A bar for bookworms and bookshop for barflies, multi-tasking Sphères is a local sort of spot. An urban oasis on a busy thoroughfare, this is one of those cafés in Zürich you won’t easily stumble upon, but it has a steady stream of those in the know stopping by throughout the day.

Sphères has no kitchen, so the menu is drink-focused with morning croissants, lunchtime sandwiches and teatime cakes on offer. A modern double-height, glass-fronted building, the bar runs the length of one wall with simple black tables in the centre and up on the metal mezzanine level; people passing by head to the former, while the latter are the preserve of espresso-mainlining freelance creatives tapping away of their Macs.

The books are arranged on a platform at the back – an interesting array of 3,000 titles, some serious, some less so. Come on the right evening and the platform turns into a stage for readings, discussions, theatre, cabaret and film.

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