Christmas Markets by Train in Switzerland

Why Christmas Markets by Train Work So Well in Switzerland

Picture stepping off a train into a station hall that smells of cinnamon and roasting chestnuts, with a towering Christmas tree under the departures board and rows of little wooden stalls where the commuters usually rush past. That's Zurich HB in Advent. Most European Christmas markets in Germany and France need a tram, a taxi or a long walk from the train station; in Switzerland, the railway and the festive season sit almost on top of each other.

Swiss train travel helps too. The network is dense, punctual and runs late into the evening. You can spend the afternoon at one market, catch a train after dark, and be browsing the next set of stalls before dinner, all without a car and without checking a road forecast. The markets are at their best once the lights come on, and on a winter afternoon in December that's early, so a short train hop between two cities fits neatly into a single day.

There's another plus. Swiss trains don't need seat reservations on normal domestic services, so you can change plans on the day if the weather turns or one square is busier than you'd hoped.

The Swiss Christmas Markets Closest to the Station

Here's how the main markets line up for a rail traveller, from the festive food stalls to the craft chalets. Dates are the organisers' published dates for the season; always check the official pages before you go, as hours change on the last few days.

Zurich: the market inside the main station

Zurich is the easiest place to start, because its big indoor Christmas market fills the main hall of Zurich HB, under the same roof as the platforms. Zurich Tourism describes rows of stalls, a towering Christmas tree and shimmering polar lights in the concourse. Walk out of the station and you're a few minutes from the Singing Christmas Tree on Werdmühleplatz, the Niederdorf old town stalls and the market on Münsterhof. Our Zurich Christmas market guide goes square by square.

Montreux: lakeside chalets and a Santa by cogwheel train

Montreux Noel is the one most people picture: wooden chalets and festive lights along the Lake Geneva quays, the smell of mulled wine and cinnamon crepes, a Ferris wheel on Market Square and Santa flying overhead on his sleigh in the evening. The organisers put the market about two hundred metres from the station and ask visitors to come by public transport. Better still, there's an SBB RailAway deal that cuts the fare and adds a voucher for a mulled wine or Christmas tea with a pretzel, so check the official Montreux Noel site for this year's offer.

Then there's the train ride the children will remember. The cogwheel railway climbs from Montreux station up to Rochers-de-Naye, where Santa's House opens on selected days through Advent. Tickets combine the train with entry, the outbound seat is reserved, and booking is essential, so plan it before you travel. Our Montreux Christmas market page covers the market and the mountain trip in detail.

Lucerne, Bern and Basel

Lucerne's Rudolfs Weihnacht sits in Inseli park beside the lake, a few minutes from the station exit, with the old town's own market on Franziskanerplatz across the river in December. Bern spreads its stalls between Waisenhausplatz and the square in front of the Minster, the city's Gothic cathedral, both easy to reach on foot through the covered arcades from the station. Basel holds one of the country's best-known markets, with Christmas decorations, handmade gifts and spiced treats on Barfüsserplatz and on Münsterplatz below the cathedral; trams run there from Basel SBB, and Basel Tourism lists this year's dates and hours. The Lucerne Christmas market and Basel Christmas market guides have the detail, and our overview of Christmas markets in Switzerland covers the smaller towns too.

How Does the Escorted Swiss Christmas Markets Holiday Work?

If you'd rather someone else sorted the connections, Newmarket's Swiss Christmas Markets break is the simplest way to see Montreux Noel without planning a thing. You fly to Geneva, meet your tour manager and transfer by coach to Château-d'Oex, a wooden-chalet village in a wide valley between the Bernese Oberland and Lake Geneva, where you stay on half board.

The Montreux market visit is included. On the free day you can stay put in the village or join the optional trip to Bern, which runs past Gstaad and Lake Thun to the medieval capital and its markets by the Minster and on Waisenhausplatz.

It's a coach-based holiday rather than a rail tour, which is worth knowing. What it takes off your hands is everything that makes a short winter break tiring: airport transfers, finding dinner, getting back from the market after dark. Château-d'Oex itself sits on the GoldenPass line between Montreux and Zweisimmen, so if you'd like a train ride of your own, the panoramic run down to Lake Geneva starts at the village station; see our GoldenPass Express guide. Dates and the current from price are on the tour card above, or see the departures with Newmarket.

Taking presents home? The operator notes that cabin bag rules vary by airline, so add a hold bag (or share one between two) if you plan to buy at the markets.

Getting There From London Without Flying

A Swiss Christmas market trip by rail from London is a full day each way, and a good one, with mountain views at the end of it. Eurostar takes you from London St Pancras to Paris, then you cross the city to Gare de Lyon for a TGV Lyria to Basel, Zurich, Geneva or Lausanne. Both trains are reserved, so your seat is booked when you buy the train ticket; book in advance in the autumn, because December weekends fill up. Our guide to the train to Switzerland from London has the full step by step, and Paris to Switzerland by train covers the TGV Lyria leg.

Journey times come from SBB's TGV Lyria page and the operators' timetables; check the exact train when you book.

Break the journey at a French or German market

The route almost asks you to stop. Strasbourg, the self-styled capital of Christmas, is a TGV ride from Paris, and regional trains run on from there to Basel through Colmar, so you can see two of the best Christmas markets in France, in Alsace, and still sleep in Switzerland the next night. Another itinerary goes through Belgium: Eurostar to Brussels, a look at the Brussels Christmas market, then a German train to Cologne puts the Rhine-side markets of Germany on the map, and fast trains run along the Rhine from Cologne to Basel. Heading home east? The Nightjet sleeper links Zurich with Vienna, and our page on sleeper trains to Switzerland explains how the night trains fit in.

Which Side to Sit and What to Book Ahead

Most of these journeys run after dark in December, but the morning trains towards Montreux are worth planning a seat for. From Lausanne to Montreux the line hugs Lake Geneva, so sit on the right; on the way in from Bern, the lake and the Lavaux vineyards open up on the left as the train drops towards Lausanne. Our guide to Swiss trains explains classes, tickets and how the network fits together.

Pass or tickets? If you're staying in one city and only making a day trip or two, ordinary tickets bought on the SBB app are usually enough. Moving between three or four market towns, with a mountain railway thrown in, is where a Swiss Travel Pass starts to earn its keep, since it covers the main lines and gives a discount on many mountain railways.

A Simple Rail Plan for a Long Weekend

Base yourself in Zurich or Lucerne and let the trains do the rest.

• Day one: arrive at Zurich HB, drop your bags and start at the station market before walking into the old town after dark.
• Day two: a morning train to Lucerne for the lakeside stalls, back in time for the Singing Christmas Tree.
• Day three: across to Bern for the Minster market, or a longer day out to Basel.
• Day four: the TGV Lyria from Zurich or Basel back to Paris for the Eurostar home.

Prefer the French-speaking side for your Christmas market itinerary? Swap Zurich for Lausanne or Montreux, spend an evening on the quays, ride the cogwheel train to Rochers-de-Naye, and take a morning train along the lake to Geneva on the way out.

Prefer the Mountains to the Markets?

The festive season is short, and some travellers come for the snowy railways instead. Travelsphere's Winter in Switzerland tour runs later in the winter from a base in Interlaken, with the GoldenPass Express down to Montreux and the cogwheel trains below the Eiger; see the dates with Travelsphere. Our wider guide to Swiss rail holidays compares every escorted trip we cover, and the Switzerland by Train home page is the place to start if you're planning a winter visit by rail.

However you go, a festive train journey through Switzerland in December is hard to beat: warm carriages, lit-up stations, mulled wine on the platform and a market waiting at the end of almost every line.

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