A different kind of Christmas: Festive highlights at the youth hostels

I don’t know about you, but I love Christ­mas­time! When the air gets cold­er, the first lights go on, the Christ­mas mar­kets open their stalls and the scent of cin­na­mon and mulled wine is in the air – that’s when I start feel­ing the Christ­mas spir­it.

The days are get­ting short­er, but Advent evenings are all the more cosy. It’s the per­fect time to get togeth­er with fam­i­ly and friends and end the year in good com­pa­ny. And this mag­ic is exact­ly what you can expe­ri­ence at our youth hos­tels:

Raclette in the yurt in Bern

Bern at Christ­mas­time – tru­ly an expe­ri­ence for me! The bustling alleys, fes­tive­ly dec­o­rat­ed shop win­dows and small Christ­mas stalls invite you to stroll through the city in style. This year, you can escape the hus­tle and bus­tle of the old town with a vis­it to the win­ter yurt. It’s best to fin­ish your Christ­mas shop­ping before enter­ing the snug yurt on the ter­race of Bern Youth Hos­tel. Cosied up in soft furs by the crack­ling fire­place, you can enjoy a tra­di­tion­al raclette here. The yurt can accom­mo­date up to 20 peo­ple and can also be hired on an exclu­sive basis. I’ve already booked my table, what about you?

Raclette in the yurt from 1 Novem­ber 2025 to 31 Jan­u­ary 2026

Accom­mo­da­tion Bern Youth Hos­tel

Christmas dinner in a historic castle

Mari­astein dur­ing the Christ­mas sea­son is a real insid­er tip – and I’ll tell you why. Imag­ine your­self high up on Rot­berg Cas­tle, sur­round­ed by ancient walls and atmos­pher­ic lights. A fes­tive roast, fresh­ly served, accom­pa­nied by crisp sal­ad, deli­cious region­al side dish­es, and, to fin­ish, a cheese plat­ter from the famous Maître Antony from Vieux-Fer­rette. Sim­ply heav­en­ly! But what impressed me most was the atmos­phere. The his­toric cas­tle set­ting makes the evening some­thing very spe­cial – whether you’re there with your com­pa­ny, team or friends. It feels like a lit­tle trip back in time, com­bined with a feast that you’ll remem­ber for a long time to come.

Deli­cious Christ­mas din­ner from Octo­ber 17, 2025 to Decem­ber 11, 2025

Overnight stay at Mari­astein Youth Hos­tel

Christmas dinner at Burgdorf Castle

Are you still look­ing for an excep­tion­al loca­tion for a Christ­mas din­ner that will leave a last­ing impres­sion? Burgdorf Cas­tle Restau­rant offers just that. Nes­tled with­in the castle’s his­toric walls, a unique atmos­phere awaits you here, com­bin­ing the charm of bygone times with the warmth of the hol­i­day sea­son. Whether for a com­pa­ny Christ­mas din­ner or a fes­tive fam­i­ly event, the youth hos­tel restau­rant promis­es an unfor­get­table expe­ri­ence dur­ing Christ­mas­time. Let your­self be enchant­ed on the impos­ing cas­tle hill.

Accom­mo­da­tion Burgdorf Cas­tle Youth Hos­tel

Pure Christmas cheer in Basel

If you love Christ­mas mag­ic, Basel is a must! The city is trans­formed into a glit­ter­ing win­ter won­der­land. But the city on the Rhine has even more to offer.

Off I go