December might be one of the coldest months to go to Switzerland. However, I wanted to experience the Christmas markets in Zurich, so I bit the bullet and went for 2 days. I planned this trip as a solo adventure, but had a friend ask to join and was more than happy to meet her there! Here are some things we managed to do on this quick trip from London.
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Getting from the airport into the city center is really easy. Hop on the S16 train (purchase your ticket at the little track-side kiosk) and a few stops later, you’re there. If I remember correctly, it was 15 Swiss Franks each way. Everything you’ve heard about Switzerland being expensive is correct by the way! More reasons to do a quick 2 day trip to soak everything in, but stay on somewhat of a budget.
Where to Stay
In the hopes of staying on some kind of budget for this trip, I booked Oldtown Hostel Otter. Honestly, I do like a hostel now and then, and you can usually book single rooms if you prefer to not share. However, this one has a 3 person female room so I figured sharing with 2 others wasn’t a big deal. And it was only 2 nights. Unfortunately because we booked at different times, my friend Starr was put in a different room, but it was fine. My first night I was on my own, the second night I hardly even saw or heard my roommates.
This hostel has a bar downstairs which was so perfect for us. The location is amazing, right in central and a 5 minute walk from the train station. Just very convenient, which is exactly why I chose it. It was quite clean, and I stayed warm all night. I like to use HostelWorld when booking because there is a little community on there if you want to meet others.
Where to Eat
Obviously we were here for the Christmas markets, so mostly what we ate were at them – I will include them here along with a few other things.
Wienachtsdorf Market (The Big One)
This market is in the heart of the city, right near the bank of the lake, and next to the Opera house! A beautiful location and so pretty at night. It is very crowded here, that would be the only downside for us. It was hard to find a place to sit, and even just walking around was tough at night. Day time was a little less crazy. Saying that, definitely don’t skip it. They have tons of fun festive drinks, yummy food stands, and a few shops to buy local goods from. We had a great time here, and the drinks kept us nice and toasty.
Weihnachtsmarket
This was a smaller market, but you really can’t miss it. I think I liked it more than the big one just because it was a lot less busy. The ravioli we had were delicious! And this is where we discovered mulled white wine. My new favorite Christmasy drink! Don’t miss out on this one!
Rare Street Coffee
We were on a mission to find a good cup of coffee, and Rare Street did hit the spot! They had some holiday specials, so I ordered a gingerbread latte.
Side note: The day before we went to a place called Café & Conditorei 1842 just to order a coffee to go and were severely disappointed. However, I don’t want to give them a bad review because the food looked amazing and they have great reviews online. I think it just isn’t a place I would recommend for a coffee. Go to Rare Street for that.
Black Tap + another Christmas Market
The last thing I had time for on this really quick trip to Zurich was to see the Singing Christmas Tree Market. We did manage to grab another hot mulled white wine before getting dinner. You can see in the photos, when we first got there, there wasn’t anything going on. But we went into Black Tap to have a burger and when we came out the street was jam packed with people watching the performance. It was really beautiful, but unfortunately I had to rush back to get my bag and head to the airport. The food here was really delicious and the milkshake was so good I wish I’d been able to take the rest to go!
What to Do
Bus/Boat Tour
Keeping in mind, again, the weather during December, I wanted to see and learn more about the city, so I booked a bus tour in order to stay indoors while also seeing more. They provided headphones that plugged in with language options and interesting information on the history of the city. The downsides of being on a bus are being unable to see everything (if it’s on the right side but you’re sitting on the left for example). Photos are through the windows and tend to have a glare. And obviously you are constantly moving, making photos hard to capture in general.
With this ticket included a boat tour on the lake as well, which was actually kind of odd. It was just the ferry that takes people to other areas in Zurich along the lake. There wasn’t any commentary for this part, and although it was cool to see some views from the lake, it lasted a bit too long for our liking. Mostly because it was quite cold!
Overall, I would recommend this tour if you aren’t able to walk far, or if you are looking to stay warm. But I wasn’t the best one I’ve done. If you are capable and can handle the cold, a walking tour is going to be a better bet.
Walking Tour
I love a walking tour. If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you probably know this by now. The one we did was actually free and promoted through the hostel we stayed at. Of course, you are free to tip your tour guide at the end, and I encourage you to do so. Since the one we did was through the hostel, I don’t have a specific link, but here is a similar option with Get Your Guide.
Did you know? Zurich has over 1100 fresh water drinking fountains around the city? It’s the most of any city in the world, and you can fill your water bottle safely from any of them.
Really the big thing to do during this time of year is to go to the Christmas markets. There are so many, some I didn’t have photos or any information to tell you more about. You really can’t go wrong! Is Zurich in December on your list? If not, it should be! 2 days was enough time to do everything I wanted to do in the city. If I go back, I think I would do more exploring outside and around the city.
