Switzerland's Seasonal Festivals: When to Go, What to Pay, Whether to Bother

The Montreux Jazz Festival runs for sixteen days in early-to-mid July along the eastern shore of Lake Geneva, roughly equidistant between Lausanne and Villeneuve. Despite the name, the programme ranges far beyond jazz: soul, blues, pop, electronica, hip-hop and world music all appear on the bill. The festival was founded in 1967 by Claude Nobs and has hosted Miles Davis, Nina Simone, David Bowie and Prince, among many others. The Auditorium Stravinski holds 4,500 people and is the main ticketed indoor venue.

The free lakeside stages — Scène du Lac and various pop-up spots along the promenade — run from approximately 17:00 to midnight every evening and attract tens of thousands of people nightly. This is genuinely excellent programming at no cost: in recent years the free stages have featured internationally recognised artists as warm-ups and late-night club acts. Tickets for indoor concerts range from CHF 45 for smaller club stages to CHF 120–180 for headline Auditorium shows; all-day indoor passes cost CHF 90–130. Book online at montreux-jazz.com as soon as the programme is announced, usually in April.

Montreux is most easily reached by train from Geneva (45 minutes, CHF 24 one-way) or Lausanne (20 minutes, CHF 10). The town itself is small and accommodation is expensive during festival weeks — consider staying in Vevey or Lausanne and commuting by train. The promenade is flat and accessible by wheelchair. After the festival, the eastern shore of Lake Geneva is wonderful for walking along the Lavaux UNESCO vineyard terraces between Montreux and Lutry.

The Alpabzug is less a scheduled festival than a seasonal agricultural reality that happens to be extraordinarily photogenic. From mid-September through mid-October, farms throughout the Alps bring their herds down from high summer pastures before the first serious snowfall closes the upper paths. The cows are decorated with large flower headdresses and clanging cowbells; herdsmen wear traditional embroidered dress; and the processions move at the unhurried pace of animals that have spent four months above 1,500 metres eating grass.

The most accessible Alpabzug events for visitors are in the Appenzell region (Appenzell Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden), the Bernese Oberland around Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren, and the Entlebuch biosphere reserve south of Lucerne. The Appenzell descents are often accompanied by music and a street market in the village; the Bernese Oberland ones are quieter and more purely agricultural. Entry to the public roads and village squares is free. Good viewpoints can be reached on foot or by the narrow-gauge trains from Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald or from Appenzell village. Exact dates vary year to year — the best source is the local tourism office of the relevant canton, checked in August or early September.

The Engadine and Swiss National Park area also sees its own quieter version of the livestock descent, and the autumn colours in the larch forests make this one of the most visually rewarding times to walk there. If travelling with children, the cattle procession is reliably fascinating for under-tens; see our notes in the family attractions guide.

Switzerland runs three Christmas markets that stand clearly above the rest in scale, atmosphere and quality of craft goods. Basel's Weihnachtsmarkt on Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz is the largest in Switzerland and one of the oldest in Europe, running from late November through Christmas Eve. The two squares hold approximately 180 market stalls and are surrounded by the city's Gothic and Romanesque architecture. Entry is free; expect to spend CHF 8–12 on a Glühwein or hot Punsch, and CHF 15–40 on artisan gifts. Combine with a morning visit to the Kunstmuseum Basel, ten minutes' walk away.

Zürich's most distinctive Christmas offering is inside the Hauptbahnhof: the Christkindlimarkt beneath the station's vaulted iron roof is decorated each year with a large overhead installation, and the combination of arriving trains, mulled wine and Christmas light is genuinely theatrical. A second outdoor market on Werdmühleplatz runs simultaneously. Both are free. The whole Zürich Christmas season runs from late November to 24 December and the old town streets are illuminated from 17:00 daily.

Montreux's Marché de Noël runs along the lakeside promenade from late November through Christmas Day. The backdrop of Lake Geneva and the snow-capped Dents du Midi makes this the most scenic of the three. The market is smaller than Basel — approximately 120 chalets — but the setting is unmatched. Montreux is accessible in 45 minutes from Geneva by train. All three markets are free to enter; budget CHF 30–60 per person for food, drink and light shopping over a half-day visit.