you with a copy of the “Dada Handbook” (25 francs) or inspire your own incoherent creations with a bottle of house absinthe (65 francs).

3. ­­Music for the Mouth , 8 p.m.

Avant-garde artistry invades the kitchen at Maison Manesse, a small, spare, friendly spot where the tasting menus are named after songs by Joy Division (for carnivores) and Brigitte Bardot (for vegetarians). Fabian Spiquel’s meat-eater’s playlist might consist, as it did recently, of sliced duck with droplets of salty squid ink and sweet camu camu berry (an Amazonian shrub high in antioxidants), succulent veal with lush parsnip purée and crackly-smoky fried brussels sprouts, or an intriguing farm-and-forest hybrid of velvety egg foam and shaved truffles served in a concave Savoy cabbage leaf. The flavorful jam session is hardly a no-cover affair, though. Set menus run 130, 140 and 150 francs. Reserve.

4. ­­The Late Show , 11 p.m.

Your arty first day in Zurich finds a fitting coda at Xenix-Bar. The white, low-slung, cabinlike space looks out on Helvetiaplatz — a large square where a flea market unfolds on Saturday mornings — and is connected to a cinema, Kino Xenix, that shows international indie films, forgotten classics, vintage favorites and unusual documentaries. Outfitted in fair-trade fabrics, John Lennon glasses and vintage-store jackets, the multigenerational crowd puts away glasses of local Paul lager (4.50 francs) and Swiss pinot noir (6.50 francs) before, after and between screenings.

5. ­­Home and Office, 11 a.m.

Saturday is for shopping. If you’re furnishing a Depression-era office — or a home inspired by one — Walter awaits. Situated along Geroldstrasse, a grungy strip of photo studios, art galleries and nightclubs, this vintage shop stocks everything from Hermès typewriters to Tolix lockers to venerable metal file cabinets and desks. For seating, head down the street to Bogen 33. Iconic midcentury European designers like Arne Jacobsen, Mies van der Rohe and Eero Saarinen sprawl around the underground emporium — in chair form — alongside many other time-warp furnishings.

6. ­­Swiss Bliss, 1 p.m.

Switzerland’s horn of chocolaty, cheesy plenty spills out into Markthalle, an indoor food market in the cavernous, stony arches of a converted railway bridge called Viadukt. You can assemble lunch with bounty from various stands — sushi counter, cheesemonger, chocolatier, wine dealer, pie shop — or sit down in the lively neo-industrial Restaurant Markthalle. Modified daily, the menu features traditional Swiss ingredients for a 21st-century clientele. You might find homemade sausage with barbecue sauce (19 francs), duck slow-cooked in a bag of its own fat (33 francs), or a lightly charred pork steak with truffle butter (24 francs).

7. ­­­The Track Team, 3 p.m.

Inspired by all that food? Kitchener Plus, one of the many cool boutiques that has sprouted under the railway track, is a concept store devoted (mainly) to the culinary arts. Their stock can help you grow vegetables (with seeds aplenty), serve coffee (in Falcon enamel mugs), shuck oysters (aided by knives from Malle W. Trousseau), wash up afterward (using Triumph & Disaster liquid soap) and dry off (courtesy of tea towels by Hay of Copenhagen). Visual arts abound in nearby Westflügel, a small bookstore-gallery that stocks art tomes and hosts photo exhibitions.

8. ­­Swiss Vistas, 5 p.m.

Take a late afternoon cruise down Lake Zurich on a boat operated by ZSG, which offers departures from Bürkliplatz on various ferry routes and sightseeing trips. (A video monitor next to the automated ticket machines announces the day’s schedules.) Many journeys, including the regular 90-minute “short round-trip” option, head southward into the bucolic suburbs. Amid floating swans and flying sea gulls, Zurich’s domes, spires and Beaux-Arts edifices slowly give way to hills of conifer trees and pretty villagelike communities with half-timbered houses. The real stars, though, are the sublime snow-topped Alps in the distance. Adult tickets 8.60 francs.

9. ­­­Evening Joe, 9 p.m.

Is that Brigitte Bardot again? Yes indeed, this time in image form, vamping up the ample wine list at Josef, a glammy new restaurant with a rock ’n’ roll vibe. Yves Saint Laurent, Nick Cave and Robert De Niro grace the walls of the noisy, candlelit room, and inventive small plates stream from the kitchen. To wit, smoky slices of pink veal enjoy earthy backbone from toasted hazelnuts and exotic lushness from puréed manioc. Italian-Mediterranean flavors infuse goat cheese wrapped in zucchini slices with diced sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Desserts might include chocolate mousse in caramel-quinoa sauce with Mideast accents from jasmine tea ice cream and mint. Menus range from 38 to 75 francs per person. Reserve.

10. ­­­Spirits in the Night, 11:30 p.m.

You can travel the world on an ocean of booze thanks to the international ingredients at Hotel Rivington & Sons, a 1920s-style cocktail bar on the ground floor of the Prime Tower skyscraper. Amid Art Deco mirrors and panels, bartenders in bow ties will send you off to Mexico with a Tres Amigos (tequila, mezcal, agave syrup, China-China, bitters; 20 francs), to the Far East with a Cough Syrup (Japanese whiskey, sage, lavender syrup; 18 francs) and then to your grave with a Death Cube (rye, bourbon, Cognac, falernum, China-China, bitters; 20 francs). Ascend to heaven in the elevator, which will deposit you at Clouds. Lined by glass, the sultry lounge serves up smashing views and myriad gins. Send yourself a Postcard From Zurich (gin, vermouth, bitters; 23 francs), then send yourself to bed.

11. ­­­Naked Brunch, 11 a.m.

Purification requires suffering. Suffering requires 29 francs. Twenty-nine francs opens the door to Seebad Enge, a floating lakeside resort whose saunas will dissolve your bodily aches and coax the weekend’s toxins to trickle out of your dilated pores. The views are restorative too. As you lie naked — everyone goes naked, though it is not officially required — on the pine boards, you have stunning vistas of the glassy lake and distant snow-capped mountains through glass panels. Afterward, take a bracing cold shower (or dive in the lake) and chill out in the panoramic relaxation room, outdoor bar or indoor cafe. A fruit juice (4 francs) or jasmine tea (4 francs) helps you detox. Or go for a glass of prosecco (14.50 francs) and commence to retox.

Opened last year in Zurich’s historical quarter, Marktgasse Hotel (Marktgasse 17) has 39 rooms done in airy, elegantly minimalist style (white fabrics, blond wood) along with a bright, lively cafe; dark, sleek bar-restaurant; library; and hammam. From 274 francs.

­Crawling distance from the pubs and clubs of sleazy-cool Langstrasse, Pension Für Dich (Stauffacherstrasse 141) is a popular cafe and concert venue with an 18-room pension. Most rooms have parquet floors, vintage furniture and flamboyant wallpapers. From 125 francs.