Zurich Christmas Market by Train

Step Off the Train and Into Polarzauber

Most Christmas markets make you go looking for them. In Zurich the biggest one is waiting at the foot of the platform steps. The main hall of Zurich HB, the vaulted concourse every intercity, S-Bahn and TGV Lyria passenger walks through, fills each Advent with wooden stalls under shimmering polar lights. It ran for years as the Christkindlimarkt and now goes by Polarzauber, and it's still the busiest of the Christmas markets in Zurich.

Right in the middle stands the Lindt Christmas tree, the landmark of the hall, with handmade candles, crafts, jewellery, ceramics and Swiss chocolate on the market stalls around it. Food and drink stalls keep going later than the gift stalls, so you can grab a Glühwein or a paper cone of roasted chestnuts after the shops have shut.

Here's the bit only a railway station can do. The Parsennbahn Fondue-Express is a bookable fondue wagon set up inside the hall, so you can sit down to cheese fondue in a train carriage while real trains rumble in a few metres away! Book it ahead if you want a table on a Friday or Saturday evening.

Arriving with a suitcase? Drop it at your hotel if it's close, or leave it at the station's lockers or the SBB baggage counter, then come back up. The concourse gets packed after work and a wheeled case through the crowd is nobody's idea of festive.

Opening hours for the gift stalls are in the box at the top of this page. On Christmas Eve the market closes in the afternoon, which suits anyone catching an evening train home.

Where Is Each Zurich Christmas Market From the Station?

Everything in the city centre is close to the tracks, and that's what makes Zurich such an easy Christmas trip by rail. The station market, Europaallee and the light show at the Swiss National Museum are all on the station's doorstep. The Old Town, Münsterhof and the Singing Christmas Tree are a short walk. Only Bellevue Noël and Uetliberg are worth a ride, and both have their own train or tram stop.

A few words on each, from the rail traveller's side. Children and adults alike will want more than one evening.

Dörfli is the city's oldest Christmas market, threaded through the cosy medieval lanes of the Niederdorf, with a children's ice rink on Rosenhof. From the station it's simply a stroll across the river, and the Dörfli stalls run right along Niederdorfstrasse. Münsterhof sits among the old guild houses and keeps to local makers and Zurich brands.

Bellevue Noël, called Wienachtsdorf until last year, is the big lakeside Christmas village in front of the Opera House, with a walk-through Advent wreath and a fondue chalet. Regulars still call it the Wienachtsdorf. The Singing Christmas Tree on Werdmühleplatz has choirs on its tree-shaped stage every day of the season, so pass by in the evening. Zürcher Weihnachtsallee on Europaallee has street food, design stalls and a fondue chalet of its own. And the Illuminarium, in the museum courtyard behind the station, is a festive light show with music and food rather than a market.

Trams, S-Bahn and Your Own Two Feet

You don't need a car in Zurich, and in December you'd regret having one. Trams run along the river and up Bahnhofstrasse, the S-Bahn ties the station to Stadelhofen and the lakeside, and the whole centre is small enough to walk between squares in the time it takes to finish a hot chocolate.

Do this stroll at least once. Bahnhofstrasse is the city's main shopping street and runs from Bahnhofplatz, right outside the station, down to Bürkliplatz on the lake. In Advent it's hung with Lucy, the crystal Christmas lights strung the full length of the street, switched on in late November and lit into the new year. Start at the station end after dark and you'll pass Werdmühleplatz and the turning for Münsterhof as Lucy glitters overhead.

Tickets are simple. One ZVV ticket covers trams, buses, the S-Bahn, lake boats and funiculars inside the zones you buy, and machines sit at every stop and in the station. The Zürich Card adds unlimited city travel for a day or longer, including the airport train. A Swiss Travel Pass covers Zurich's city network too, which is handy if Zurich is one stop on a longer rail trip.

Nobody reserves seats on a tram or S-Bahn. That's the same on ordinary SBB trains all over the country, so you can stay for one more mug and catch the next one.

Uetliberg: The Market at the Top of the Line

For snow on the trees and the Christmas lights of the city spread out below you, take the train up Zurich's own mountain. The S10 leaves from the underground SZU platforms beneath Zurich HB and climbs through the suburbs and the woods to Uetliberg station, just below the Uto Kulm summit. From there it's a short, steep climb to the top.

Up there the Winter Wonderland strings lights through the forest, with market stalls, candle making and curling. It starts earlier in November than the city markets and runs well into the new year, so it's the one to save if your trip to Switzerland falls after Christmas. Warm up with a mulled wine in one of the cosy huts. Wear proper shoes, as the path from the station can be icy.

Day Trips by Train to the Markets Near Zurich

Zurich main station is the busiest junction in Switzerland, and that makes it a good base for a few December evenings of smaller markets. Pick one, go after lunch, and you'll arrive as the lights come on.

Winterthur Winter Market

Winterthur is one of the quickest hops from Zurich, with fast trains through the day. The winter market fills the car-free Old Town with huts, lights and mulled wine, a short walk from the station.

Rapperswil Christkindlimärt

Rapperswil's market has a medieval backdrop and only runs for a few weeks in December, so check the dates in the box above before you go. Direct S-Bahn trains run from Zurich HB, and the S7 is the one to catch: it follows the north shore of Lake Zurich, and the lake is on your right as you head out. Rapperswil station sits at the edge of the Old Town.

Einsiedeln Christmas Market

The stalls line up in front of the Benedictine monastery, and the season is short. Take the S-Bahn along the lake to Wädenswil and change for the S13, which climbs away from the water up to Einsiedeln.

Lucerne and Basel are easy day trips as well, on direct intercity trains. Our guides to the Lucerne Christmas market by train and the Basel Christmas market cover their stations and stops. For a wider plan that links all the big cities in one trip, see our guide to Christmas markets in Switzerland by train.

Getting to Zurich From the UK

By rail, it's Eurostar from London St Pancras to Paris, a cross-city transfer to Gare de Lyon, then a TGV Lyria straight through to Zurich HB. The seat reservation is included in a TGV Lyria ticket and you must have one, so book early for December weekends. The reward comes at the end: your train pulls in under the same roof as the market! Our page on the train to Switzerland from London walks through the whole journey, and Paris to Switzerland by train covers the Paris leg and which TGV to pick.

Flying is quicker. SBB trains run from Zurich Airport to Zurich main station through the day, and the ride is shorter than most airport queues. You can be sipping Glühwein in the station hall within the hour of landing, then drop your bags at a hotel nearby.

Check the official listings on Zurich Tourism's Christmas markets page, the station market's own site at polarzauber.ch, and TGV Lyria times on SBB's TGV Lyria page. If Swiss trains are new to you, our guide to Swiss trains explains classes, tickets and the SBB app.

Is There an Escorted Christmas Market Tour That Stops in Zurich?

Not among the holidays we list, and it's worth knowing before you book. Zurich is a festive trip you put together yourself, and the station market makes that easy.

The one festive escorted break we show is Newmarket's Swiss Christmas Markets tour. It flies you to Geneva and stays half board in an Alpine village hotel in Château-d'Oex, with an evening at the Montreux Christmas market on the shore of Lake Geneva. A tour manager looks after the flights, transfers and hotel, so there's nothing to book on the day. See Newmarket's dates for the Swiss Christmas Markets break, and the tour card below shows the current from price.

Want both? Zurich and Montreux link up by train via Bern and Lausanne, and our Montreux Christmas market guide covers the station end. Travelsphere's Winter in Switzerland tour does fly into Zurich, but it runs in late winter after the markets have closed, built around the GoldenPass Express and the Jungfrau cogwheel trains instead. All our festive rail holidays are on Christmas markets by train.

What to Book Ahead and What to Leave to the Day

Very little needs booking in Zurich. Here's the short list.

Everything else can wait for the day. Trains to Winterthur, Rapperswil and Einsiedeln need no reservation, and the markets are free to walk in. Go midweek if you can. Weekend evenings in the station hall are elbow to elbow, and the Glühwein queues grow with them.

Questions people ask