The new and expanded SBB timetable and more Swiss Alpine slopes opening for winter sports, are among changes that are happening in Switzerland this December.
December 1st – The winter session of the parliament begins
Both chambers of the parliament – the National Council and the Council of States – will convene for their last session of 2025.
It will go on until December 19th.
MPs will debate dozens of issues during this period, including the revision of the Debt Enforcement Act; quicker deportation of foreign criminals; allowing double-barrelled surnames for married couples; providing ‘pocket ammunition’ to the military to improve the army’s readiness to defend Switzerland; the necessity of learning foreign languages in schools; and Swisscom’s plan to outsource some of the jobs in Switzerland toLatvia and the Netherlands.
December 14th: New Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) timetable goes into effect
As it does each year on the second Sunday of December, the SBB will release its 2025 schedule on this day.
Not only will the train schedule change, but also that of the entire public transport network, so it will be coordinated with the trains’ arrival and departure times at all stations throughout Switzerland.
Among the most important train changes on the domestic network is that services between Bern and Zurich will be further expanded – concretely, an additional InterCity train will now stop in Bern-Wankdorf in the afternoon. Departure is at 4:13 pm, arriving at Zurich HB at 5:10 pm.
This will allow commuters from the east of Bern to reach Zurich more quickly.
Additionally, a continuous half-hourly service with the InterCity 3 will be introduced on the Chur–Zurich route. Four trains will now run daily in each direction.
On international routes, two additional trains will run in each direction between Zurich and Milan.
The direct connection to Bologna will be extended to Florence, and the summer train to Genoa will now run to La Spezia.
Between Switzerland and France, a direct train from Lausanne (via Geneva) will run to Marseille seasonally, from April to October, between Thursdays and Mondays.
The new timetable also offers more comfort for night train passengers: modern Nightjet trains with mini cabins and private toilets and showers will be used to connect Zurich and Basel with Hamburg, Amsterdam and Vienna.
You can see all the changes, including regional ones.
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Flights from Switzerland to Lapland
Edelweiss, SWISS’ sister airline, has also added a number of new destinations from its Zurich hub this winter.
It will fly from Zurich to Luleå, a coastal city in Swedish Lapland, starting in December.
There will be two flights December, five in January, four in February, and four in March as well.
First day of winter: December 21st
The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere (including Switzerland) is marked by the winter solstice, which occurs on Sunday, December 21st, 2025, at precisely 4:02 pm.
Throughout December: Swiss ski slopes open for winter sports
Though some high-altitude areas of the Swiss Alps inaugurated their ski season already in November, most will open throughout December.
These are some of the most popular ones:
Interlaken: December 1st
Les Diableretes: December 5th
Verbier: December 6th
Arolla: December 7th
Anzère: December 12th
Belalp-Blatten-Naters: December 13th
Evolene: December 13th
Crans-Montana: December 19th
Samedan: December 20th
All the openings are listed on this site.
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School holidays:
Christmas / New Year school breaks vary from one canton to another.
In most, including Zurich, Geneva, Vaud, and Basel-City, they fall from December 22nd to January 2nd.
The calendar from Touring Club Schweiz(TCS) shows vacations for all cantons.
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Which brings us to…
December 25th: Christmas
While Christmas Eve is not a national holiday in Switzerland, Christmas Day is.
December 26th (St Stephen’s Day) is a public holiday in Swiss-German cantons, so some people will be getting a long weekend off.
December 31st: Farewell to 2025
As this year is drawing to a close, it is a good time for retrospections and setting new goals (or maintaining same ones) for 2026.
Christmas Markets
Christmas markets in Switzerland tend to open well before December, but will close their doors towards the end of the month. We have a great list of the dates for the best Christmas markets throughout Switzerland.