VacationSelector
The Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower, Nairobi
NairobiThe Nairobi skyline with the KICC tower
The Limmat from Quaibrücke, Zurich
ZurichThe Limmat from Quaibrücke

Photos: Nairobi by Lmwangi, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped; Zurich by Daniel Kraft, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped.

Nairobi or Zurich?

Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.

Choose Nairobi for

  • prices
  • nature and the outdoors

What lies behind each score is written up on Nairobi’s own page.

Choose Zurich for

  • getting around
  • day trips
  • beaches

What lies behind each score is written up on Zurich’s own page.

Scoreboard

Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.

Beaches & swimming. Nairobi 4, Zurich 45: Zurich leads by 41 points.
Food & drink. Nairobi 48, Zurich 53: Zurich leads by 5 points.
Culture & sights. Nairobi 35, Zurich 58: Zurich leads by 23 points.
Nightlife. Nairobi 58, Zurich 62: Zurich leads by 4 points.
Nature & outdoors. Nairobi 84, Zurich 80: Nairobi leads by 4 points.
Day trips. Nairobi 28, Zurich 84: Zurich leads by 56 points.
Good for families. Nairobi 55, Zurich 76: Zurich leads by 21 points.
Getting around. Nairobi 20, Zurich 95: Zurich leads by 75 points.
Shopping & style. Nairobi 45, Zurich 66: Zurich leads by 21 points.
Affordability. Nairobi 60, Zurich 3: Nairobi leads by 57 points.
Live music & performing arts. Nairobi 35, Zurich 70: Zurich leads by 35 points.
Wellness & relaxation. Nairobi 25, Zurich 58: Zurich leads by 33 points.
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What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Nairobi and Zurich.

Your match

Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.

Nairobi
41match

Wins on prices and nature and the outdoors with your weighting.

Zurich
Best match
63match

Wins on getting around and day trips with your weighting.

What matters to you?

When should you go?

Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.

Nairobi in July

24 °Cdaytime high
12 °Cnight-time low
11 mmrain in the month
4 hsunshine a day
12 hdaylight a day

Zurich in July

24 °Cdaytime high
15 °Cnight-time low
126 mmrain in the month
7 hsunshine a day
16 hdaylight a day

Daytime high, °C

0°10°20°30°JFMAMJJASOND

Rainfall in the month, mm

050100150JFMAMJJASOND
NairobiZurich

Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Nairobi: 1991-2020 normals, Nairobi ACC/FIC/RCC/MET/COM/ (13.3 km from centre). Zurich: 1991-2020 normals, Zurich Town / Ville. (2.2 km from centre).

Before you go

MeasureNairobiZurich
Official languageEnglish, SwahiliFrench, German, Italian, Romansh
CurrencyKenyan Shilling (KES)Swiss Franc (CHF)
SocketsG240 V, 50 HzCJ230 V, 50 Hz
Driving sideLeftRight
Time zoneUTC+3UTC+1, UTC+2 in summer
Emergency numberPolice 112/999, ambulance 112/999, fire 112/999112
Elevation1,661 m408 m
Main airportJomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO)13 km from centre60 non-stop destinationsZürich Airport (ZRH)9 km from centre226 non-stop destinations
Public holidays this year10 days10 days

By the numbers

MeasureNairobiZurich
City population5,545,000440,935
People per km²7,9675,016
Museums within 10 km463
UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km01

Where else could you go?

Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Nairobi or Zurich somewhere new.

Browse every destination

Sources

Structured data from Wikidata (CC0). Weather data by Meteostat. Meteorological data provided by NOAA, DWD and others. Rainfall where no rain gauge is within 25 km is from the TerraClimate 1991-2020 climatology (Abatzoglou et al. 2018, Scientific Data), read at the city. Airport data from OurAirports (public domain). Public holidays from Nager.Date (MIT). Non-stop route lists from the "Airlines and destinations" tables on English Wikipedia airport articles, by Wikipedia contributors, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Currency from the ISO 4217 register maintained by SIX, cross-checked against country data from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Price level from World Bank open data (PPP conversion factor for private consumption and official exchange rate), CC BY 4.0. Time zones from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0); clock offsets computed from the IANA time zone database. Tourism statistics from Eurostat, © European Union, reused under CC BY 4.0. Exchange rates via Frankfurter, based on European Central Bank reference rates. Daylight hours computed from each destination's latitude using the NOAA solar position algorithm.

Category scores are our editorial verdict under rubric v3, each placed against the same fixed benchmark cities; the climate figures are measured. How the scores are set. Snapshot generated 2026-10-31. Daily budgets are estimates from country price levels.