The Zürich Christmas Market (Zürcher Christkindlimarkt – Zürich Hauptbahnhof) isn’t just the largest indoor market in Europe, it’s one of the most beautiful Christmas markets. The market is dominated by a 50-ft-tall Christmas tree adorned with thousands of sparkling Swarovski crystals. The “diamond” Christmas tree is the absolute highlight of the Main Train Station Christmas Market, it shimmers with millions of lights making a spectacular sight that attracts thousands of tourist.
During the Christmas market, the main hall of Zürich Hauptbahnhof is filled with more than 150 beautifully decorated wooden stalls where vendors and artisans offer a wide range of traditional Christmas goods such as Christmas decorations, handicrafts, nativity figurines, jewelry, clothes and accessories, Christmas treats and hot drinks. If you need to buy gifts for your friends and family, the market is the perfect place to check several items off your list.
The Zürich Christmas Market offers both locally produced goods and unique items from all over the world. Here, neighboring chalets can offer you Peruvian alpaca hats and Russian nesting dolls (matryoshka dolls). Many products offered at the market are sold directly by craftsmen who have made them. A lot of items are exclusive and impossible to buy anywhere during the rest of the year.
Food stalls offer delicious Christmas treats and Swiss dishes. At the market, you can taste famous Swiss cheeses and chocolate, fondue and raclette, triggel (traditional Christmas cookies from Zürich made from flour and honey), tarts and quiches, gingerbread, marzipan. Swizz cuisine was influenced by French, German and Italian cuisines depending on the region, and at the market you can find signature dishes from all the three parts of Switzerland. Of course, there’s spicy mulled wine, a staple of European Christmas markets.
Although the Christmas market at Zürich Hauptbahnhof is the city’s largest Christmas market, it’s not the only one. Other Christmas markets take place in front of the Opera House, in the Niederdorf quarter of Zürich’s Old Town, in Rapperswil-Jona, in Einsiedel, in Winterthur, and in Werdmühleplatz. The Werdmühleplatz Christmas Market is known for its famous Singing Christmas Tree. It’s a stage shaped like an enormous Christmas tree and decorated with fir branches, where choirs from all over the country perform every day, spreading Christmas cheer with traditional carols.
