Switzerland celebrates locally rather than nationally — every canton has its own holidays, and a festival two valleys away can be entirely unknown. These events justify building a trip around them, in calendar order.
Winter and spring
- Basel Carnival, the Monday after Ash Wednesday. At four in the morning the Morgestraich turns off every light in the centre, and only painted lanterns glow while piccolos and drums move through the alleys. Three days, UNESCO intangible heritage, and the only carnival in the region that begins after Ash Wednesday
- Chalandamarz in the Engadine on 1 March: children drive out winter with cowbells
- Sechseläuten, Zurich, third Monday in April: the Böögg is burned, and the time until it explodes is said to forecast the summer
- Landsgemeinde in Appenzell and Glarus, late April: voting by show of hands in the open air, one of the last examples in Europe
Summer
- Montreux Jazz Festival, early July, sixteen days on Lake Geneva, with a large free programme alongside the concerts
- Paléo Festival at Nyon in July and Gurten near Bern, the country's largest open airs
- 1 August, national day: bonfires on the heights, paper lanterns, fireworks, speeches and sausages in the communes. Almost everything is closed that day
- Locarno Film Festival, August: open-air cinema on the Piazza Grande with eight thousand seats and a 26-metre screen
- Federal Wrestling and Alpine Festival, every three years: fifty thousand spectators, wrestling in sawdust, and the winner receives a bull
Autumn
- Alpabzug in September: the herds come down decorated, with bells, traditional dress and herdsmen's choirs. Appenzell, the Bernese Oberland and the Entlebuch are the most striking; dates depend on the weather and are announced late
- Grape harvest in the Lavaux and the Valais, with open cellars
- Zibelemärit in Bern, fourth Monday in November: an onion market from four in the morning, with confetti battles
- Olma in St Gallen, an agricultural fair with its piglet race
December
- Christmas markets from late November; largest in Basel, Zurich and Montreux, most atmospheric in Einsiedeln before the abbey facade
- Klausjagen in Küssnacht on 5 December: 1500 men in illuminated paper mitres, with whips and bells, moving through the village
- Silvesterchlausen in Appenzell on 13 January by the old calendar — costumed groups go farm to farm with bells and natural yodelling
Practical notes
- Book early: for Basel Carnival and Locarno week the cities are full, and for Montreux Jazz the same applies to the whole riviera
- The Alpabzug cannot be planned months ahead — dates arrive one or two weeks in advance through the tourist offices
- Cantonal holidays differ: what is a working day in Zurich is closed in Lucerne. Check for the canton you are in
- On 1 August and Sundays shops are closed, except in stations and at petrol stations
- Many events have a free programme alongside the ticketed one; at Montreux Jazz it is the larger part