Christmas Markets in Switzerland

All I know is that the indoor Christmas market at Zurich HB is not to be missed.

How many days? Flying out of Zurich also?

Yes, flying out of Zurich as well. As far as number of days, I don't know yet--probably between 10-12, not counting travel days. I don't envision us visiting a Christmas market every day we are there.

I'll let someone more familiar with travel in November-December advise on specific itineraries, but knowing how many days you have helps. Plenty of time for some city breaks and the mountains.
I found the Swiss tourism website helpful in getting me focused on areas I wanted to visit. https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/experiences/cities-culture/listicles/christmas-markets/

Christmas markets in smaller towns often run for just one day or a weekend, so their availability will depend on your travel dates. Personally, I enjoy visiting these smaller markets because they frequently showcase local artists.

For a list of this year’s markets in the Canton of Bern, check out Made in Bern. Scroll down to find dates and locations. You can likely find similar lists for other cantons you plan to visit.

https://madeinbern.com/en/experiences/year-round/events/top-cultural-events/christmas-markets

Some of my favourite markets from past years that are included on this list are:

• Bern Stars Market
• Huttwil Christmas Market - Surprisingly large for such a small town.
• Kambly Christmas Market - Don’t miss the chance to visit the Kambly store, where you can sample as many cookies as you like.
• Bern Münster market - Features exclusively local artisans.
• Thun Market - Not especially large, but it runs for a longer period and is set in a beautiful location.

Another festive activity to consider is exploring the lantern walking paths and Weihnachtswege. These trails are illuminated at night and often include Christmas-themed displays along the way. Here’s a helpful article outlining some of the best paths and what to expect on these magical walks.

https://swissfamilyfun.com/winter-lantern-paths/

Once you know your itinerary, you can look for lantern paths near your location(s). They are very popular and I don't think you will have trouble finding one near wherever you are staying.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/christmas-markets-switzerland-france-germany-2019

Perhaps my Trip Report from 2019 will help. How many days will you have? I've found the Swiss markets are smaller than the German markets , altho the Bern markets were a lot of fun. And I would seriously consider crossing the border for the Colmar/Strasburg experience- it's a unique , magical experience.

Have fun planning!

In Dec 2022 we spent 14 days in Switzerland (our 6th visit to Switzerland) visiting various Christmas markets. They are MUCH smaller than the German markets.

We loved the Christmas Market in Montreux. It stretched all along the lakeside promenade. It had a Ferris wheel and was very festive. We were disappointed in the Lausanne markets, but made up for it by a visit to the Lavaux vineyard area. We also visited Glacier 3000 (near Les Diablerets and on Glacier du Sex Rouge at 3000 meters in altitude) to do the Peak Walk and a dog sled ride. Many skiers where there also. Views from Glacier 3000 were fantastic.
Easy to visit Chateau de Chillon, Gruyere (chesse factory & walled town), and Broc (Cailler Chocolate Factory) from Montreux.

St. Gallen had a Christmas Market (small but festive). From there we visited St. Gallen sights (the abbey & library) and the small Christmas markets of Appenzell, Stein am Rhein, Winterthur and Schaffhausen (along with their sights). We really enjoyed the town of St. Gallen. Wonderful holiday vibe to it.

Lucerne had a small but festive Christmas market at Inseli Park on the lake. At pop up fondue restaurant we had a yummy fondue dinner while meeting German visitors who spoke English.

Zermatt has no Christmas markets, but is all decked out with decorations. We did catch the town lighting of the Christmas tree which was fun. It snowed there and the Gornergrat Bahn was closed. Klein Matterhorn was open, but we had been up both several times. Watched cable cars and snow grooming equipment on the mountain while sitting on our balcony (Romantic Julen) drinking wine.

Zurich had several Christmas markets. All were nice. Also visited the Lindt Chocolate factory. We flew in/out of Zurich. Used a Swiss Rail Pass.

While we loved our winter visit to Switzerland, we are going back to the German and Austrian Christmas markets this year. We leave on Sunday.

Well the local markets are not aimed at the tourists so;
- Smaller and more local products
- shorter time period, usually a weekend
- won't publish there dates until into next year

That said this is my local market, which I will visit this weekend:

https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-se/experiences/events/christmas-market-huttwil/

Five years ago we enjoyed visiting the Christmas market in Basel. It's close to Zurich. If you want to venture a little farther both the markets in Colmar, France and Freiburg, Germany are delightful as well.

Thank you all so much. This is very helpful information.

I've spent the last three days in Zurich and here's my opinion on the Christmas markets.

The one at the main train station is the largest. And it's indoors. But the lighting is basically the ambient light, so if it's not sunny it's pretty dark. Plus, it takes up a space that's normally full of people trying to get to and from the trains, so it's very crowded with people "doing" the market as well as those just trying to get through. Add to this that underneath the station is a huge multi-story shopping mall with hundreds of stores and restaurants, all of which have Christmas specials, and I don't really see the purpose.

The Singing Christmas Tree is in a small park near the Linderhof. There are maybe a dozen huts as well as the tree shaped stage, and they have schedules of the performances listed.

The Altstadt has a couple spaces with booths set up, basically food and snacks, which makes sense as there's lots of (expensive) shopping all around.

There are a couple dozen huts set up around the Grossmünster church also.

The circus is set up by the Quaibrucke Bridge.

There's a small, but nice, market outside the mall at the Sihlcity train platform. About a dozen booths along with a 50' tall tower with a light display and overhead lighting.

Best for last, is the inner courtyard of the Landesmuseum. It doesn't open until 5pm, but it's a great location and you feel like you're in the castle courtyard (you are) with all the booths and lights. Not big, but very attractive.