Lausanne Christmas Market 2026: The Last Bô Noël

Half the fun of the Lausanne Christmas Market is the climb. It isn’t one square of chalets but a string of sites stacked up the city’s hills. After dark, the lit-up streets lead you from one to the next. Take it slowly, stopping for mulled wine or a plate of melted cheese whenever your legs need a break.

Lausanne Christmas Market 2026

Dates

Status: Confirmed
Bô Noël dates: 20th November to 31st December 2026
Last checked: October 2026

Update: Dates were announced in September. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of changes.

Source: Verified by Ultimate Christmas Markets via Bô Noël.

Plan Your Visit

Location and Times

Location: Place des Pionnières
Additional locations: Portes de Saint-François, the cathedral esplanade, Rue du Lion d’Or, under the Grand Pont
Opening times: 11am to 10pm
Christmas Eve: 12pm to 5pm
Christmas Day: Closed

Travel and Accommodation

Recommended Tour: guided walk with a local
Where to stay: Hôtel des Voyageurs is a great hotel option near the square.

Amenities and Attractions

Admission: Free
Lights: No switch on date announced.
Santa: Yes, at the Children’s Village by the cathedral.
Ice skating: Esplanade du Flon
Reason to visit: The blend of Swiss tradition and modern aesthetics and the light installations.

Dietary Options

Vegetarian: Plenty of options.
Vegan: Limited.
Gluten-free: Limited.
Specialities: Raclette, fondue and Swiss chocolates.

Accessibility

Accessible: Yes.
Pet-friendly: Yes, dogs are allowed on a lead.

Convenient Hotels

The Old Town area is La Cité. It’s a popular area to stay in, as you can reach most main sights and attractions without walking too far in the cold. Staying at Hôtel des Voyageurs places you within a 5-minute walk of Place du Château and other event locations.

To plan your Swiss travels, read my complete guide to the Christmas markets in Switzerland.

Recommended Tours

Lausanne stacks up across three hills and Bô Noël spreads over several sites, so knowing the layout first saves a lot of pointless climbing. A local walks you through the cathedral and the old town over two and a half hours. The guided walk ends near the market.

Visitor Feedback

What Visitors Loved

• Wandering from one site to the next and grazing on small plates along the way is what visitors enjoy most. It suits a slow evening rather than a quick visit.
• The food gets the warmest praise, from oysters and seafood platters to local cheese snacks.
• The evening light show and illuminated streets give the old town real character, so it’s worth staying past sunset.

Common Complaints

• Prices are the most common gripe, even by Swiss standards, with snacks like waffles and sandwiches singled out.
• Many chalets close earlier in the evening than visitors expect, even on Saturdays, so come in the late afternoon if you want to browse as well as eat.

Location

What to Expect

Bô Noël isn’t a single market. Last year’s edition spread across eight sites in the centre, each with its own mood. There’s a food court of world flavours (Marché des Papilles) with a carousel shaped like a Christmas tree, and a children’s village with Santa and pony rides beside the cathedral. A sledging run and a boutique of local makers fill out the rest.

After dark, projections and lit installations run from Bel-Air along Rue de Bourg and up to the cathedral, with swings that glow and a bridge carpeted in stars. When your feet need a change of pace, the ice rink in the Flon district sits a short walk downhill.

It’s a steep city, so wear shoes with grip and let the metro take the worst of the climbs. This is also the last winter Bô Noël runs in its current form. The city has put the year-end festivities out to tender, and a new concept takes over from 2027.

Regional Specialties

• Papet vaudois: Vaud’s winter staple of leeks and potatoes stewed together, served with a smoked cabbage sausage (saucisse aux choux).
• Malakoff: Golden fritters of melted cheese on bread, a speciality of the wine villages along the lake west of Lausanne.
• Mont-d’Or: A soft cheese from the Vaud Jura, wrapped in spruce bark and baked whole until it’s runny enough to spoon over potatoes.
• Raclette: Melted and scraped onto boiled potatoes with pickles and onions. The last edition added a raclette bar to its Christmas Tower.
• Fondue: Bread dipped into a shared pot of melted cheese, often flavoured with garlic, white wine and a touch of kirsch.

At the Food Stalls

• Vin chaud: Mulled wine, poured at nearly every bar across the sites.
• Chasselas: The white grape of the Lavaux terraces, served by the glass and the natural partner for anything cheesy.
• Oysters and seafood: Recent editions have had a seafood chalet serving oysters, prawns and smoked salmon, and visitors rate the oysters highly.
• Spiced apple juice: Hot apple juice with a dash of rum, a change from mulled wine.

What to Buy

• Local makers: In recent editions more than 40 makers from the region have shared a boutique, selling handcrafted jewellery, candles and honey.
• Swiss cheese: Locally produced cheese makes a good gift, from Gruyère and Emmental to smaller artisanal varieties.
• Local wines: Lausanne sits at the edge of the Lavaux vineyards, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so a bottle from the terraces is an easy gift to carry home.

Sustainability Tips

• Lausanne Transport Card: Stay at a partner hotel and you’ll get free bus, metro and train travel in the city zones for your whole stay.
• Ride the m2 metro: One of the steepest metro lines anywhere climbs from the Lake Geneva shore at Ouchy, through the main station, to the city centre, so you can reach the sites without a car or a punishing walk.