When the canton closes the doors and how the city lets them stay open, the hospitality patent, sound and noise rules, what the bill and the team cost, and when Zurich fills.
Zurich’s night runs along Langstrasse, the old red light district that the tourist board now calls the heart of the city’s nightlife, with relaxed bars and loud underground clubs side by side. Zürich-West, the former industrial quarter, holds the electronic clubs, Hive and Supermarket among them. In the centre, Kaufleuten on Pelikanplatz calls itself the city’s cult club, and the Old Town lanes of Niederdorf turn into a bar district after dark. In summer the lake and river baths become bars in the evening. In August the Street Parade, which its organiser says drew 900,000 people, ends with the clubs dancing on. All of it runs against a closing time the canton sets at midnight and the city can push back.
Zurich has a closing time, and most of the work is in trading past it. The canton sets midnight; the city decides which rooms may stay open later, and on which nights. In the city, hospitality patents are issued by the Stadtpolizei Zürich, Verwaltungsabteilung (city police, administrative division).
Without a permit, a venue is closed from midnight to 05:00. When the closing hour arrives, guests must be asked to leave and must go within 30 minutes, with no more service. The City of Zurich grants permanent extensions, usually to 04:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 05:00 on Friday and Saturday, but never in residential areas (noise-sensitivity level II). No closing hour applies anywhere in the city on the Saturday and Monday of Fasnacht, on Sechseläuten and on New Year’s Eve, and a venue normally gets 12 late nights a year for public events.
Trading past midnight takes a permit.
Read the ruleThe canton’s hospitality law keeps venues closed from midnight to 05:00. The closing time does not apply to hotel guests staying there.
Ignoring the closing hour is an offence that carries a fine, for the person responsible and for a guest who stays on.1
Last orders belong before the closing hour, not after it.
Read the ruleWhen the closing hour arrives, guests must be asked to leave. They have 30 minutes to go, and may not be served in that time.
Plan the last call and the cloakroom around the half hour.2
Two city sources name different offices as the one that decides, so check with the City of Zurich where to apply.
Read the ruleThe city can push back a venue’s closing hour for good. Its usual practice is to 04:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 05:00 on Friday and Saturday. Where there is reasonable doubt that the neighbours’ night rest can be kept, the permit can be a time-limited trial.4
Check a site’s noise-sensitivity level before you sign a lease, if you plan to trade past midnight.
Read the ruleThe city refuses a permanent extension wherever disturbance of the night rest is expected, and grants none at all in areas of noise-sensitivity level II, the residential zones. After breaches, especially justified noise complaints, the Stadtpolizei can also take measures.3
These nights need no application.
Read the ruleNo closing hour applies anywhere in the city on the Saturday and Monday of Fasnacht, on Sechseläuten and on New Year’s Eve. On Berchtold’s Day (2 January), 1 May, 1 August and the Saturday and Monday of Knabenschiessen, the closing hour moves to 02:00 across the city.
A night you do not use cannot be carried over to another.3
Private events for a group set in advance, such as a wedding or a company party, can get further late nights.
Read the ruleFor public events a venue is normally allowed a later or lifted closing hour on 12 days a year, even if it already holds a permanent extension. Apply to the Stadtpolizei at least three working days ahead. Venues with especially suitable rooms can get more.
After the normal closing hour a “Geschlossene Gesellschaft” sign goes on the door, and no one else is let in.3
Outdoor loudspeakers need a police permit.
Read the ruleAn extended closing hour normally covers only the rooms inside. A garden can be permitted to midnight at most, with no grace period, and many sites must close earlier.
If a bar or club disturbs the night rest, the police can close it for that night.4
An indoor club night may go ahead.
Read the ruleOn Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Whit Sunday, the Federal Day of Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, the canton’s rest days act bans dance events, concerts and similar shows, except those held indoors.
For anything outdoors on these days, ask the City of Zurich: it can allow events that suit the day.7
A new operator needs a new patent.
Read the ruleServing food or drink for gain in a place the public can enter needs a patent from the municipality, with or without alcohol. It is issued to the person responsible for running the business, for named premises, and cannot be transferred. No professional qualification is needed, only legal capacity and a guarantee of proper management.
The holder answers for order in the venue and for everyone working there, and must name a deputy for any absence.1
It rests on your own declaration and is due within 30 days.
Read the ruleA venue selling spirits pays a levy for each four-year period, set by the litres of spirits it sells a year. The ordinance’s table charges CHF 200 for up to 500 litres, CHF 400 for over 500 to 1,000 litres and CHF 600 for over 1,000 to 1,500 litres, with further steps for larger volumes. The levy is at most CHF 8,000.
If it is still unpaid after a further 20 days’ grace, the patent loses its validity.2
Under-16s without an adult may not be let in after 21:00.
Read the ruleNo spirits may be served to anyone under 18, and no alcohol of any kind to anyone under 16. No alcohol may go to drunk guests or to people dependent on alcohol or drugs.
A venue serving alcohol must also offer soft drinks no dearer than its cheapest alcoholic drink in the same quantity.1
The patent holder answers for checking this.
Read the ruleDoor staff and other security staff must be Swiss, EU or EFTA nationals or hold a settlement permit (C permit), have legal capacity and no felony or misdemeanour on their criminal record, and have the basic security training the job needs, with regular further training.
The law names no particular course, so ask the City of Zurich what counts.1
Above 93 dB(A): a hearing warning at the entrance, free ear plugs and a level meter, with the level kept at or below 96 dB(A).
Read the ruleAmplified sound at events may not exceed an average of 100 dB(A) over an hour, nor a peak of 125 dB(A); events for under-16s are capped at 93 dB(A). Above 93 dB(A), the organiser notifies the authority in writing at least 14 days before.
Above 96 dB(A) for more than three hours, also record the level, keep the data six months and set aside at least 10% of the audience area as a recovery zone at 85 dB(A) or less.8
In the City of Zurich the Stadtpolizei issues the patent once the premises have their building permits. Apply at least four weeks before you open.
Before the patent you need a legally binding building permit and a project permit for the hospitality project (Projektbewilligung Gastwirtschaftsprojekt) from the Amt für Baubewilligungen and Umwelt- und Gesundheitsschutz. The rooms and areas the patent covers follow from the building permit.52
After a successful on-site inspection the patent can be granted orally on the spot, and the document follows by post. It costs CHF 341 without an inspection and CHF 451 with one.5
Issued by the Stadtpolizei Zürich, Verwaltungsabteilung (city police, administrative division)
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the City of Zurich before acting on it.
Few Zurich clubs print a table price. Mäx in Zürich-West does, by the size of the lounge, so the bill below starts from its lounge for twenty, with VAT and a service charge inside it.
| Minimum spend | CHF 1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 10%, added by the venue | CHF 100.00 |
| VAT on drinks 8.1%, included in the prices | CHF 82.42 |
| Guest pays | CHF 1,100.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
Mäx Zürich asks a minimum spend of CHF 1,000 for a lounge of 20 to 24 guests, the figure used here.36
Drinks, and food served in a venue, carry the 8.1% standard rate. Food sold to take away can carry 2.6% if the business keeps it properly separate; alcohol never does. The example treats the minimum spend as including VAT.9
A tip must be included in the price, or labelled as a tip with its amount, and nothing may be charged beyond the price shown or the amount stated. The example shows the service charge as its own line.10
Ask a tax adviser how VAT treats a club’s entry charge and a separate service charge. Theatre and music performances can be exempt; the example taxes the service charge at the drinks rate.9
Rough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
CHF 20 to CHF 35
Typically about CHF 25
From four clubs’ own pages: regular weekend nights cost CHF 20 at Gonzo, CHF 20 to 25 at Kanzlei, from CHF 25 to 30 at Kaufleuten, and CHF 25 to 35 at Plaza. CHF 25 is the most common price. Halloween nights are left out.
CHF 250 to CHF 1,000
A typical table, about CHF 500
From one club’s own pages: Mäx Zürich’s lounge minimum spends run from CHF 250 for five guests to CHF 1,000 for 20, with CHF 500 for ten, and its bottle packages with entries cost CHF 515 to 980. One room, so treat it as a guide.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Price sources: Gonzo, Kanzlei, Kaufleuten events, Plaza, Mäx lounges.
In Zurich the pay floor comes from the hospitality collective agreement, set by the month and by training. Check the city’s own hourly minimum too: the notes below say where it stands.
Minimum wage CHF 3,713 a month, since 1 January 202612
The L-GAV’s monthly minimums for 2026 run from CHF 3,713 with no vocational training to CHF 4,070 with a two-year federal certificate, CHF 4,528 with a federal diploma and CHF 5,293 after a federal professional examination, paid pro rata to part-time staff. From 1 January 2027 the lowest rises to CHF 3,735.12
The average working week is at most 42 hours, or 43.5 in seasonal and 45 in small businesses as the agreement defines them.13
Staff are owed a 13th month’s pay of a full monthly gross wage, or 8.33% on top of each hourly wage.14
The City of Zurich’s own minimum wage of CHF 23.90 an hour is approved and has been upheld in court, but it is not yet in force: the city will give at least six months’ notice of its start. Apprentices, workers under 25 without a vocational qualification and some others would be exempt.15
A tip must be included in the price or labelled as a tip with its amount. “Tip included” is allowed; “tip not included” without a figure is not.10
Tips count towards the wage for old-age insurance (AHV) contributions where they form a significant part of it.11
Permits for staff night and Sunday work come from the canton’s labour inspectorate, not the city police.5
Zurich writes its big nights into its rules: Sechseläuten and New Year’s Eve run with no closing hour, and after the Street Parade the clubs dance on.
A public holiday, after a night with no closing hour anywhere in the city.
Official siteThe closing hour moves to 02:00 across the city, a second late night after New Year.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays. Good Friday and Easter Sunday are also high holy days: no dance events or concerts outdoors, though indoor events are exempt.
Official siteThe guilds’ spring festival, with a parade and the burning of the Böögg. The afternoon is off in the city, and no closing hour applies anywhere in the city.
Official siteA public holiday in the canton, and the closing hour moves to 02:00 across the city.
Official siteWhit Monday is a public holiday, so Sunday night is a holiday eve. Whit Sunday is a high holy day: no dance events or concerts outdoors, though indoor events are exempt.
Official siteA demonstration through the city, usually with a festival alongside.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
The national day in high summer, and the closing hour moves to 02:00 across the city.
Official siteLove Mobiles circle the lake basin from Utoquai to Hafendamm Enge, and the organiser lists clubs to dance on in afterwards, Hive, Kaufleuten and Mäx among them.
Official siteA youth shooting contest with a funfair at the Albisgütli. The Monday afternoon is off in the city, and the closing hour moves to 02:00 across the city on the Saturday and the Monday.
Official siteA high holy day: no dance events or concerts outdoors, though indoor events are exempt.
Official siteThe city’s film festival, with premieres over about eleven days.
Official siteNot a holiday, but Kaufleuten, Mäx, Hive and others put on Halloween nights, and Kaufleuten’s costs about twice a normal Saturday.
Official siteMarkets at the main station, Europaallee, Münsterhof, Werdmühleplatz, Bellevue and in the Old Town.
Official siteMany have Christmas Eve afternoon off. Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day are public holidays, and Christmas Day is a high holy day: no dance events or concerts outdoors, though indoor events are exempt.
Official siteNo closing hour applies anywhere in the city, and the free Silvesterzauber festival round the lake basin ends in fireworks over the lake.
Official site
Where you open decides how late you may trade, because the city grants no permanent extension in residential areas. Langstrasse is still the heart of the night.
The old red light district linking Kreis 4 and 5, now what the tourist board calls the heart of the city’s nightlife, from relaxed bars to loud underground clubs.
The up-and-coming west of the city, where the tourist board places Zurich’s well-known electronic music clubs.
The pedestrian Old Town lanes, which turn into a bar district with street artists in the evening.
Central rooms near Paradeplatz, such as Jade, known for VIP lounges and exclusive parties.
Palais Mascotte, which the tourist board calls the city’s oldest club, sits between Bellevue and Stadelhofen station.
The city’s newest quarter, mixing shops, culture, restaurants and bars.
The tourist board’s food trend district and current hotspot, with bars among its restaurants.
Bathing places on the lake and the Limmat that become open-air bars in the evening, Seebad Enge among them.
The left lake shore of parks and lake baths, home to the Rote Fabrik culture centre.
Kaufleuten on Pelikanplatz leads the list by a distance, and three of the ten sit in Zürich-West.
| Rank | Venue | Nights | Music | Published price | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kaufleuten and JadeClubParadeplatz and Pelikanplatz · Pelikanplatz, 800137383539 | Klub nights Fri and Sat; Jade Fri 23:00 to 04:00 and Sat to 05:00 | Jade: hip-hop, house and Latin | Klub entry from CHF 25 | 3,900 |
| 2 | MäxClubZürich-West · Hardstrasse 219, 8005374036 | Club nights most Fridays and Saturdays | Techno, trance and schranz | Lounges from CHF 250 minimum spend | 1,300 |
| 3 | HiveClubZürich-West · Geroldstrasse 5, 80053741 | Thu 23:00 to 04:00, Fri to 07:00, Sat to 09:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 600 |
| 4 | PlazaClubBadenerstrasse, Kreis 4 · Badenerstrasse 109, 80043732 | Bar Thu to Sat 20:00 to 02:00; club nights in the hall from 23:00 | Not listed | Entry CHF 25 to 35 | 450 |
| 5 | ViorClubSihlporte · Löwenstrasse 2, 80013742 | Weekend club nights, and Sunday after-hours from 03:30 | Not listed | Not listed | 350 |
| 6 | AuraClubBleicherweg · Bleicherweg 5, 80013743 | Club 23:00 to 04:00; Classic Cars Evolution every Saturday | Not listed | Not listed | 250 |
| 7 | GonzoClubLangstrasse · Langstrasse 135, 80043733 | Wed to Sat from 23:00 | Not listed | Entry CHF 20 Fri and Sat, free on Thursdays | 150 |
| 8 | KanzleiClubLangstrasse · Kanzleistrasse 56, 80043734 | Fri and Sat, 23:00 to 04:00 | Not listed | Entry CHF 20 to 25 | 150 |
| 9 | HeavenClubNiederdorf · Spitalgasse 5, 80013744 | LGBTQ+ club nights at weekends, 22:45 to 05:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 100 |
| 10 | SupermarketClubZürich-West · Geroldstrasse 17, 80053745 | Fri and Sat from 23:00 | Electronic | Not listed | 100 |
Ranked by monthly Google searches worldwide for each venue’s name with Zurich or Zürich, as Ahrefs estimates them. Few rooms publish a capacity, so this measures demand, not size. Only rooms that their own site shows open are listed; Kaufleuten and Jade share one building and operator, so they share one row. Venues named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Details come from each venue’s own pages and can change; a venue can ask us to correct or remove its entry.
Behind every full room is a city of about 450,000 residents, with millions of hotel nights a year on top.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
The canton keeps venues closed from midnight to 05:00 unless the city grants later hours. With a permanent extension, Zurich’s usual practice is 04:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 05:00 on Friday and Saturday. When the closing hour arrives, guests have 30 minutes to leave and may not be served.
The City of Zurich can push back a venue’s closing hour for good, usually to 04:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 05:00 on Friday and Saturday, sometimes as a time-limited trial first, but never in residential areas (noise-sensitivity level II). Check with the City of Zurich which office handles the application.
No closing hour applies anywhere in the city on the Saturday and Monday of Fasnacht, on Sechseläuten and on New Year’s Eve. On 2 January, 1 May, 1 August and the Saturday and Monday of Knabenschiessen it moves to 02:00. A venue is also normally allowed 12 late nights a year for public events, applied for at least three working days ahead.
You need a hospitality patent from the Stadtpolizei, applied for at least four weeks before opening, once the premises have a legally binding building permit and a project permit. Bring a certificate of legal capacity, a criminal record extract and a statement on spirits. No professional qualification is required.
CHF 341 without an inspection and CHF 451 with one. A venue selling spirits also pays a levy for each four-year period, from CHF 200 up to 500 litres a year to at most CHF 8,000.
16 for beer and wine, and 18 for spirits. Under-16s without an adult may not be let in after 21:00, and no alcohol may go to drunk guests.
8.1%, the standard rate, on drinks and on food served in the venue. Food sold to take away can carry 2.6%, but alcohol never does. Ask a tax adviser how VAT treats a club’s entry charge and a service charge.
Federal law caps amplified sound at an average of 100 dB(A) over an hour, with a 125 dB(A) peak, and 93 dB(A) for under-16s. Above 93 dB(A), notify the authority in writing at least 14 days before and give out free ear plugs; above 96 dB(A) for more than three hours, record the level and set aside a recovery zone.
The city’s own minimum wage of CHF 23.90 an hour is approved but not yet in force, and the city will give at least six months’ notice of its start. Today the floor for hospitality staff comes from the L-GAV collective agreement: CHF 3,713 a month for full-time staff with no vocational training, plus a 13th month’s pay.
A tip must be included in the price or labelled as a tip with its amount, and nothing may be charged beyond the price shown or the amount stated. “Tip not included” without a figure is not allowed.
Door staff must be Swiss, EU or EFTA nationals or hold a C permit, have no felony or misdemeanour on their record and have the basic security training the job needs, with regular further training. The patent holder answers for checking this; ask the City of Zurich what training counts.
Regular weekend nights cost about CHF 20 to 35 at the door, with CHF 25 the most common price. Mäx Zürich publishes lounge minimum spends from CHF 250 for five guests to CHF 1,000 for 20.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
MaltaIsland of Malta, Malta
The 1.00 a.m. closing and the 4.00 a.m. extension, the MTA licence, amplified and outdoor music limits, the drinking age of 17, VAT on the bill and the weekly minimum wage.
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DublinCounty Dublin, Ireland
Pub hours and special exemption orders, the public dancing licence, door staff, VAT on drinks and service charges, minimum wage and the year’s big nights.
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AmsterdamNorth Holland, Netherlands
New opening hours from 14 October 2026, the operating licence, late exemptions, VIP table rules, BTW on drinks and entry, minimum wage and the year’s big nights.
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