Zurich at Christmas with kids
Early bedtimes and a city full of mulled wine stalls can still add up to a fine December. The lights come on around 4:30 pm, well before dinner. Several squares have something built for children. This guide goes market by market and hour by hour, then looks at which tours take kids along.
Plan around the dark
December days in Zurich are short. The sun rises around 8 am and sets around 4:30 pm, so the market lights are on long before a young child's bedtime. The stretch from about 4:30 pm to 7 pm on a weeknight suits families best, because the stalls are lit while the evening crowds have yet to fill the lanes. The biggest crowds come on Friday and Saturday evenings. Advent Sundays bring families out in numbers as well, and since most shops close on Sundays, the markets carry the whole afternoon.
Strollers manage on the wide squares and inside the station hall. In the Old Town lanes on a Saturday night they get stuck, so a carrier works better there. Dress children for standing still rather than walking; what to wear in a Zurich December has a list that applies to small people too.
The Märlitram
A Märli is a fairy-tale, and the Märlitram is the outing young children talk about afterward. This Christmas tram ride is for children aged 4 to 9 and sets off from Bellevue. Tickets are sold online and go on sale about a week before the markets open. They sell fast, so set a reminder for that week even if you fly in later. If you have siblings outside that range, check the rules when you book.
Where children have something to do
Every city market is free to enter. The table lists the ones with something aimed at children. Each market's own page carries the final hours, which come out shortly before the season starts.
| Market | For children | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Polarzauber, main station | Lindt Christmas train, Sunday kids' disco, a roof overhead | 11 am to 9 pm, Thursday to Saturday until 10 pm |
| Singing Christmas Tree, Werdmühleplatz | Carousel at CHF 3 a ride, choirs on a tree-shaped stage | Weekdays from 4 pm, weekends from 1 pm, until 9 pm (Friday and Saturday 10 pm) |
| Bellevue Noël, Sechseläutenplatz | Carousel, teddy workshop, wish letterbox, walk-on Advent wreath | 11 am to 10 pm, Sunday until 8 pm |
| Dörfli, Niederdorf | Candle dipping at the Märlibaracke, fire shows | 11 am to 9 pm (Friday and Saturday until 10 pm, Sunday until 8 pm) |
| Uetliberg, Uto Kulm | Candle dipping, Bavarian curling lane | Weekends only, Saturday 12 pm to 8 pm, Sunday 10 am to 6 pm |
The station hall and the squares
Polarzauber, inside the main station hall, is the easiest first stop because it has a roof. Many locals still call it the Christkindlimarkt. Lindt has hung the big tree with Lindor balls, and its Christmas train for children runs in the same hall, with a kids' disco on Sundays. The catch is the after-work rush, when commuters cut through the hall and a stroller becomes hard to steer. Aim for late morning on a weekday, or a Sunday for the disco. Our guide to the station market covers the hall in full.
At the Singing Christmas Tree on Werdmühleplatz, just off Bahnhofstrasse, more than 40 choirs take turns on a stage shaped like a tree, and a carousel ride costs CHF 3. A weekend visit from 1 pm gives you daylight and singing, and on Saturdays an evening party follows.
Bellevue Noël fills Sechseläutenplatz by the Opera House, and has a children's area of its own.
- A carousel at the heart of the children's area;
- The teddy workshop, in the same children's area; ask at the market when it runs;
- A wish letterbox for children's wish letters, so bring one written at the hotel;
- The walk-on Advent wreath, with a platform about 16 feet (5 m) up. It is free, but you need a time-slot ticket (check the market's page for how the time slots work), and its candles are lit on Advent Sundays.
Our Bellevue Noël guide covers the wreath and the fondue chalet.
Candle dipping and fire shows
About 70 huts make up the Dörfli market, which fills the Niederdorf lanes on the right bank of the Limmat. Children can make candles of their own at the Märlibaracke on Zähringerplatz, a slow, warm job that suits a cold afternoon and gives them something to carry home. The Fortuna Fire Crew puts on fire shows on Zwingliplatz and Hirschenplatz; check the times on the market's page and keep small children well back. The Old Town markets guide has a walking route that strings these squares together.
Candle dipping turns up at the Uetliberg market too, on Zurich's own hill. From the main station the S10 needs about 25 minutes, and the last stretch up to Uto Kulm is a short uphill walk. With a toddler on foot that walk takes a while.
Samichlaus on 6 December
On 6 December, Samichlaus, the Swiss St Nicholas, makes his visit. The sweet bread man baked for the day is the Grittibänz, and one makes an easy snack on a market walk. If you are here in early December, Einsiedeln, about an hour by train, holds a market of about ten days in front of the abbey with a St Nicholas send-off and a nativity scene of 470 figures. Basel's Münsterplatz has a fairy-tale forest for children, and Winterthur, about 20 minutes away, has a Märliwald; markets near Zurich lists them all.
Tours that take children
For a guided day with a sweet ending, the city tour with lake cruise and Lindt by Best of Switzerland Tours, from ~$91, runs 5.5–6.5 hours. A coach climbs the Zürichberg for views over the city, and of the Alps when the grey lid does not hide them. A guide walks you through the Old Town before a 30-minute cruise on the lake, and the day finishes at Lindt Home of Chocolate with unlimited tasting. A FIFA museum visit is an optional upgrade. The catch is the format, a big-group coach tour with a short cruise, which leaves little room to slow down for small children. On GetYourGuide it holds 4.5 from 5,744+ reviews; on Viator, where it sells for about $93, it holds 4.2 from 1,196+.
Chocolate after a boat ride
Best of Switzerland Tours packs a Zürichberg drive with an Old Town walk and a 30-minute cruise into 5.5–6.5 hours, then lets everyone taste freely at Lindt, from ~$91. Check the child price on the listing for your date.
To go at your own pace, a Lindt Home of Chocolate entry ticket, from ~$17, covers the history of cocoa and the pilot plant, with the 30-foot (9 m) chocolate fountain in the entrance hall and unlimited tastings. The catch is getting there. Kilchberg sits by the lake to the south of the city. You need a train or bus ride, and December weekend afternoons draw crowds. A weekday is calmer with children. Our chocolate guide compares the ticket with the walking tours.
For an evening ride, the fondue e-tuk-tuk with eTukTuk, from ~$194, is private, with up to 4 per vehicle around a built-in table. Children up to 5 ride free if they need no meal of their own, babies are welcome from 6 months, and child seats cost nothing. Blankets and lambskins come out in winter. The catch is a per-person price on a private tour, plus street noise that can drown out the guide. The Secret Food Tours walk, from ~$137, sets 18 as the minimum only for the alcohol, yet 3.5 hours with a lot of walking is a stretch for young legs. The Titlis day lasts about 10 hours, mostly on a coach; snow day trips from Zurich sets it against shorter options.
Getting around is easy with children, since trams run everywhere. The Zürich Card, from ~$35, is Zürich Tourism's pass for 24 or 72 hours. It covers the city's public transport plus the airport train, a short boat trip on Lake Zurich and free entry to the most popular museums. On the downside, the listing asks for a printed ticket, and the card earns its price only with plenty of rides and museum visits.