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CULTURE

10 events in Switzerland you shouldn’t miss this January

From New Year’s celebrations to food markets and sporting competitions, here are the top events you shouldn’t miss out on this January in Switzerland.

Published: 27 December 2023 11:01 CET
10 events in Switzerland you shouldn't miss this January
Lucerne's firework show is a highlight every year. Photo by rovenimages.com from pexels.

New Year Fireworks

To mark the New Year, Lucerne will be illuminating the sky with a spectacular firework show – Neujahrszauber – from 8.15pm on January 1st 2024.

For the best view, head to the pier along the quay to view the display in all its glory.

Most towns and villages around Switzerland will have some sort of event – often with fireworks – on New Year’s Eve (although this year some local authorities have decided against them due to cost and environmental impact). Check your canton’s website for details of events near you. 

Touch The Mountains

If you like to ring in the new year with song and dance, we recommend swinging by the Touch The Mountains open-air festival held in Interlaken on January 1st 2024. The event will feature local talent, including popular singer and songwriter Bastian Baker, from 2pm.

Hurry and snag a (still available) ticket for 40 Swiss francs. Note that children aged 12 and under pay 30 francs, however, strollers are not allowed in the Golden Circle area.

New Year’s Eve Ceremony

Lugano’s New Year’s Eve festivities will begin with a procession, organised by the city’s authorities and associations, at 11am on January 1st. The procession will start from Piazza della Riforma in the direction of Piazza Manzoni and be followed by an address by the city’s mayor Michele Foletti and citizen Marco Solari at 11.30am and an aperitif at 12.30pm.

Harder-Potschete

Every year on January 2nd, Interlaken is haunted by the Hardermann – the Harder Kulm Mountain spirit – his wife (Wyb) and his many followers (Potschenen). If you’re brave enough to cross their path, head to Markplatz (starting point) to witness this decades-old procession, rich in culture and tradition, yourself.

PhotoSchweiz

Switzerland’s largest public photography event will take over Zurich’s exhibitions halls at Halle 550 in Zürich-Nord from January 6th to 10th. The event, which sees some 28,000 visitors each year, will include outstanding artwork from over 250 photographers and feature a market where photography companies can present their latest products.

Lilu Light Festival

Lucerne’s 5th Lulu Light Festival will once again light up the city with 20 creative light installations by a selection of global artists. The show will take place from January 11th to 21st in the Lucerne’s old town and around the city’s lake basin.

Old New Year’s Eve

Did you know that Switzerland’s Appenzellerland celebrates the turn of the year not once, but twice? The region commemorates the new year according to the Gregorian calendar on December 31st and again according to the Julian calendar on January 13th.

The tradition, which was first mentioned in 1663, includes three Silvesterchläuse (masked persons): the Schöne (pretty), Schö-Wüeschte (pretty-ugly) and Wüeschte (ugly). The trio set out in the early hours of the morning and go from home to home to wish every resident a happy new year.

If you happen to reside outside of Appenzell, you can still travel to the region to catch a glimpse of the trio making their rounds about town or head to a local pub to engage with them in person. For the latter, we recommend booking at a pub table early.

Paint in the Dark

Whether you fancy yourself a bit of an artist who’s up for a challenge or a newbie with a flair for art, Paint in the Dark guarantees fun for everyone. The pop-up event – where you will be painting, you guessed it, with luminescent pigments with the help of special lighting – will take place in Geneva on January 19th (6.50pm-8.50pm). The event is bilingual in English and French.

Cross de Lausanne

On January 27th, you get the chance to join Switzerland’s largest national cross-country event in Lausanne.

The sporting event will see some 800 runners – from top athletes to casual joggers – as well as several national teams run around a 1-kilometre circuit within the grounds of Bourget Park.

Olive Oil Special Market

If you’re on looking for something different to do come January, we have good news. On January 27th (10am-3pm), Basel’s Markthalle will host its Olivenöl-Spezialmarkt dedicated to one of the oldest foods in the world. There, you can chat with olive oil producers and find out what makes great oils while sampling top quality products.

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For members

WHAT CHANGES IN SWITZERLAND

Everything that changes in Switzerland in July 2024

From price hikes to disrupted train travel, this is what you can expect in Switzerland in July 2024.

Published: 21 June 2024 14:34 CEST
Updated: 25 June 2024 19:54 CEST
Everything that changes in Switzerland in July 2024

July is a traditional holiday month in Switzerland and much of the country comes to a standstill (the same way as Italy and France do in August).

The government is also on a break, so political life slows down as well.

Additionally, a number of offices work on a reduced schedule, so it may seem that nothing at all happens in the country this month, but in fact quite a few changes, and other events, are underway:

July 1st: Legal definition of ‘rape’ is changed

The new criminal law on sexual matters, to go into force on July 1st, will introduce a new definition of sexual violence: ‘No is no.’

This is a reform of a longstanding legislation, which has a much narrower definition of what constitutes rape.

For instance, current law requires that penetration takes place and that victim shows resistance for the act to qualify as sexual violence.

Under the new rule, however, participants need to agree in words or clearly demonstrate they want to engage in sexual activity.

If this condition is not fulfilled, the act will be considered as taking place against the person’s wishes, and thus be a criminal offence.

Also, to be considered as sexual assault, the actual penetration no longer needs to occur.

July 1st: Price of Swiss milk to go up

You will have to pay 3 cents more for a litre of milk — an increase which is meant to bring some financial relief to Swiss dairy farmers.

But only the milk intended for drinking will become more expensive; the product which is used for cheese production will not be impacted by the price hike. 

July 1st: Cost of certain medications will increase

Swiss consumers pay significantly more for their medicines than those in neighbouring European countries. 

From July 1st,  inexpensive medicines whose factory price is less than, or equal to, 15 francs, will become more expensive. 

This change will affect more than half of medications currently being sold in Switzerland.

As a result of this move, “additional costs of several hundred million will be passed on to patients,” according to Intergenrika, which represents generic drug manufacturers in Switzerland. 

In a nutshell, consumers will pay slightly lower prices for medicines that were previously more expensive, but will also end up paying more  for those that are currently cheaper – like generics.

July 1st: SBB will change public announcements concerning suicides on train tracks

About 112 people throw themselves under moving trains each year in Switzerland.

When that happens, and the train stops midway, the public system announcement over loud speakers in the train and at all stations impacted by the delay, cites “personal accident” as a reason for the disruption.

Everyone knows, however, that this is a code word for suicide, and such announcements upset commuters.

For this reason, Swiss national rail company, SBB,  said that from July 1st, “personal accident” will be replaced by a more neutral “event linked to an external cause” — which will cover all disruptions, and not just suicides. 

July 7th: Assistance system in cars

Some safety-relevant assistants will soon be mandatory in Swiss cars.

In line with the EU, every newly registered vehicle in Switzerland must have certain systems from July 7th, 2024. However, there is no obligation to retrofit older vehicles.

For example, an emergency braking assistant must now be installed. This constantly monitors what is happening in front of the vehicle and automatically initiates emergency braking if an obstacle is detected. This can either avoid a collision altogether or at least reduce its severity.

In the future, cars will also support the person at the wheel when reversing. Warning sounds and/or reversing cameras should make obstacles or people behind the vehicle quickly recognisable.

More price hikes: Swisscom’s new ‘package’ to become more expensive

From July 24th, Switzerland’s largest telecom will abandon its inOne Home package, which includes the telephone, Internet and television.
It will be replaced by a new service called Basic Home. But as it offers a high speed internet of 50 Mbps instead of the current 10 Mbps, the cost of the subscription will be higher as well: it will increase from 50 francs a month right now to 59.90 francs.  

The transition to the new package will be done automatically, so anyone who doesn’t want to pay higher subscription price should notify Swisscom as soon as possible.

July travel news: international trains are likely to be unreliable

If you’re planning to go abroad by train this summer, arm yourself with patience.

The reason is the abundance of construction sites across Europe, which slow down, or disrupt altogether, the train schedule.

In Switzerland, railroad maintenance work is carried out at night in order not to disturb the daytime timetable. Some neighbouring countries, however, “have decided to completely close train lines for the duration of the works”, Swiss media reports.

As a result, train travel to and from Switzerland will be chaotic amid the summer holiday rush.

You can see were in Europe train travel will be disrupted the most:

READ ALSO: Why you should not rely on trains to and from Switzerland this summer 

Also:

Culture!

There are plenty of festivals, concerts and other events taking place all over Switzerland in July.

You can see them here:

READ ALSO: 7 unmissable events in Switzerland this July

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