Where Locals Go in Switzerland in Winter

Switzerland is a dream destination in winter for skiing—and so much more. The Alpine scenery, warming cuisine in cozy chalets, and outdoor experiences like hiking through snow-blanketed forests are all tailor-made for crisp weather. Since moving to Switzerland six years ago, I’ve had more and more winter visitors.

Skiing is a major draw, given that ski-lift prices are surprisingly low, especially considering Swiss resorts’ expansive terrain and top-notch facilities. And travelers who arrive when the days are shorter soon discover what those of us who live there already know: Switzerland in winter is just as enchanting off the slopes. Extending your trip allows you to explore the country’s many cold-weather delights, from hot springs to fondue.

A seamless network of trains, buses, and boats, all free to use with a Swiss Travel Pass (which also offers free or highly discounted access to countless museums and experiences), makes it easy to stay longer and immerse yourself in the destination’s postcard-worthy winter views. When you experience Switzerland beyond the ski resorts, you’ll understand why locals like me love the winter season so much.

The anticipation starts in mid-November when the Swiss celebrate St. Martin’s Day throughout the country. Near the end of November, Christmas markets open in cities nationwide, and winter mode is in full swing.

See the Illuminarium lightshow in Zürich

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In Zürich, in addition to glowing Christmas lights, the December Illuminarium lightshow is a vibrant, psychedelic spectacle beamed onto the courtyard walls of the Swiss National Museum. The Illuminarium show is free to visit, and you can explore the museum itself, a castle-like 1898 building with a modern wing, at no cost with the Swiss Travel Pass.

Behind the museum lies Zürich West, a vibrant neighborhood in Switzerland’s largest city. It houses a gourmet food hall, art galleries in a converted brewery, and Freitag’s flagship store, made of multiple shipping containers stacked on top of each other. You can learn about Freitag, which makes bags from used tarp, and several other local brands on a Made in Zürich tour.

For me, nothing beats wandering the cobblestoned streets of Zürich’s Old Town; admiring the historic buildings dating to the 1400s; stumbling on plaques of historic people who once lived there, like Einstein and James Joyce; and glimpsing artisans, from goldsmiths to leatherworkers, at work in their tiny studios. I love turning up my coat lapels, strolling along the Limmat River that runs through the district, and marveling at the graceful swans on the icy winter waters. Then, it’s time for a hot cocoa.

Visit Zürich’s Lindt Home of Chocolate and Turicum Labs

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Try the dark chocolate cocoa at the Lindt Home of Chocolate Café. The Lindt Museum Tour, discounted with the Swiss Travel Pass, showcases the history of chocolate from Central America to the present day. Purchase an additional ticket to the chocolate-making course to learn how to make your own luscious confections from master chocolatiers. A completely different warming winter libation could be bespoke gin that you design yourself, choosing among 50 distillates during a three-hour workshop at Turicum Labs.

To experience everything that wintertime Zürich has to offer, book a room at La Réserve Eden au Lac Zürich, a five-star hotel with stunning Lake Zürich views and spaces designed by Philippe Starck. I’m particularly fond of the hotel’s La Muña restaurant, designed to look like you’re inside a wooden boat.

Explore Lucerne’s Old Town

From Zürich’s central station, a 50-minute train ride arrives in Lucerne, where the medieval town center evokes a fairy-tale village, kept safe behind its imposing Musegg Wall, and watched over by the towering Alps. From Lucerne’s Old Town, cross the 14th-century chapel bridge, Europe’s oldest wooden covered bridge, admiring the iconic water tower along the way. On the other side of the Reuss River, visit the unexpectedly moving Löwendenkmal, or Lion Monument. The two-century-old sculpture of a dying lion, carved out of the natural rock wall, commemorates Swiss soldiers killed during the French Revolution.

Cruise Lake Lucerne and soak in Mineralbad & Spa Rigi Kaltbad’s hot springs

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Lake Lucerne, one of my favorite bodies of water, winds between steep, snow-covered mountain peaks. I recommend two different ways of enjoying this sparkling lake. One is to take a round-trip boat cruise across it, passing lakeside hamlets and villages atop steep mountainsides. The cruise and the view are free with your Swiss Travel Pass.

My other suggestion for seeing Lake Lucerne is to take the 1871 cogwheel train, the first mountain train in Europe, from Vitznau or Arth-Goldau to the top of Mount Rigi. You can also reach Rigi by cable car from Weggis to Rigi Kaltbad, then continue to Rigi Kulm by cogwheel train. At nearly 5,900 feet, Rigi offers a panoramic vista of more than 600 mountain peaks and a sky-high view of Lake Lucerne. Make a day of your Rigi visit and try snowshoeing there. Or delight in a sauna, soak in hot springs, and take in sweeping views at the Mineralbad & Spa Rigi Kaltbad, partway up Mount Rigi.

If you want to learn how cogwheel trains can chug up such steep mountains, or how Switzerland’s entire rail system runs like one finely tuned machine, you can satisfy your curiosity at the Swiss Museum of Transport, which is half off with the Swiss Travel Pass. It’s also Switzerland’s most visited museum, thanks to how interactive it is, featuring boats, planes, gondolas, and many other modes of transport.

Attend the LiLu Lights Festival and Carnival in Lucerne

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After the December Christmas markets, the winter lights don’t end in Lucerne. For 10 days in January, the LiLu Lights Festival showcases the work of artists who illuminate streets, plazas, and structures throughout the city with light installations. Then, in February, the 10-day Carnival fills the streets with music, parades, and inventive costumes featuring giant handmade masks that represent fearsome creatures, which scare away winter spirits, or joyful beings celebrating their retreat, dating back to ancient pagan customs.

Ski Engelberg and Andermatt

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Lucerne is so close to the Alps that a day trip to ski couldn’t be easier. It takes 45 minutes by train to reach Engelberg and the Titlis Resort with unforgettable Alpine views. While the resort appeals to off-piste skiers like me, it also has a family ski area. Or simply take the revolving gondola to the top, walk on the skywalk across mountain peaks, and marvel at the beauty of Switzerland in winter. To stay overnight in Engelberg, try the Kempinski Palace, with its 9,500-square-foot rooftop spa.

Andermatt is the buzziest ski resort in the region, having recently expanded with new hotels, shops, and even an opera hall in a stylish new village. The Andermatt region encompasses three ski areas, Andermatt, Sedrun, and Disentis, which joined together to offer more than 100 miles of skiable terrain and 33 lifts. You can access Andermatt from Lucerne by train in under two hours. If you’re looking for a hotel stay, consider the Chedi Andermatt, which features a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Ride the Golden Pass Express to Interlaken

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Among the most picturesque train rides in a country full of them is the one from Lucerne to Interlaken. Through panoramic glass windows, you’ll see five lakes en route to Interlaken, a tiny hamlet in a narrow valley between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun. Each has its own distinctive hue—Lake Thun is a piercing blue, and mineral glacial melt tints Lake Brienz a glowing aquamarine.

Take a cruise on Lake Thun to see the intense color up close. Also, visit Thun Castle, with its white walls, multiple spires, and red-tiled roofs. Perched up a hill, the elegant fortress dating to the 1100s offers stunning lake views and a museum, all of which you can take in with the Swiss Travel Pass.

Go to Interlaken’s Christmas market and hike along Lake Thun

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In Interlaken, December brings a charming Christmas market with international food offerings. Weather permitting, Santa Claus paraglides into town each afternoon. You can also try a hand at paragliding yourself, as the guides are very experienced and thoughtful.

Interlaken is all about the outdoors, including hikes through snowy woods—like the three-mile path along Lake Thun through a forest and past fortress ruins that arrives at a lakeside park in Unterseen. Not far from Interlaken, the first international ski races in the world were held some 90 years ago. To get a sense for yourself of what it’s like to zip down a snowy slope, take a full-day ski lesson.

Ski Grindelwald-Wengen

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If you already know how to ski, or even if you don’t, you can reach the car-free mountain town of Wengen in under 40 minutes by train from Interlaken. At the Grindelwald-Wengen resort, you can even ski part of the Lauberhorn, the world’s longest World Cup downhill course, assuming no ski race is underway. You can also come off the mountain and ski right up to your hotel, something I’ve done many times. At the newly renovated Grand Hotel Belvedere, you can enjoy spa treatments and views of the famed Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio.

From Interlaken, you can get even closer views of these mountain peaks and many others in the Bernese Alps by taking the Jungfrau Railway to the highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch, located at a dizzying 11,300 feet of elevation. It’s discounted with the Swiss Travel Pass.

Eat fondue and raclette in Interlaken

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A Swiss tradition I do at least once each winter is combining a hike to fondue in a cozy chalet with nighttime sledding. Sledding down paths carved through a moonlit forest is a thrilling experience, and the adrenaline will work off any rich meal.

Another dish that’s synonymous with Swiss winter is raclette, freshly melted cheese served on just-boiled baby potatoes. In Interlaken, you can have a raclette dinner unlike any other—on a raft that takes you from a protected cove in Lake Brienz through a canal to Interlaken, while you snuggle up in blankets and sip wine.

Ski Glacier 3000

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From Interlaken, the GoldenPass Line takes you to Montreux, a beautiful lakeside town in Vaud, which is a skier’s paradise. From Montreux, a bus gets you to Col du Pillon, where a gondola whisks you up to Glacier 3000.

With its 3000-meter (9,842-foot) elevation, the mountain resort has one of the longest ski seasons in the region, running from November to the end of April. Like other ski areas in Switzerland, Glacier 3000 is part of a larger resort with Villars-Gryon. I’ve skied at all of these, and I’m always amazed by how the views can be so different at every resort. I recommend staying at the Glacier Hotel in the village of Les Diablerets.

It’s also worth trying the world’s highest toboggan run and the peak-to-peak suspension bridge on Glacier 3000. You don’t need to ski to marvel at the wintertime beauty up here, or anywhere else in this lovely country.

Ride the cheese train

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A UNESCO-recognized wine region, Vaud also offers a range of delicious culinary experiences. One of them, offered yearly from January to October, is taking the cheese train to a farm and small restaurant in Château-d’Oex, where you’ll see cheese made traditionally over a wood fire. Enjoy this cheese in a creamy fondue meal before your return train. As you head back across Switzerland’s snowy landscape, you can dream about where to go next and where your Swiss Travel Pass can take you.

Noelle Salmi