Journeying from youth hostel to youth hostel: a magical trip to nine fantastic Christmas markets

Montreux – for a traditional and exotic vibe

Any­one who has ever been to Mon­treux knows that the town with its palm trees is rem­i­nis­cent of the French Côte d’Azur. From the end of Novem­ber to Christ­mas Eve, how­ev­er, the city on the shores of Lake Gene­va is trans­formed into a Christ­mas won­der­land. The Mon­treux Christ­mas mar­ket boasts 150 taste­ful­ly dec­o­rat­ed chalets along the lake­side prom­e­nade, offer­ing tra­di­tion­al charm along­side many oth­er fes­tive high­lights.

We all know how exhaustig Christ­mas shop­ping can be. Make the process much more fun and relax­ing with a stay at our mod­ern lake­side youth hos­tel.

Basel – the oldest Christmas market in Switzerland

The old town of Basel is well worth a vis­it at any time of the year, but espe­cial­ly dur­ing Advent when the city trans­forms into an enchant­i­ng Christ­mas par­adise. More than 100 mag­nif­i­cent­ly dec­o­rat­ed Christ­mas trees, kilo­me­tres of fairy lights and fes­tive­ly dec­o­rat­ed hous­es lend the city a fairy­tale atmos­phere. The peo­ple of Basel know exact­ly how to trans­form their city into a place that delights all the sens­es. And this is no coin­ci­dence, as Basel is home to the old­est Christ­mas mar­ket in Switzer­land.

A stay at the Basel Youth Hos­tel is the ide­al way to not only explore the his­toric Old Town, but also to tru­ly expe­ri­ence the mag­ic of the Christ­mas sea­son.

Laax — wellness and Christmas magic combined

Dur­ing the Christ­mas sea­son, the old town of Chur is trans­formed into a sea of lights with numer­ous mar­ket stalls. There you have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to shop for fine Bün­der spe­cial­i­ties and local hand­i­crafts.

The per­fect place to stay awaits you at our wellnessHostel3000 in Laax, which you can eas­i­ly reach by post­bus from Chur. The well­ness area is the per­fect place to warm up and relax after Christ­mas shop­ping.

A fun build-up to Christmas in Lausanne with its three markets and a children’s village

Christ­mas is cel­e­brat­ed in three dif­fer­ent neigh­bour­hoods in Lau­sanne – in the trendy Flon dis­trict, at the Place St-François and the Place Pépinet. These loca­tions are where you will find a range of beau­ti­ful hand­i­crafts as well as many tempt­ing culi­nary delights from the can­ton of Vaud. And for the lit­tle adven­tur­ers among us, there’s a real­ly cool children’s vil­lage where they can play to their heart’s con­tent and be enchant­ed by excit­ing fairy tales. If you need a break after all the fun, Lau­sanne Youth Hos­tel offers the per­fect retreat after your pre-Christ­mas stroll through the city!

Zurich at Christmas time: Splendour, glitter and a festive atmosphere in the heart of the city

In the run-up to Christ­mas, Zurich trans­forms into a true Christ­mas par­adise with its mul­ti­tude of Christ­mas mar­kets. Right next to Zurich main sta­tion, you’ll find the pop­u­lar Christ­mas mar­ket, which boasts an impres­sive 15-metre-high Christ­mas tree dec­o­rat­ed with 7,000 Swarovs­ki crys­tals. For pure romance, you should def­i­nite­ly vis­it Zurich’s old­est Christ­mas mar­ket in Nieder­dorf. Anoth­er high­light awaits you on Werd­müh­le­platz on Bahn­hof­s­trasse. This is where you will find the Singing Christ­mas Tree, a podi­um in the shape of a Christ­mas tree where region­al choirs per­form heart-warm­ing Christ­mas car­ols.

And if your Christ­mas cup is still not over­flow­ing, we rec­om­mend tak­ing a trip to Winterthur’s old town. The city is a kalei­do­scope of colour dur­ing Advent. The high­light of the sea­son is def­i­nite­ly the Parade der Chläuse, a fes­tive pro­ces­sion fea­tur­ing mul­ti­ple San­ta Claus­es. From 16:16 hours on 3 Decem­ber, Winterthur’s old town is teem­ing with jol­ly Saint Nicks.

The Stärnenmärit Christmas market in Bern – stellar Yuletide magic in the Swiss capital

Expe­ri­ence the mag­ic of the tra­di­tion­al Ster­nen­märit “star mar­ket” in Bern dur­ing an unfor­get­table stay at Bern Youth Hos­tel. Immerse your­self in the fes­tive atmos­phere of Bern’s Old Town, where thou­sands of fairy lights ensure the mar­ket lives up to its name. Browse beau­ti­ful hand­i­crafts and savour numer­ous culi­nary delights, while you immerse your­self in the enchant­i­ng ambi­ence. After an excit­ing day, you can relax at the cosy Bern Youth Hos­tel and recharge your bat­ter­ies for fur­ther adven­tures in the cap­i­tal.

Enchanting Christmas market on Franziskanerplatz in Lucerne

Every year, vis­i­tors from near and far flock to Lucerne to expe­ri­ence the enchant­i­ng Christ­mas mar­ket on Franziskan­er­platz. The cen­tre­piece of this fes­tive mar­ket is undoubt­ed­ly the Fran­cis­can Foun­tain, which is trans­formed into a giant Advent wreath that is typ­i­cal of the Cen­tral Swiss region. The con­certs held at St. Maria Church are an unmiss­able high­light. The mar­ket is easy to nav­i­gate with its 70 or so wood­en stalls. Even though it isn’t the biggest fes­tive mar­ket, it exudes a very spe­cial enchant­i­ng atmos­phere, mak­ing it one of the most charm­ing Christ­mas mar­kets in the whole of Switzer­land.

If you don’t want to head straight home after a Christ­mas stroll, our youth hos­tel on the shores of beau­ti­ful Lake Rot is the per­fect place to relax.

Experience festive magic among the trees

Wel­come to the mag­ic for­est of Lenz­er­hei­de, a place where nature takes cen­tre stage and the sens­es awak­en. This enchant­ed for­est trans­ports you to a fairy­tale world of glit­ter­ing lights and mys­te­ri­ous sounds. Dis­cov­er the mag­ic of the win­ter moun­tains and immerse your­self in a world of adven­ture and mys­ti­cal beau­ty in the mag­ic for­est of Lenz­er­hei­de.

To avoid hav­ing to spend the evening dri­ving home, we rec­om­mend an overnight stay at the Val­bel­la Youth Hos­tel.

Basel is well worth a visit any time of the year.

The city is not just known for its Christ­mas mar­ket; it also boasts a myr­i­ad of oth­er attrac­tions. Nes­tled by the riv­er, the city cap­ti­vates vis­i­tors with its charm­ing sur­round­ings and mod­ern accom­mo­da­tion such as the Basel Youth Hos­tel in the St. Alban quar­ter. So, a vis­it to Basel is worth­while any time of the year, not just at Christ­mas!

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