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What’s on: five things to do in Switzerland this weekend

From comedy gigs to all-night carnival parades, here are some of the events taking place in Switzerland this weekend.

Published: 1 March 2019 10:26 CET

What’s on: five things to do in Switzerland this weekend

The Shapes Music Festival in Vaud features 25 DJs. File photo: Depositphotos

Party

It’s Carnival time in Switzerland with colourful parades and all-night parties on across the country. Some of the biggest events this weekend are going on in Lucerne, St Gallen, Sion, and Bellinzona but there plenty of other carnival-themed events in smaller towns and villages, all of which are worth visiting in their own right. Here is our guide to Switzerland’s Carnival season to get you inspired.

Learn

Take a guided tour in English of Zurich’s hugely impressive Swiss National Museum, just near the main train station. The meeting point is in the foyer at 11am on Saturday March 2nd, and the tour examining both Switzerland's past and present lasts an hour. There is more information here.

Laugh

UK–Irish comedian Jimmy Carr will be delivering his blend of dry, deadpan (and often filthy) humour at Basel’s RhyPark venue this Friday, March 1st. Tickets for the British Comedy Award winner’s performance are 66 francs, although there are cheaper rates for students. Read more here.

Admire

On Saturday March 2nd, the 'Le Lac' villa designed by Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier will open again to the public for the spring season. Built in 1923, the small UNESCO- recognized house in Corseaux on the shores of Lake Geneva is described as a “little gem of ingenuity and functionalism” and serves as a sign post for Le Corbusier’s later work.

The villas is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm to 5pm. You can find out more here.

The Le Corbusier villa 'Le Lac' in Corseaux.

Dance

The Shapes Music Festival in Leysin in the canton of Vaud features around 25 DJs from around the world. During they day, they’ll be blasting their music on the slopes, while in the evening, the partying moves indoors. The full program is here.

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How Cologne is preparing for the start of Carnival on Friday

Dubbed Germany’s “fifth season” by locals, the event starts every year on November 11th at 11:11 am, and typically stretches into February or March, when colourful parades spill into the streets.

Carnival stronghold Cologne in particular is preparing for the onslaught of tens of thousands of people who will flock to its Altstadt (old town), and especially to the student quarter, starting early Friday morning.

READ ALSO: 10 unmissable events in Germany this November

“Far too many people want to celebrate in far too small a space,” city director Andrea Blome told DPA. “We can’t stop anyone from coming to Cologne now.”

More security this year

In the popular Kwartier Latäng student quarter, there have been regular bouts of drinking by young partygoers in the past, who crowded into a confined space, leaving litter everywhere and publicly peeing on the corners of buildings.

Google Maps shows the location of the so-called Kwartier Latäng part of Cologne.

But with a new security plan, the city and police hope to keep the situation under control.

Several checkpoints and road closures have been set up to secure the safety of the revelers and relieve the burden on worried residents, according to Blome. Visitors will only be able to enter the closed-off area around Zülpicher Straße via a single access point.

On Friday, Cologne is also set to send a total of 150 employees from the Ordnungsamt (public order office) onto the streets, who will be supported by 520 private security guards.

A glass ban will again apply in the celebration zones, and several hundred toilets will be set up at the hotspots, “which nevertheless will probably not be used by all visitors,” Blome predicted.

READ ALSO: 10 words you need to know at Cologne’s Carnival

Up to 1,100 police officers are expected to be on duty on the day – about 200 fewer than last year, said head of operations Rüdiger Fink. But he expected to keep the situation “under control with a new security plan.”

What to expect

On Cologne’s Heumarkt, there will be a stage program all day with bands such as the Bläck Fööss, the Paveiern and Brings.

Google Maps shows Cologne’s Heumarkt along the Rhine River.

According to the Willi Ostermann Society, about 10,000 tickets were sold in advance for the event, which will be aired by German WDR for several hours.

Meanwhile, in Düsseldorf, the day will start at 11:11 a.m. with the “Hoppeditz Awakening” in front of City Hall.

According to a spokesman, the police will be adequately prepared for the start of the season, with a particular focus on the Altstadt, where there will certainly be celebrations.

“But 11.11. is a very different event here in Düsseldorf than in Cologne,” he said, referring to a more orderly start and fewer guests.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about celebrating Carnival in Germany

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