Santa may fly his sleigh around the world, but get ready to hop on Swiss trains as we share the very best Christmas markets in Switzerland.
If we haven’t met, we’re Jana and Brett, Aplins in the Alps, and we help you travel Switzerland with confidence! Let’s start with our 3 favorite Swiss Christmas Markets, then we’ll share a little bonus surprise (don’t worry, it’s not coal in your stocking!), and finally we’ll wrap up with our ultimate Swiss Christmas Market itinerary.
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Swiss Christmas Market #1
If we could pick only one Swiss Christmas market to visit, we’d go to the one voted as Europe’s Best Christmas Market in 2021 — Basel.
Why do we rank Basel so high? Well, there are actually 4 different markets sprinkled around the city, and each one has a little bit of a unique character.
You’ll know you’re in Barfüsserplatz when you see the giant Christmas Pyramid. The first time I saw those life-size candles lit up we were actually riding a tram past this square, and my jaw totally dropped open. This whole market, which wraps around the church, is nice, but that pyramid is truly the star on top of the Christmas tree.
Look for the chäsbängel, a delicious baguette filled with steaming hot raclette cheese. But beware, take your time or that cheese will burn your mouth. And if you chomp down too hard, it will erupt all over you like a volcano.
We also bought a variety of different cookies to sample, including the famous Baseler Läckerli and Zimt Sterne (cinnamon stars).
This is also a great spot to try glühwein, which is a warm wine flavored with traditional Christmas spices. Most markets sell both red and white, so pick whichever type you like best. We tend to enjoy the white glühwein better, but we won’t turn down a glass of either one.
It’s worth noting that there is kind of a special way to buy hot drinks at Swiss Christmas Markets. Instead of a disposable cup, your mulled wine usually comes in a real mug. So when you pay, you’re actually paying for your glühwein and a small deposit for the cup. After you’re warmed up from finishing your drink, you have two options: get your deposit back by returning the mug to where you bought it or to one of the dish stations, or keep it as a souvenir, which is what we’ve done with some of our favorite designs.
From here, you can walk along the lit-up shopping street to the next market, Münsterplatz. This sprawls out in front of the cathedral with a giant twinkling Christmas tree and of course, chalet-like stalls.
This particular market was great for food. My favorite anis-flavored Christmas cookie is from Änis Paradies, and Jana cannot resist the fried apple rings with vanilla sauce called öpfelchüechli. (Yes, that word is a mouthful, but it’s worth trying to pronounce so you can enjoy this delightful apple dessert!)
By the way, you can pretty much buy food and drinks and gifts at nearly every market. So instead of telling you everything you can do at each market, we’re just sharing some of our highlights from each one.
There’s also an amazing kids area here called Märchenwald (Market Forest) with fire pits and train rides and gondola cars and cookie decorating spaces or candle making classes. I mean, how fun to be a kid in Switzerland! We cannot wait to bring our son here when he’s older.
Next, you can cross the river to Adväntsgass, a street lined with quieter food stalls and fire pits and restaurants. This is a nice spot to sit down and enjoy a meal.
We did a Swiss Christmas Market tour with Jana’s parents. And her dad loves to try beer from all over the world, so he was on the hunt for Christmas beer, and he found glühbier here! So if that’s on your list to try, then you can find it here in Adväntsgass!
Lastly, look out for the Magical Courtyards throughout the city, which are tranquil and quiet with beautiful lights and decorations.
An added bonus of making Basel your base for visiting Swiss Christmas markets is — well, you’ll just have to wait and we’ll talk about that here in a minute!
Swiss Christmas Market #2
The next one on our list is most well-known for its flying Santa. It ranks a close second to Basel, so if we had time for 2 Christmas Markets on our Swiss vacation, we’d add on Montreux.
The Montreux Noël market runs along Montreux’s promenade on Lake Geneva. It starts by the giant ferris wheel in Market Square. If you’re hungry, definitely plan time in this covered market. Both years we’ve visited, we always eat at La Grange. It’s kind of like a cafeteria with a bunch of delicious homemade hot dishes, and you pay for your plate by the weight.
I swear that this market makes the best chimney cakes of any market in Switzerland. That’s quite a bold statement! If you haven’t tasted the divine combination of sweet dough roasted over a fire and topped with cinnamon sugar, don’t wait any longer — try it here!
Along the outdoor promenade you’ll find hundreds of stalls selling Christmas drinks, snacks, gifts, crafts, and decor, as well as a few cozy restaurants that we absolutely love. You could easily spend an hour or two just perusing from one end of the market to the other!
Between the boat dock and Market Square, you can watch Santa fly overhead after dark. It’s pretty magical, even as an adult, to see him waving down at you with sparks flying out behind his sleigh.
In particular, we loved tasting different recipes of glühwein at Montreux Noël, roasting our own sausage over the barbecue, and even enjoying a crispy flammkuchen in front of a giant fire pit.
Lastly, Montreux is famous for hosting Santa’s House at Rochers-de-Naye. We haven’t personally visited Santa here yet, but if you have children, it seems like a can’t-miss, unforgettable experience to ride a special Christmas train, meet Santa in person, and get a surprise gift!
Swiss Christmas Market #3
Our third ranked Swiss Christmas Market is — you probably guessed it — Zurich! It’s not a contender for first or second place, in our opinion, but there are so many markets with different vibes and atmospheres that it would be a shame to miss out on them.
As soon as you arrive in the Zurich train station, you’re welcomed into Switzerland’s largest indoor Christmas market. We’ve seen a lot of trees lit up, but the giant Christmas tree decorated with oversized Lindt chocolate balls is one of the most memorable.
But if we only had time for one market while in Zurich, we’d head straight to Sechseläutenplatz. This spacious piazza in front of the Opera House is transformed into a wooden wonderland. The ceiling of white lights amplifies the charm beyond the alleys of shops and restaurants. With so many options for food and places to sit, we had a hard time deciding what to enjoy first. We spent at least an hour here, and bought a few sweet treats to enjoy while we walked to the next market.
One of the most notable icons of the Zurich Christmas Market scene has to be the Singing Christmas Tree. We actually showed up a bit before the performance so we could buy a hot drink to keep our hands warm while we listened to the tunes. Then we crowded together with loads of people to watch the singers find their spot in the tall tree and serenade us with Christmas classics for thirty minutes.
You can also wander through the Niederdorf neighborhood past spread out food stalls with cuisine from all over the world. We stopped for langos and can never pass up cevapcici. The market ends near Grossmunster Church, where you’ll find more market stalls. And don’t forget to check out the terrace overlooking the river.
Finally, there’s another market near Münsterhof, which we found to be smaller and quieter than the rest. There were a few great picture spots here that were popular with the kids.
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Swiss Christmas Market Tips
Now, the truth is that the markets in Basel, Montreux, and Zurich are enough to put each of them into our Top 3. But, they all come with a little extra bonus — kinda like thinking you’d opened all of your presents only to discover there’s another one under the tree with your name on it!
And that bonus present is this: Basel, Montreux, and Zurich don’t just have great markets but they are great HOME BASES for exploring additional markets just a short train ride away.
We’ll tell you about those bonus markets and the ultimate Swiss Christmas Market itinerary in a moment. But first, here are some tips for your Christmas Markets trip.
When to visit: All of the markets we mention in this post are open daily from late-November or early-December through at least December 23.
Where to fly: Ideally, you would fly into Zurich and then fly out of Geneva, or do this in reverse. Flying into one airport and out of the other allows you to visit all three of our top Christmas market destinations without backtracking.
Market Hours: Most markets are open in the afternoon as well as the evening, so if you really want to maximize your time you could definitely hit up a handful of markets during the day as well. But as you can imagine, these markets are extra special after dark.
Money: Most vendors take credit cards, but it’s a good idea to have some Swiss Francs as well.
Bathrooms: Every market or town that we’ve been to has had free public bathrooms available when the markets are open.
Weather: As you can imagine, it’s cold during Christmas time and most of these markets are outdoors. So bring your warmest clothes, boots, hats, and scarves so you can enjoy the festivities without freezing your tush off.
Souvenirs: Nearly every market has food and drinks and gifts to buy. But some are themed with just food or just crafts. Be sure to look up the specific details during your planning. We have provided those links earlier in this post.
Other markets: There are also markets we really like in other places, especially smaller towns and villages, but they’re often only open for one or two days. So be sure to check out www.myswitzerland.com for dates and info on all the markets, and we highly encourage you to check out some of the smaller ones during your trip.
For example, the markets in Grindelwald, Spiez, and Interlaken — as well as the Wengen Mulled Wine Festival — are all worth visiting if you’re coming to our hometown area of the Jungfrau Region.
Bonus Swiss Christmas Markets
Alright, you know which of these top 3 markets you plan to visit. So now, let’s unwrap that extra surprise under your Christmas tree by sharing a few additional markets you can enjoy from a home base in each location.
Bonus Swiss Christmas Markets FROM BASEL
If you’re staying in Basel, you absolutely need to take a 45-minute direct train from Basel to one of the most epic fairytale-like towns we’ve ever been to. And as an added twist, this one isn’t even in Switzerland…it’s technically across the border in France.
First of all, the town looks like it jumped right out of a storybook with the rainbow half-timbered architecture and winding canals. We arrived in the late afternoon so we could admire the town before nightfall, then ate and drank and shopped our way through the markets in the evening.
At Christmas time, the 6 main squares twinkle with lights, are warmed by wooden stalls, and overflow with the sound of joyful music and cheer. I know, it sounds like it’s not even a real place, but we promise you won’t want to miss Colmar!
Here’s what stands out about our visit to this French Christmas Market:
- Discovering how each square had different stalls, different lights, and different themes, from gourmet food, to arts and crafts, to Alsatiana specialities.
- Standing in front of the giant ferris wheel eating flammkuchen straight out of the oven, which is a thin-crust dough topped with creme fraiche, onions, and bacon.
- Eating French cheese, of course.
- And sampling the diverse cookies and fruit cakes.
And here’s one more bonus for your bonus: You can also visit Strasbourg from Basel as well, which is famed as one of the best Christmas Markets in all of Europe! But it’s a bit farther at 1.5 hours direct from Basel.
Bonus Swiss Christmas Markets FROM MONTREUX
From Montreux, there are 2 great markets you can tack onto your itinerary, and one might be our absolute favorite out of this whole list.
First, ride a 20-minute direct train from Montreux to the only city in Switzerland with a metro — which you’ll probably find handy as you navigate the hilly streets between the train station and the markets.
There are 7 very diverse markets here. Some of them are just a dozen stalls in a small square, but one offers amusement rides, and one even has a unique light show. It was worth strolling through most of them, and we really enjoyed eating in Marché des Papilles on Place des Pionnières — it had such cozy Christmas vibes with the bright wooden stalls and woodchip floor and terraces!
If you haven’t guessed it, this is Lausanne (Bô Noël)!
The best foods to try here are malakoff, which are fried cheese balls, more fondue baguettes, Christmas waffles, raclette steak sandwiches, and more chimney cakes, of course!
Lausanne is close to Montreux but, drum roll please… our next market is even closer! It’s just 5 minutes away by train. And one of our favorite little towns on the Swiss Riviera.
Technically there are 2 markets here. The one in the waterfront Market Square is nice for dinner. After you wander the circular covered stalls, head upstairs. This restaurant is run by local farm wives who make the most delicious homemade dishes from the region! And save room for dessert, because the bretzeli filled with cream and the salted caramel ice cream were worth every bite!
The second market is small, with just one place to order food and one covered pavilion with crunchy woodchip floors. There were a handful of small wooden chalets you could reserve too. I’m not sure if the pictures do it justice, but the atmosphere of this market was so relaxed, so festive, and so local. Everyone was sipping drinks, grilling by the fire, and chatting away as if they were living life on vacation without a care in the world.
Have you figured out where these are? They’re in Vevey! And that second one, the Vevey Christmas Market Village in Place Scanavin, might truly be one of our favorites in the whole country. But I might be biased since that’s where I first discovered glühwein with amaretto, a beautiful wintery combo of 2 of my favorite drinks!
Bonus Swiss Christmas Markets FROM ZURICH
Take an hour train from Zurich, walk on a bridge across the river, and enter one of the best medieval villages in Switzerland. Most of the streets are covered with traditional wooden stalls, Christmas lights, and trees. But there’s an entire section that’s completely medieval — complete with time period tents, clothing, and pottery. This was a neat and memorable area compared to the other markets in Switzerland!
This is Stein am Rhein (Märlistadt), a tiny historic place that is often overlooked but totally worth considering! In fact, we stayed overnight here, and in addition to enjoying the market in the evening, spent our days wandering the town, walking across the border to Germany, and sitting on the riverfront.
Your Ideal Swiss Christmas Market Itinerary
If we only had time for one Swiss Christmas market, we’d prioritize Basel. With time for 2, we’d cut Zurich or Montreux. Either fly into Zurich and enjoy the markets there and in Basel, or fly into Geneva and experience the Montreux market along with Basel. Or if you’re coming from within Europe, just fly straight into Basel!
Now if we wanted to hit up all these markets, here’s how we’d construct our itinerary, which can also be done in reverse.
- Fly into Zurich and stay for 3 nights. That’s 2 days to explore Zurich and 1 night for Stein am Rhine.
- Next, take a train to Basel, where you’ll stay for another 3 nights. Spend 2 evenings enjoying the Basel markets and the other 1 in Colmar and/or Strasbourg.
- Finally, train down to Montreux for another 3 nights. The fastest route goes through Lausanne, but we recommend riding the GoldenPass Express scenic train, which you can learn more about in this blog post. Give yourself 3 nights here as well, spending 1 evening in Montreux, 1 in Vevey, and 1 in Lausanne.
- Then you can fly out of Geneva at the end of your trip.
Switzerland in Winter
But what else can you do in Switzerland in the Winter? Why not hop on board a scenic train ride, or enjoy some activities in one of our favorite Swiss destinations? Merry Christmas from Aplins in the Alps, and we’ll see you in Switzerland!