Bremgarten Christmas market – Advent tip

What do Strasbourg, Ulm, Heidelberg, Salzburg and Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau have in common? During the Christmas season, its city centres are transformed into sparkling alleys with the smell of mulled wine and roasted almonds wafting through them. With around 300 market stalls, the Bremgarten Christmas Market – and this may come as a surprise to some – is one of the largest and most beautiful of its kind in Switzerland and attracts attention far beyond the Reuss city.

A trip to the historic town of Bremgarten had been on the “to-do list” for some time. The old town, which is surrounded on three sides by the Reuss River, is a cultural monument of national importance and attracts thousands of guests from Germany and abroad every year with its market tradition. The Bremgarten Christmas Market is one of these traditional events and takes place on the first weekend in December (Thursday to Sunday). So yesterday we seized the opportunity and made our way to Bremgarten after work. From Zurich, it takes forty minutes to get there by public transport. The Christmas market stretches from the Obertor along Marktgasse and Rechengasse and then leads via “Am Bogen” over the Reuss Bridge into Wohlerstrasse. Shortly after dark, the crowds are still tolerable. We get through the alleys without jostling and can examine the market stalls without haste. Tonight the crowd will probably be bigger, so it’s worth strolling through the alleys in the late afternoon around the blue hour (the most beautiful in terms of atmosphere anyway). There aren’t many surprises to be found at the stalls – but Bremgarten scores points with me with the beautiful atmosphere in the Marktgasse. Anyone who, like me, makes a pilgrimage to Bremgarten after work with a hungry stomach, will find a wide range of culinary offerings, from roast on a spit to the Güggelibeiz to the raclette parlour. The fine smell of the chnobli bread stand makes us weak – hmmm so good! And we warm the fingers clammy from the cold with a hot chocolate with a dash of Baylis. There is only one mulled wine premiere today, even if the mulled wine alley bar looks quite tempting. The only thing to complain about is that plastic cups are used everywhere instead of a pretty Christmas market cup, as in Montreux or Nuremberg.

In addition to handicrafts and culinary delights, the Bremgarten Christmas Market also offers a varied cultural programme with musical entertainment, story time for the little ones, candle making and guided tours to the Spittelturm. If you want to get in the mood for the Christmas season this weekend, I can recommend a detour to the Christmas and Christmas market in Bremgarten.

You can find more information about the Bremgarten Christmas Market here: weihnachtsmarkt.ch
It will take place from 6 – 9 December 2018.