Switzerland’s Weirdest Festival? Inside the Capital’s Famous Onion Market

On Monday 23rd November, the Swiss capital’s UNESCO-listed Old Town will be transformed for the Zibelemärit, or Onion Market: a centuries-old folk festival that sees more than 200 stalls and thousands of visitors descend on the city for one of Switzerland’s quirkiest annual traditions. Farmers arrive in the early hours with elaborately braided plaits, colourful onion wreaths and market stalls piled high with local produce, while the streets fill with confetti battles, live music and festivities. Glühwein flows from before sunrise and the scent of onions fills the Old Town, with restaurants serving serving Zwiebelkuchen (traditional onion tart), onion soup and sausages, alongside Magenbrot and roasted almonds.