An Ordinary Saturday That Still Feels Like Christmas
It is 2 January, and Zürich has not quite packed away the season. The Christmas lights still hang over Bahnhofstrasse and the lanes of the Niederdorf; shop windows in the old town are still dressed for the holidays; the air on the terraces above the Limmat carries woodsmoke, roasted nuts and the last of the mulled wine. Cafés are full, the trams are running their Sunday-ish rhythm, and half the people you pass are walking nowhere in particular — which is precisely the point. Berchtoldstag is a day for walking, eating and drifting through town, and in 2027 it falls on a Saturday.
What Berchtoldstag Actually Is
Berchtoldstag is a regional public holiday on 2 January, observed in Aargau, Bern, Fribourg, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Obwalden, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Thurgau and Vaud. It is not a nationwide holiday, and Zürich does not appear among the cantons that formally observe it — so plan for a city that is open for business rather than shut down for a feast day. The tradition itself is old: it is recorded from at least the 14th century, and appears historically in Liechtenstein and Alsace as well as in Switzerland.
The name is a puzzle even to the people who keep the day. There is no saint called Berchtold; the "Saint" may simply have attached itself by habit. One explanation traces the word to an old Alemannic phrase meaning to walk about begging for food, tied to the lean weeks of winter. Another links it to Duke Berchtold V, founder of Bern in the 12th century — the city said to be named for a bear he killed on a hunt. A third points to Perchta, the half-human, half-beast figure of Alpine folklore described as guardian of the animals. The likeliest reading is that Berchtoldstag is an old High German name for Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas. That also explains why the holiday faded after the Swiss Reformation, when Protestant cantons turned away from Epiphany celebrations, and why the date appears to have shifted to 2 January to fill the gap.
How to Spend the Day in Zürich
- Walk the old town on foot. The begging-for-food etymology is a reminder that this was always a walking day. Start at Bahnhofstrasse while the lights are still up, cross into the Niederdorf, and follow the Limmat quays. The 2 January crowds are local, unhurried and out for exactly the same thing you are.
- Eat the season while it lasts. The winter food of the season — mulled wine, roasted nuts and the warm, heavy dishes of the cold months — is still on offer in the days around the New Year, so 2 January is a good moment to eat that way before the mood turns. Check what is open on the day itself rather than assuming.
- Take the funicular and the views. With a Saturday to fill, ride up to the terraces above the city and look back down at the lake and the old town. It is the classic Zürich winter outing and needs no reservation.
- Book a concert or a theatre seat. Zürich's concert halls, opera house and theatres programme through the winter season, and a 2 January Saturday is a good night for it. Check what is on for the date rather than assuming a special Berchtoldstag programme — the day is a cantonal holiday elsewhere, not a Zürich festival.
- Cross the lake or the border. If you want to see Berchtoldstag observed rather than merely enjoyed, the neighbouring cantons that do mark it are an easy day trip. Otherwise stay put: Zürich on a quiet winter Saturday is the attraction.
If You Want the Holiday Proper
Because Zürich does not observe Berchtoldstag, the most authentic way to mark it is to leave the city. The cantons that do — Aargau, Bern, Fribourg, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Obwalden, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Thurgau and Vaud — are all reachable by train, and in those places 2 January is a genuine public holiday rather than an ordinary Saturday. Bern is the obvious choice: the city that gives the day one of its origin stories, and a straightforward rail trip from Zürich. Note that in 2028 the date falls on a Sunday, which changes the rhythm of the day considerably if you are planning further ahead.
When to Go
Berchtoldstag is fixed at 2 January every year. In 2027 that is a Saturday; in 2028 it is a Sunday. Go for the overlap rather than the day itself: the Christmas lights, the winter mood and the holiday season are still in place, but the peak crowds have gone home. Expect cold, short days and early dusk — which is exactly when the lights over the old town do their best work.
Start with the date. Block out Saturday 2 January 2027, book a bed in the old town or along the Limmat, and check the winter season programmes for Zürich's concert halls and theatres closer to the time. Then decide how you want the day to run: a slow walk through a city still dressed for Christmas, or a train ride into a canton where the holiday is actually kept. Either way, the city will be open, the lights will still be up, and the streets will be full of people doing nothing more ambitious than strolling — which, on Berchtoldstag, is the whole tradition.