The only buildings abutting the street from the west are the Wasserkirche, located on what was originally an island within the river, together with the Rathaus (town hall) and a police station, which both form part of the Rathausbrücke bridge structure.

In the 12th and 13th century, the houses alongside the east bank of the Limmat were built directly on the shore, and were accessed from Oberdorfstrasse and Niederdorfstrasse, two streets on their landward sides.

Market Lane') and the Rathaus was originally known as Marktststrasse or Altes Limmatquai, and was built in two stages, south of Rosengasse between 1823 and 1825, and to the north between 1855 and 1859.

Among the numerous secular buildings of interest on the street are the Haus zum Rüden, the guild houses of Zimmerleuten, Haue and Saffran, and the Rathaus that was the seat of the assemblies of the city and of the cantonal parliaments.

The Limmat tour boats operated by the Lake Zurich navigation company call at a landing stage mid-way along the Limmatquai on their route between Zürichhorn and the Landesmuseum.

[citation needed] Between April 2014 and January 2015, an art installation known as the Hafenkran or Zürich maritim project was present on the Limmatquai.

The installation comprised an old harbour crane from Dresden, together with a number of bollards and a port horn located on different high-rise buildings in Zurich.