Quite clearly, one of the most attractive settings in Switzerland makes Lucerne’s weekly market a standout place to visit. Every Tuesday and Saturday morning, tourists and townspeople alike flock to the banks of the river Reuss to stock up on locally produced vegetables, fresh bread and regional cheeses of Central Switzerland. Their gaze is inevitably drawn to the picturesque old town of Lucerne and the magnificent Chapel Bridge, one of Europe’s best-known bridges. A weekly market that certainly is something worth a look.

On Tuesday and Saturday mornings, and in summer also on Thursdays, the people of Neuchâtel are drawn to the Place des Halles. Visitors frequently stop to gaze up at the superb façades of the 18th-century houses around them. The colourful market itself competes for their attention: fresh farm products, flowers and baked goods – nothing is lacking in one of the prettiest weekly markets in French-speaking Switzerland.

The three castles of Bellinzona have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The richly traditional weekly market in Ticino’s capital is held close by the imposing monuments. The market is held on Saturday mornings and, on a smaller scale, on Wednesdays, occupying almost all the streets of the historic centre. In a Mediterranean atmosphere, tourists and locals stock up on regional sausage and cheese specialities, the best fruits of Ticino’s orchards and locally produced bread. The “mercato” is colourful and iconic – and definitely worth a visit.

The people of Solothurn have been coming to the Market Square for their weekly shopping for several hundred years. Nothing much has changed during that time. Every Wednesday and Saturday morning, the 50 or so stalls of the “Soledurner Märet” are set up on the winding streets of the delightful old town. Solothurn is known as Switzerland’s finest baroque city, while its weekly market is also described as one of the prettiest and liveliest in the country. With good reason: between buying vegetables and cheese tasting, visitors can admire the Cathedral of St. Ursus and the historic Solothurn clock tower.

Every Saturday morning, from May to October, the Alpine town turns into a paradise for market lovers. That’s when market stalls line the streets of the romantic old town of Chur. From seedlings and seasonal vegetables through Graubünden sausages to the finest honey – around 30 producer families from the whole Canton of Graubünden compete to sell their finest local produce. Moreover, the market, which was founded in 1987, is Switzerland’s only pure farmers’ market!

Thanks to its many oriel windows and richly painted house façades, the old town of Schaffhausen is among the most picturesque in Switzerland. And when on Tuesday and Saturday mornings the Vordergasse is bedecked with colourful market stalls, it’s picture perfect. Townspeople and visitors to Schaffhausen’s weekly market come away laden with produce from the surrounding Schaffhauserland. Quite a few Swiss say the weekly market in the traffic-free centre of this little city is their favourite!

Carouge – Geneva’s “Greenwich Village”. With its Sardinian roots, the district has something of a dolce vita feel and a Latin vibe. And as a fair trade town and energy city, this artists’ quarter is firmly committed to sustainability. So a large weekly market that brings producers and consumers together is a perfect match for this Geneva district’s outlook on life. The range of local wines, fresh vegetables and specialities is a rich one; moving from stall to stall is pure relaxation.

Take a weekly market, cross it with an after-work event and add the friendly atmosphere of the little Valais town of Visp. What do you get? The Visp Pürumärt. The weekly market in the old town not only presents an opportunity to get your weekly shopping done, it also signals the start of the weekend. Because every Friday, locals and visitors can do their shopping in Visp’s old town, enjoy local products and get the weekend started with a delicious glass of wine from the surrounding Valais vineyards. A combination you absolutely have to experience.  

The federal capital without a market? Who can imagine such a thing? The year-round weekly markets on the Bärenplatz and the Bundesplatz are as much a part of Berne as the river Aare and the Parliament House. For many Bernese, shopping in the markets is a part of the weekly routine. With the impressive Parliament House as a backdrop, you can buy any number of fresh, high-quality products from the surrounding Bernese countryside. And typical Bernese jollity means you can enjoy a bit of banter with the producers of the goods. If you really want to get into the Bernese atmosphere, you should really think about paying the market a visit.

The market stalls in this compact bilingual city are set up three times a week. While Fribourg’s market gardeners and cheesemakers sell their fresh produce on Thursdays in the Neustadt district, on Wednesdays and Saturdays the 100-plus market stalls line the narrow streets of the old town. In Switzerland’s most extensive historic old town, a normal weekly shop becomes a unique experience: Acting as a backdrop to all the colourful market activity are the well-maintained mediaeval façades and fountains that make Fribourg an absolute jewel.

In the Swiss cultural capital by the Dreiländereck (the point where the French, German and Swiss borders meet), you can buy fresh vegetables, bread and cheese almost daily from local producers. This is because from Monday to Saturday a busy and colourful market is held on the Market Square just a few steps away from the Rhine. What makes it even more striking is that it takes place in front of the imposing and richly decorated town hall. A feast for the eyes, in the middle of Switzerland’s third-largest city!