Corona is still very present in our lives. A lot has changed since the virus first occurred in China over a year ago. Due to the rising numbers in the past weeks, many events had to be cancelled. This also applies to the variety of Christmas markets that usually took place around this time of the year everywhere in Switzerland. Nevertheless, you don’t fully have to give up the Christmas mood. Below you can find some tips on how to raise your Christmas feelings in some of the biggest cities in the German-speaking Switzerland.
Located directly at the main station of Zurich on the Europaplatz, the Winter Garte invites to enjoy Christmas time with your loved ones and enough distance in between. A bar, an atmospheric indoor area and comfortable outdoor seating invite you to linger after your Christmas shopping or after a long day of work. The Winter Garte offers mulled wine and other hot beverages as well as some snacks. The Winter Garte is open from Monday to Sunday from 14:00 to 19:00.
The Weihnachts-Insel is located on the Bauschänzli, an island near Bürkliplatz on the Limmat. During advent season, they offer a diverse variety of local and Christmassy food and drinks. Besides the well-known Swiss dish Raclette, you can also enjoy some fresh waffles or one of the specialities offered in the food truck. The mulled wine, which you can order in the tent Chapiteau besides other hot drinks, is referred to as the best of the city. And the view of the sparkling lights on the banks of the Limmat makes you easily forget your everyday life and invites you to linger. The Weihnachts-Insel is open from Monday to Sunday from 12:00 to 19:00.
Frau Gerolds Garten is located directly at the Hardbrücke and invites you to take a break in the advent season with an indoor and outdoor area. In the outdoor area, the Winter-Garten, sparkling lights and winterly decoration blend with colourful huts, shelters, fireplaces and delicate food trucks. Every Saturday, there is also a small Christmas market in the outdoor area where you can find the ideal presents for your beloved ones.
In the cosy and beautifully decorated Winterstübli, you can enjoy traditional dishes such as raclette, table grill and fondue. Guests are served at the table and the establishment offers a festive and pre-Christmas setting for evenings spent together. Due to the high demand and the current situation, a previous reservation is necessary. Opening hours can be found here.
The Badener WunderDorf in the heart of Baden on the Theaterplatz invites to immerse yourself in a romantic and Christmassy mood and enjoy the cool days with a good cup of mulled wine or punch. Various food stands with national and international delicacies invite you to enjoy and linger. And besides the culinary catering, the weekly changing arts and crafts providers enchant with a diverse selection of gifts for your loved ones or yourself. The Wunderdorf is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 12:00 to 19:00.
For the fourth time, the popular winter pop-up is located in the Ringgenpärkli and enchants the beautiful place into a small winter wonderland in the middle of the city. Several containers are assembled, framed with wood and converted into a Christmas bar and winter food chalet. Due to the current situation, people must be sitting while consuming and the seats are limited to 50 people at a time. Besides the lovely atmosphere, you can look forward to enjoying unique homemade Hot Mules, tarte flambee with different toppings or the soul-warming Swedish mulled wine called “Glögg”.
Located on the Kornhausplatz, the chalet named “Alpenland” invites you to enjoy a variety of things in the warmth. The offer in the lovingly and rustically furnished wooden hut ranges from tarte flambee, raclette, fondue and various desserts to a large selection of cold and warm drinks. Of course, you can also enjoy a red or white mulled wine or other winter drinks such as coffee baileys or hunter tea and dive into the pre-Christmas mood. If you want to have a place for sure, we recommend you reserving a table in advance.
Usually used as a beer garden during the warm months, this location converts into a winter garden during the Christmas season. Gustav offers various winter meals made with local and sustainable ingredients such as salad, soups, raclette and hotpots (vegan, vegetarian and with meat). Their selection of beverages invites you to spend evenings in this homey and artistic winter garden: Besides local beer and wine, they offer homemade mulled wine, mulled beer and mulled gin.
Located next to the main station, the “Adventstreff Metalli Zug” invites you to enjoy the Advent season with a variety of Christmassy foods and drinks. Whether you are looking for a delicious fondue or raclette or just want to have a small snack such as a hot dog or crêpe, you will not be disappointed. Another speciality you must try out is the “Magenbrot”, a sweet gingerbread pastry that is usually sold on Christmas markets. Besides the delicious food, you can of course enjoy a mulled wine while seating in the big wooden hut.
With a breath-taking view of the Lake Zug, the Hafenrestaurant in Zug offers an enormous variety of homemade fondue and other delicacies in the fondue tent on their lake terrace. Whether you just want to enjoy the lovely atmosphere with a mulled wine and roasted chestnuts or try out one of the 100 legendary fondue variations, you will definitively be amazed by this place. It is open from Thursday to Friday from 16:30 to 18:00 and on Saturday and Sunday from 14:00 to 17:00.
In the Winter Wonderland at the Pirouette, located on the Le Piaf Terrace under the roof of the KKL Luzern, you can look forward to enjoying delicious winter dishes and hot drinks. The offer includes raclette from the Chäs-Chäller Lucerne, regional bratwurst specialties from a butcher from the Engelbergertal as well as homemade apple pies. Besides this, they also offer various beverages to satisfy your thirst such as white and red mulled wine, holdrio with plum brandy, wine, beer and soft drinks. The opening hours are from Thursday to Sunday from 12:00 to 19:00.
For the first time, the lido on Lake Lucerne has turned into a winter village. Two big and four small huts invite guests from near and far to enjoy delicacies such as fondue, raclette, tarte flambee and different beverages like mulled wine or gin tonic. The winter village enchants with festively decorated huts, ecological fir trees which can be bought and a weekly jazz concert. To avoid freezing, warm blankets and furs are available to protect you from the cold. It is open every day from 11:00 to 19:00.
Being referred to as the smallest Christmas market in Basel, the Christmas market in the Teufelhof consists of only one market stand. Nevertheless, there is a very festive atmosphere in this place. If you want to get some fine Christmas cookies, buy homemade gifts and equip yourself with a mulled wine to go, you are in the right place.
Offering one of the biggest and most extravagant varieties of raclette, this pop-up restaurant enchants with the delicious cheese and the hip atmosphere. Classy and modern elegance paired with a rustic chalet style invite you to try out the handmade cheese of the region in Basel, produced by Mylk. Besides raclette, you also have the choice to order different versions of fondue, meat dishes or a vegan dish.
Located in the ELFA Eventhalle, the Winterzauber invites you to immerse yourself in a world of magic and a sea of lights. A lot of wood, fur, fir trees, candles and the smell of cheese let you enjoy the Christmas season in a whole new way. Whether you want to enjoy a delicious Swiss raclette or fondue or just have a warm mulled wine or one of the many other beverages offered, this place is definitively worth a visit.The opening hours can be found here.
