The  Theater Spektakel is one of the big annual events in Zurich that I always get excited about. Like a siren's call to the world's theatre and street performers it brings the weird and wonderful to the lakeshore each summer. They have also included a lot more live music acts into the programme this year. A few acts that caught my eye this year are  Cirque Inextremiste, a death-defying acrobatic act featuring propane gas bottles, an excavator and a whole heap of crazy;  Hanoi Stardust is that Vietnamese hip-hop vs ballet mash-up we've all been waiting for; and if love is real, then it must follow the laws of physics, right? At least that's the proposition in the solo show, Special Relativity, from Iranian actress and author Bahar Katuzi. There are also the bars, food and free street performers for those just wanting to hang out.

Thursday to 4th September, Landiwiese

Happening on Friday and Saturday is the best free city festival of the summer, the  Werdinsel Openair. On that green and pleasant isle surrounded by the Limmat, there's enough room to grill, chill and swim the day away as you listen to a cool selection of local bands (there's also the possibility of nakedness, if you're familiar with this side of the island) . Friday starts with a bang as the opening acts are a couple of rock'n'rolling bands (Los Dos and The Jackets), with the rest of the night being handled by djs Polly & ScottVega, but it's Saturday where the festival really takes off as the bands take centre stage from early afternoon through to the early hours, with genre-jumping music from reggae to indie-pop to even a human jukebox.

Friday from 5 pm, Saturday from 2.15 pm, Werdinsel

Raphael Bühlmann is the owner of the Verlan tattoo studio, and is himself a uniquely talented tattoo artist. He is also a photographer, and has spent many years travelling to Japan to document the erotic Japanese art of Shibari - a stylised form of rope bondage. From this starting point his photography has developed into a more personal vision of the contradictions and craziness of Japanese life. He has now collected these images together and will be showing them at an exhibition called 'Dancing with Snakes' at Verlan. In addition to the exhibition, Raphael has also invited over two Shibari artists from the infamous red-light district of Kabukichō in Tokyo, who will be performing live during the event. The exhibition is free, while the performances will cost 15.- to attend.

Friday and Saturday (Shibari performances on Friday at 6 pm & 10 pm, Saturday at 1 pm & 8 pm), Verlan Tattoo Studio

Stadionbrache Hardturm was historically the home of the Grasshoppers Football Club, but since 2007 it has been closed and is being slowly demolished. Plans for building a new stadium have been postponed and delayed for the last few years. So what to do with this abandoned piece of land? Well, if you ask artists, the answer will be to fill it with art, and that exactly what's happening from Saturday until the end of August with Living Room, as 38 artists, performers and musicians transform this wasteland with installations and artwork that deals with the relationship between private and public spaces and allows the reimagining of those spaces into something new and unexpected. Free entry.

Friday until 28th August, Stadionbrache Hardturm

It's almost time for Limmatschwimmen! This Saturday, it's the one time per year you're (officially) allowed to swim all the way through town, from Frauenbadi to Obere Letten. But you need to register beforehand to secure a ticket. This guarantees you access to the water, a floating object to hold on to and transport of your clothes. Taking part, you get a city tour while cooling down and you're part of Zurich's cultural history as the event took place for the first time in 1945. Check their website or facebook to see if it takes place or will be moved to the weekend after. Or cancelled altogether which wouldn't be the first time. It all depends on the weather and the water conditions.
Saturday from 2 pm, Limmat

The Gartenhof restaurant has always been a favourite of mine. The menu is simple, classic and fine, and the crew that run it are some of the friendliest out there, but this Sunday they're making full use of the eponymous 'gardenhof' as they they turn their leafy terrace into a musical summerfest. You'll be able to hear the Latin-influenced Hermanos Gutiérrez brothers playing live, as well as the Turkish soul of Mindflight. Dj duties are covered by Chocolove playing his Eastern lounge tunes, and if you want to skip the usual menu and go fully open-air, they'll also have a grill set up for one such as you. Only by good weather. Alternative date 28th August.

Sunday 2 pm to 11 pm, Restaurant Gartenhof

Les Digitales  is a festival for electronic and experimental music that is taking place in various cities and parks throughout Switzerland. The Zurich edition is taking place at  Stadionbrache, the urban grassland and gardens next to the old abandoned football stadium in Hardturm, and will feature 10 local and international live acts who will make your Sunday afternoon a blissed-out nirvana of electronic and acoustic soundscapes. They'll also have a bar and simple menu on offer, just in case relaxing on a Sunday afternoon in a music-filled park isn't sustenance enough for you. And entry is free!

Sunday 1 pm to 9 pm, Stadionbrache

If, like me, you’ve never knowingly seen a rope factory before, what would you say it looked like? The joke answer, of course, would be ‘long and thin’ but this is also the reality, as you’ll be able to confirm if you go to the  Soi Thai Pop-Up Streetfood and Bar. For the second time, they’ve taken over an old wooden rope factory on the Rämistrasse hillside for the next few weeks and have transformed it into a Thai paradise. You’ll be able to enjoy fresh cooked Thai street food, a bar serving beers and some great Thai-themed cocktails and Bangkok flavoured ice cream (don’t ask me, just try it!). Opening is next Monday and you're invited to Thai Bubbles and have a good look around.
Soi Thai, 22nd August until 17th September, Rämistrasse 24, 8001. Opening hours: Monday to Friday: 11.30 am to 2 pm / 5.30 pm to 11.30 pm, Saturday 5 pm to 11.30 pm

The weekend is perfect to stroll through a market, either to buy some vegetables at Helvetiaplatz (Friday) or in Oerlikon (Saturday), to pick up some flowers like at Bürkliplatz (Friday) or to browse through goods at Kanzlei (Saturday). These are the usual suspects, but I take pride in sharing the rather unknown. Rosenhof: In the old town you find a small but fine flea market filled with character and charm, stalls run by kids, pros and freaks. Gütergarten: The pop up playground at Hardplatz fills the empty space the Street Food Festival left behind with a good old fashioned flea market. They joined forces with Montagsmarkt so except a lot of Zurich design there as well. It takes place this Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm.