10 Magical Things to Do Near Geneva This Christmas (A Local’s Guide)

While Switzerland yawns at Halloween and has no real connection to Thanksgiving—save for the occasional frozen turkey appearing in supermarkets each November—it pours all of its festive energy into Christmas.

Rooted in the Protestant tradition shaped by Martin Luther, Swiss Christmas places special importance on the Nativity as a time for gift-giving and celebration—far more than the many saints’ days once observed elsewhere in Europe.

From chocolate advent calendars, spiced mulled wine, and fondue overflowing from pots, baguettes, and plates piled high with meat and potatoes, this quiet corner of Europe goes hard when it comes to Christmas celebratory hoo-ha. Below are a few favorite activities while visiting Geneva and its surroundings during the holiday season.

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Geneva’s own Christmas highlights

Noël au Quai

Switzerland’s culinary highlight is cheese. And there is no better place to find this delicacy other than at Geneva’s Christmas market. From melted Gruyère and Emmental in a warm baguette to the classical Swiss fondue pot, cheese is celebrated in all its forms at the Marché de Noël de Genève.

Launched in 2018 at Parc des Bastions, the market has since migrated to the Jardin Anglais and now sits lakeside along the Quai du Mont-Blanc. Smaller than the famous Montreux Christmas Market, Geneva’s version is charmingly compact—just enough stalls to wander without feeling overwhelmed, and always a queue forming for Korean corndogs, smash burgers, or a traditional cup of mulled wine once night falls.

Personally, I adore visiting on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, taking the boat taxi across the lake toward twinkling lights and the scent of warm chestnuts. I’m especially lucky that the market lies along my walk to and from work; on colder evenings, I make a quick stop to warm my hands by the bonfire before continuing home to my little cocoon.

Market dates in 2025: 20 November – 24 December 2025 |  Website: Noel au Quai

Le Cirque de Noël

Forever fascinated by the nomadic lives of gypsies and their music—along with ballet, cabaret, and theater—I sometimes wonder if I might have been a circus freak in another life.

The family-run Christmas Circus on the grand esplanade of Plainpalais has been a Geneva tradition for more than 30 years, and it has become a ritual for our family too, marking three consecutive New Year’s Eve celebrations.

On the 24^th and 31^st of December, the circus performances also work as wait staff, serving entree, plat and dessert in between acrobatic acts or high-risk walks across a tightrope. At the strike of midnight, the center of the tent becomes a dance floor, beckoning the public to join in the madness of the circus.

Performance dates in 2025: 22 November 2025 – 4 January 2026 |  Website: Cirque de Noel

La Revue Genevoise

The magic of Christmas does not end with childhood – one proof of that being the satirical theater production of La Revue.

While the theme of La Revue is not necessarily about Christmas, apart from a few winter-themed sketches or dancing workers of the Salvation Army thrown in towards the end, it does recap the year’s geopolitical highlights. This year the show had a strong focus on artificial intelligence – a human even marrying a bot woman and producing a half AI, half human child. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are shown in another scene as babies with giant diapers, fighting over a toy globe.

Inspired by the early Parisian cabarets, La Revue has been in production since 1892. Many themes of the sketches have remained intact, such as its playful critiques of the transport system or neighboring France. The show is an integral part of Geneva’s culture, appearing on the official list of Swiss intangible cultural heritage.

Performance dates in 2025: 9 October – 31 December 2025 |  Website: La Revue Genevoise

Chocolate making workshops with Procope

It took five years of living in Geneva before I discovered chocolate making workshops organized by Procope. The workshop was opened in 2023 by Maison Desplanches, a 7th-generation family bakery that introduced the first bean-to-bar in the city. The concept of producing chocolate on a smaller scale enables the Desplanches family and other bean-to-bar producers to trace cocoa beans from the farm to its final transformation in-house.

Our workshop was not conducted by Oompa Loompas, but rather a chocolatier disguised as a knight for Geneva’s Escalade celebration. Local newspaper La Tribune de Geneve writes that the Desplanches family regularly changes suppliers in order to introduce a wide range of cocoa flavors to the hungry palette. We were offered to taste some of the beans, hailing from a sustainable farm in Venezuela. The bitter tasting beans are roasted in Geneva and sorted by hand, then grounded into a paste before being further refined with sugar and cocoa butter. Artisanal chocolate is mixed in a machine for up to 24 hours, a much shorter timeframe when compared with large manufacturers, giving chocolate a richness in flavor, such as notes of cinnamon, hazelnut, coffee, apricot, plum, basil, or mint.

Chocolate workshops are fantastic activities for both kids and mid-thirty somethings alike. Workshops vary dependent on the season. For the Escalade celebration in early December, Procope hosts sessions to make your own chocolate pot with marzipan vegetables. You can even register to make your own chocolate bar, adding your unique spin to Swiss chocolate.

Address: Rue de la Corraterie 5, 1204 Genève | Reservations: Desplanches – workshops

Christmas magic in wider Switzerland

Montreux Christmas Market

Once upon a time, Montreux was a quiet lakeside town best known for its UNESCO-listed vineyards and dreamlike panoramic mountain railways. Everything changed when the Montreux Jazz Festival put the city on the world stage, drawing music lovers each summer.

But when winter arrived, Montreux grew quiet again. To bring life back to the colder months, the town launched its first Christmas market in 1995: 80 wooden Swiss chalets lining the lakeside promenade.

Over 30 years later, the Montreux Christmas Market is today the largest in Switzerland. A Ferris wheel lights up the scene next to a covered market selling soft pretzels, bratwurst, and Swiss rösti washed down with spiced mulled wine.

The number of chalets has since increased to 150, showcasing artisans with handmade crafts, from soy candles to traditional Alpine woodcarvings.

The star of the Montreux Christmas Market is Santa himself, appearing through the sky three times per day during weeknights and four times on weekends, led by a team of reindeers across Lake Geneva.

Market dates in 2025: 20 November – 24 December 2025 |  Website: Montreux noel

GoldenPass Express

The GoldenPass Belle Époque was reconstructed in 2005 to give our 21st century minds a glimpse into the glorious, albeit brief, period of the original railway from Montreux to Interlaken, which closed within a year of its opening due to the weight of the Great Depression.

Once reserved for an elite demographic, the line is today open to tourists and daily commuters alike. The train runs twice a day between Montreux, Switzerland’s take on the French Riviera, and the Swiss German speaking village of Zweisimmen.

Passengers will get a glimpse of the high glamour ski resort of Gstaad, said to be a favorite among celebrities including Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. High end boutiques such as Louis Vuitton are converted into Swiss chalets, and a small tarmac awaits private jets for landing.

In addition to its vintage Belle Epoque line, GoldenPass encompasses other trains to meet various clientele – a panoramic train, cheese and even chocolate tasting train. We have had the opportunity to board the panoramic train, a sleek number which gives passengers an immersive viewing experience, with windows covering from floor to ceiling.  

Website: MOB GoldenPass | Timetables: https://www.mob.ch/en/routing

Christmas in nearby France

Domaine le coulairon (Megève)

We did not initially venture to Megève for the pristine skiing experience or a seven course Michelin star meal.

We came for the reindeer.

My search for a reindeer farm began a few years back, when we contemplated travel to Finland to experience an atmospheric winter around the holiday season. To my surprise, we found a piece of Lapland a mere hour’s drive away from home at the Domaine le Coulairon.

Property owners Magali and Jean-Marie, experienced in raising other types of livestock, decided to transform their land into France’s North Pole. In 2009, they purchased a small herd of reindeer from Sweden, and constructed a small forest on their property to help acclimate the animals to their new environment.

I knew of Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, but had yet to meet their French counterparts Tornade, Danseur, Furie and Fringant. Two reindeer greeted us at the farm, Comète and Jean-Jean. The pair seemed to relish in the attention, getting fed several handfuls of lichen, a type of coral-like fungus found in the alpine tundra.

After a visit with the reindeer, we headed into a wooden Kota, a traditional Finnish tent serving as a place to gather in the wilderness following a long journey or hunt. We warmed our hands next to the fire, sitting at tables formed in a circle and eating a French goûter, a light snack served at 4pm typically for children, with plates filled with warm brioche and start shaped brownies, cups of hot chocolate in hand.

Address: 1850 Rte de la Côté 2000, 74120 Megève, France |  Website: Domaine le Coulairon

Noël des Alpes (Annecy)

It’s easy to see why Annecy is locally known as the Venice of the French Alps. La Vieille Villewelcomes tourists with Italian style gelato shops in the summer, as crowds walk through cobblestone pathways next to brightly colored homes abord Alpine-water canals, a dreamlike view of mountainous terrain in the distance.

Much like Venice, Annecy has also become well acquainted with overtourism, particularly each summer and more recently, during its December Christmas market.

This year, Annecy’s Marché de Noël is “EXTRA” as my friend Polina said, with the addition of a small ice rink and an increased number of wooden chalets sprinkled throughout the old town and along the lake. According to local press, approximately one million visitors are expected during the month of December. Much to our surprise, we spent well over one hour searching for a parking spot on a Saturday afternoon.

Crowds aside, Annecy’s Christmas market is like a beautifully crafted snow globe, set to the backdrop of a crystal-clear lake and snowcapped mountains in a Beauty and the Beast-like French village. Annecy’s beauty is also its downfall. To enjoy it, arrive early on weekends, or preferably during weekdays, to sip your vin chaud or chocolat chaud in pure holiday bliss.

Le Château du Père Noël (Annecy)

Local legend says that the three-towered Château de Menthon Saint Bernard overlooking a lush forest and crystal-clear lake is what inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle after he visited the region in the 1930s.

Similar to the Château de Longecourt-en-Plaine in Dijon, Annecy’s historic jewel has been owned by the same family for 23 generations.

One of the château’s most emblematic treasures is its fully stocked library, inherited from a countess and containing more than 12,000 works, many dating from before the French Revolution. Book lovers may even find themselves fangirling over the collection’s 39 original volumes of the Encyclopédie.

This year marks the château’s 5^th edition of the Château de Pere Noel, held until 3 January 2026. Dressed in festive décor, the castle hosts artisanal stalls, an ice rink, and even appearances by Mrs. Claus on a white horse. Events range from classic Christmas magic to more unexpected delights, including 80s-themed parties and jam bands.

Dates: 14 November 2025 – 3 January 2026 |  Website: Le Château du Père Noël

Cogwheel train and visit of the Mer de Glace (Chamonix)

Sounds of an avalanche and tumbling rock dropping from high above caught my breath in my chest. It seemed as if we were at the edge of the world. The sun cast a marmalade glow, transforming the blue sky into soft shades of violet. The last cogwheel train had descended over an hour, leaving the guests at the Refuge du Montenvers alone with the sounds of howling wolves.

Feet cold from an afternoon of snowshoeing, we warmed up in the Chalet to a melted pot of Savoyard fondue (not to be confused with Swiss fondue). This was Chamonix.   

Whether a seasoned skier or simply in it for Alpine tartiflette or raclette, Chamonix is a must for any traveler passing through the French Alps. Easily accessible from Geneva (1 hour driving or 2 hours by train), Chamonix is packed with unique activities, including a descent of 170 steps to see the Mer de Glace, a museum of ice sculptures built within a glacier. Thrill seekers can “step into the void”, entering a tiny glass box at the highest point in the valley, l’Aiguille du Midi, to capture views of Mont Blanc and the drop 1,000m (3,280 ft.) below.

Book your tickets here: Montenvers train tickets