Christmas in Montreux, Switzerland

There’s no place more magical to spend the holidays than in a European Christmas market, and Montreux, Switzerland boasts one of the best and largest, complete with 150+ Christmas stalls AND the real Santa. In this blog post, I break down our trip to the a real life winter wonderland so you, too, can experience the magic of Christmas in this idyllic place.

The Christmas Market – Montreux Noel

The Montreux Noel Christmas Market is located right along the bank of Lake Geneva with the Swiss Alps decorating the backdrop, a truly magical setting for a Christmas wonderland. Over 150 vendors and stalls line the market selling everything from delicious local cuisine to Christmas ornaments and trinkets of every variety. We spent two days exploring the market with three kids (4, 7, 9), and never ran out of things to do, or eat! The main shelter boasts a few shopping stalls and a large assortment of food options. You can find this by navigating to the large Ferris wheel. Stop here to grab something to eat, some hot spiced wine (look for the VinChaud signs), and to do some initial shopping. From there, make your way to Elves’ Square directly behind the Ferris wheel. Here you will find all sorts of fun activities for children from crafts to chocolate decorating. Keep walking towards the lake and on the promenade, you will find a giant light-up reindeer, a perfect photo op for you and your loved ones. This is also where you will find a Freddy Mercury memorial statue where fans flock to leave notes, flowers, and tributes.

Perhaps the most memorable Montreux Noel experience is watching Santa fly through the sky on his sleigh and then serenade the crowd with Christmas songs. The best place to view this spectacle is from inside Elves’ Square. Truly, there is nothing so magical as watching the kids you love experience Santa in his flying sleigh.
From here, take your time walking through the Christmas market stalls and grab some souvenirs to take back home and add to your Christmas decor! My favorite finds were unique Christmas tree ornaments, an adorable little decorative Christmas gnome, and a Christmas wreath that hangs in my house all year round because it’s so beautiful! This is also a perfect place to sample local favorites such as the hot wine (yes I am mentioning it again because it is that important), and Gruyere cheese made locally in the town of Gruyere just 40 kilometers away. My absolute favorite dishes were the Gruyere mac-n-cheese and a hollowed-out baguette with steaming-hot melted Gruyere poured inside.

A European Christmas market is a bucket list experience that you will enjoy every second of. Experiencing this with kids makes it even more magical and is something they will remember for years to come.

Take a Train through the Swiss Countryside

This is another holiday trip “must-do”. Whether you stay on the train until making the switch to return to your original location or get off in some of the towns along the way, this train ride is one you will never forget. The views are breathtaking and I never tired of seeing the beauty of the Swiss countryside passing along.

During one of our days in Switzerland, we hopped on the Golden Pass tourist train out of Montreux. This is a scenic train ride through the hillsides of the Lake Geneva region and every time we rounded a corner we were greeted with another breathtaking view. We indulged in hot chocolate and sandwiches from the train cafe, played card games, and simply enjoyed spending time with one another while taking in the sights.
After a couple hours, we stopped and got off in the town of Gstaad where we planned to switch trains to head back but we were pleasantly surprised by this unique place and took some time to explore. We window-shopped, admired sculpture art, took plenty of photos, and drank Swiss hot chocolate and espresso. If you have the time, I highly recommend you check out this charming little town. Browse the shops and enjoy this gorgeous place that has been compared to Aspen.
*Note: We traveled from Paris to Switzerland by train so we bought tickets with a pre-set amount of rides attached to them and used one of these rides for the Golden Pass.

Christmas at Castle Chillon

Another magical day was spent exploring the Castle Chillon on the banks of Lake Geneva. During weekends of the Christmas season, Castle Chillon transforms into a medieval Christmas wonderland, decked out in Christmas trees and pinecones and filled with medieval actors, entertainers, family fun activities, and farm animals. Even during the week, without the entertainment, exploring the nooks and crannies of Castle Chillon is a great way to spend an afternoon. My nieces and nephews absolutely loved running around and exploring every inch of this castle from the dark and creepy dungeons to the weapons towers overlooking Lake Geneva. When lying in bed with my nephew one night near the end of the trip, I asked what his favorite memory from the trip was (with the exception of seeing Santa Claus of course), and he answered without hesitation, a huge smile crossing his sleepy face, “running around and playing in the castle!”.

Nothing says Christmas (or Switzerland) like Chocolate and Cheese

Ask anyone in our group about their favorite memories of Switzerland and undoubtedly the Maison Callier Chocolate Tour will come up. Touring a Swiss Chocolate factory is a must-do activity when visiting Switzerland, and while we were all excited about the prospect of learning about the art of chocolate-making and hopeful for some samples prior to the tour, the experience itself far exceeded any expectations we had and was by far one of best of the trip. The tour starts with an interactive, immersive history of chocolate. Within the span of a half-hour, we were dropped into ancient Mayan jungles, carried across an ocean on a cargo ship, and transported to historical European homes, following chocolate’s evolution. From there, we learned about the modern world of chocolate creation from the farms that produce the cacao plant to the farmers that produce the milk. We watched as a machine churned out chocolates and wrapped them in colorful wrappers and then observed as chocolate artists handcrafted holiday works of art in the form of jolly chocolate Santas and elves. We learned the art of enjoying chocolate as an experience, practicing with chocolate samples until we were experts, and then we entered the holy grail of chocolate samples. We tasted and sampled chocolate after chocolate, each one more delicious than the last (champagne-filled chocolate anyone?) until we couldn’t stand the thought of eating even one more piece.
The entire tour and experience was one we will never forget and you will almost certainly be bringing Callier chocolates home to your loved ones so they too can enjoy the delicacy that is Swiss chocolate.

After leaving the chocolate tour, we headed over to La Maison du Gruyere where Gruyere cheese is manufactured. This was another interesting tour and only amplified my love affair with Gruyere cheese. The interactive components of the tour were engaging and during certain times of the day, visitors can watch the cheese-making process, looking down into the industrial kitchen from the second level through floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Highlights of the tour included seeing the Gruyere aging room and watching robots tending to the cheese rounds, as well as receiving our free samples of Gruyere (three pieces each aged for differing amounts of time for taste comparison).
*Note: Although both tours were good, I would recommend doing the cheese tour first and ending on an especially high note with the chocolate tour.

Enjoying the Swiss Alps SNOW

Unfortunately, when we visited Switzerland in mid to late December, it was uncharacteristically warm and lacking in its usual snow cover, so we were unable to engage in all that Switzerland has to offer in the way of winter activities. However, I am including our unfulfilled itinerary here for you to get an idea of what these winter activities include!

-Skiing and snowboarding: I’ve always wanted to be able to say that I snowboarded in the Swiss Alps. Sadly, this was not the trip to see that goal fulfilled, but if you are in Switzerland during the winter season take advantage of the many ski resorts that the country has to offer!

-Glacier 3000: This was one of the main reasons we chose to visit the Geneva/Montreaux area as opposed to some of the other well-known areas of Switzerland. Glacier 3000 is an activity park situated on a mountaintop accessible only by a tram that takes visitors up to the peak. Once at the top, visitors can engage in sledding, skiing, snowboarding, dog sled riding, a peak-to-peak bridge walk, cross-country skiing, and more. While snow is never a problem here, it can get shut down for days at a time when bad storms roll through, which is what happened in our case. I would love to make it back someday to experience all that Glacier 3000 has to offer!

-The Tobogganing Park Leysin: This was yet another casualty of our trip due to the lack of snow. This park offers tubing on steroids with dozens of tracks cascading down the mountainside. For the extra brave, there’s even a track ending in a ramp which results in tubers landing on a giant airbag

-Outdoor heated pools: Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t get in some swimming! Go to any of the outdoor heated pools and unwind as you bask in the warm pool waters with the mountains in the background. Indulge in some spa services or simply enjoy the pool. One we suggest is Les Bains de Lavey.

Where to stay

When visiting this area, consider staying in Montreux, Blonay, or Vevey. We stayed in Blonay and it was the perfect central location for all of our activities and adventures. Our home away from home was the Montreux Holiday home– the house sleeps up to 9 guests in the three upstairs bedrooms and has a beautiful gathering space comprised of the kitchen, living room, and dining room. The hosts were nothing short of wonderful and provided us with all the information and more that we needed to make our stay exceptional. If you ask the adults what the best part of the stay was, no doubt you would be answered with “the view”. From our kitchen walkout, you can see the Swiss Alps and below it, the gorgeous Lake Geneva. There were more than a few mornings that I spent drinking my coffee just soaking in the view. The kids’ favorite part? The built-in trampoline where they could literally jump to their hearts’ delight in the misty clouds floating up from the lake. This AirBnB helped make the trip a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Needless to say, Switzerland, and the Montreux area in particular, is a magical, engaging, and scenic way to spend a Christmas season vacation and I guarantee you will make lifelong memories that you will revisit over and over again. Ideal for individuals, couples, or families. Kids will be swept up in the magic of Christmas and parents will be able to relax and unwind while enjoying the delicacies that Switzerland offers (hello, cheese, and chocolate). This was one of the most memorable trips we have ever taken and I can’t wait to go back and experience Christmas in Switzerland all over again.