It
doesn’t cost anything to absorb yourself into Swiss life and all that it
offers. Here are a few things that anyone can enjoy:
Traditions
Swiss
festivals are numerous and colourful. These take place every year, either
locally or nationwide:
Fasnacht. Timing
varies in Catholic and Protestant Cantons. Celebrating the Lenten Fasting
period between Shrove Tuesday/Fasnacht Tuesday and Easter, parades take place
in many villages as well as big processions in the cities of Basel, Zürich and
Luzern, for example.
Sechseläuten A Zürich city half-day holiday usually on the third Monday in April, this festival is marked by a procession of all the guilds down the Bahnhofstrasse to Bellevue where a snowman or Böögg is burnt on a bonfire at 6pm.
Swiss National Day A nationwide holiday on 1 August celebrated locally with speeches, music and fireworks.
Zürich Street Parade This has become a summer tradition over the past 20 years, a huge music festival and costume parade in the streets of the city, with food and drink and lots of noise. Goes on into the early hours.
Knabenschiessen In Zürich, a half day holiday on the second Monday in September marks the end of the three-day Boys’ Shooting event (also for girls). The fair at Albisguetli is good fun.
Appenzell In October the cattle are brought down from their summer pastures and parade through the streets.
Räbeliechtli Marking the end of the last vegetable of autumn on the second Saturday in November, the biggest parade takes place in Richterswil (ZH), when all the streetlights are turned off for the procession of floats made from turnips or Räben. Other villages in Canton Zürich have their own children’s procession.
Local Spring and Autumn Markets Look out for these events near you, a great opportunity to buy local produce and crafts.
Chilbis or fairs which travel around during August-September. Smell the bratwurst, garlic bread and candyfloss.
Bern Onion Market takes place on the last Monday in November. Visitors come from all over Europe to this colourful event.
Samichlaus Day on 6 December is when Swiss children celebrate before Christmas. He wears a long red robe, travels with his silent companion Schmützli and leaves nuts and oranges in children’s shoes. Grittibanz or dough men are on sale then.
Advent and Christmas Markets take place in many towns such as Zürich, Einsiedeln, Luzern, Basel, and Bern, selling crafts, gingerbread cookies and Glühwein.
Libraries. Find out
what’s going on in your local town by joining the library. They have a great
selection of fiction and non-fiction books, many have the latest English
fiction as well as German, French and Italian novels. For a modest annual fee
you can also borrow CDs, DVDs and children’s games and toys.
Ortsmuseum Your
local museum is a good place to find out about local history. Check opening
times.
Cafes and restaurants can be
found on every corner, at the tram stop and even atop the highest mountain
peak. Swiss coffee is possibly the best in the world, there are still some
traditional Swiss beers such as Ittinger, Rappi Bier and Wädibier, local wine
can be bought by the glass or decilitre and bratwurst, pommies (what the
English call chips) and barley soup are ubiquitous. Over the past 10 - 15 years, the
number of high-end restaurants catering to every taste, nationality and pocket
has also multiplied.
Starbucks Starting
to become a Swiss institution after 10 years, their smoke-free cafes offer a
welcome beverage choice from a long list, locally baked cakes, cookies and
sandwiches, WiFi access and comfortable seating. You can sit there all morning
over a single cup of coffee. Many do coffee tastings on request or have book
exchanges. Also welcoming for parents with young children.
Be your own tour guide!
No
need to pay for an expensive guided tour; you can take a tour of the main
sights in any major Swiss city with the help of a good guide book and a street
map. The following towns are worth a visit: click on the links for extra
information from our members:
Featured town: St. Gallen
In
coming weeks, discover these cities - see links on right:
Schaffhausen
Chur
Bellinzona
Murten
Konstanz
Zurich
Zug
Luzern
Bern
Basel Altstadt
Bern
Basel Altstadt
Plus
why not explore on your own these lovely towns and cities:
Geneva
- see http://www.geneva.info/
Fribourg
– on the French/German language border
Appenzell
– an old-fashioned town
Lugano
– gateway to three lakes
Locarno
– on Lago Maggiore
And
more…
Compiled
by Julia Newton, 2 September 2011. Amended April 2016
With
contributions from Amy Eber, Colin Hawker, Ewelina Pace, Gill Rüttimann, Helga
Meyer-Piening, Lindsey Carver, Otto Schreibke, Paola Cavallari, Sue Poolman,
Trudi MacDonald ,Valerie Quiblier.
