Old Town markets and lights, with the Singing Christmas Tree

Two banks, three markets

The Limmat splits the Old Town in two. The left bank holds Lindenhof hill, St. Peter, the Fraumünster and Münsterhof, with Bahnhofstrasse and Paradeplatz on its western edge. The right bank is the Niederdorf, which locals call the Dörfli, with the Grossmünster at its southern end. Each bank has its own Christmas character, and all three markets are free to wander.

All three start on the common opening Thursday, which falls in the second half of November, and stay until 23 December. Only Münsterhof also opens on 24 December. Organizers publish the final hours shortly before the season, so check each market's own page. Every other market in the city is in our full table of dates and hours.

Weihnachtsmarkt Dörfli in the Niederdorf

The Niederdorf is a tangle of narrow pedestrian lanes, and the Dörfli market threads about 70 huts through them. It feels less like a square full of stalls and more like a neighborhood that has dressed up for the season. The big draw after dark is the fire shows by the Fortuna Fire Crew on Zwingliplatz and Hirschenplatz. Children can dip their own candles at the Märlibaracke on Zähringerplatz.

The lanes are the market's charm and its weakness. On Friday and Saturday evenings they fill up and slow down a stroller or a group of six. Come on a weeknight before 7 pm if you want to stop at every hut, and save the weekend crowd for a market with more room, such as Bellevue Noël on its open square.

Münsterhof in front of the Fraumünster

Across the river, the Münsterhof market fills the square in front of the Fraumünster, the church known for its stained-glass windows by Chagall and Giacometti. Its stalls belong to Zurich shops and brands, which makes it the place for gifts from local names, and one tour operator calls it probably the most upscale market in town. Concerts play most evenings, and the mulled wine is home-made. It closes at 9:30 pm from Monday to Saturday and at 7:30 pm on Sunday, and it is one of only two markets open on Christmas Eve.

The Singing Christmas Tree on Werdmühleplatz

Just off Bahnhofstrasse, the Singing Christmas Tree is a stage shaped like a giant tree, with choirs standing on its tiers. More than 40 choirs take turns over the season, and the music runs to old carols. Around it you will find a fondue chalet and a children's carousel at CHF 3 a ride, and on Saturday evenings the square turns into a party.

Its hours are the odd ones out. On weekdays it opens at 4 pm, and at weekends at 1 pm, so do not plan a morning around it. A weekday visit just after dark gives you the choirs with space to stand.

Chocolate between the markets

The Old Town's chocolate shops are the other sweet reason to linger, and the Unique Ways chocolate walk, from ~$106, works through its shops in two to two and a half hours. A group of up to 15 gets at least 13 tastings along the way, and the GetYourGuide version adds a sweet gift to take home. Bring a water bottle, since you refill it at the city's fountains between stops. Reviews sit at 5.0 on Viator from 141+ and 5.0 on GetYourGuide from 35+, where it costs about $110. The catch is a sugar overload with nothing savory on the route, so eat something salty at the Dörfli first. The Lindt museum south of the city is covered in our chocolate guide.

Lights on Bahnhofstrasse and the lanes

The Lucy lights hang the length of Bahnhofstrasse and are switched on at 6 pm on the markets' opening day. Partway down, Paradeplatz has a tall Christmas tree with the blue trams passing in front of it. Back in the Old Town, the lanes around Rennweg on the left bank and Neumarkt on the right bank are strung with lights of their own, and they are quieter than the markets. Look up at St. Peter too, whose clock face is the largest of any church in Europe.

If you would like a guide to do the ordering, Zurich Discover's Christmas Market and Old Town Food Experience, from ~$243, spends two and a half to three hours on the Old Town with raclette over potatoes and a mulled wine (or an alcohol-free one) in a souvenir mug you keep, with roasted chestnuts to buy along the way. The catch is plain. It had no reviews when we compared, and even when GetYourGuide shows it reduced to about $226, it costs far more than eating the same raclette at the stalls on your own.

A self-guided Old Town route

This loop covers both banks in one evening. Start once it is dark, any time after about 4:30 pm.

1. From the main station, walk down Bahnhofstrasse under the Lucy lights;
2. Step off the street onto Werdmühleplatz for a carol or two at the Singing Christmas Tree;
3. Wander into the lit lanes around Rennweg and on past St. Peter;
4. Stop at Münsterhof for a cup of its home-made mulled wine;
5. Cross the Limmat to the Grossmünster;
6. Head north into the Dörfli for the huts and a fire show on Zwingliplatz or Hirschenplatz, with a detour up to the lights around Neumarkt;
7. Finish either back at the station market or down by the lake at Bellevue Noël, whose chalet bar keeps pouring until midnight except on Sundays.

For a stay with more time, the markets in towns near Zurich make good day trips, and our fondue guide says where to sit down and eat once your feet give out.