31 December 2026 · Zurich
New Year’s Eve 2026 in Zurich
Zurich sees the year out in its own way: the church bells of the Old Town ring the old year away, the lights around the lake go out, and twenty minutes after midnight the sky above the lake basin fills with fireworks. Here is every New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day event for 2026–27 that we could confirm on the organisers’ own pages on 12 November 2026.
Updated October 2026
Silvesterzauber and the fireworks over the lake
Silvesterzauber, Zurich’s New Year’s Eve festival, fills the shores of the lake basin on Thursday 31 December 2026. It is a public festival and entry is free. Food stalls and bars open around the basin from 2pm, the Magic Kids Zone in the Kongresshaus keeps children busy from 2pm to 5.30pm, and from 8pm DJs play on the festival stages until 2.30am. The festival closes at 3am.
Midnight here is a slow, lovely ritual. From 11.40pm to 11.58pm the church bells of the city centre ring out the old year; at 11.59pm the crowd counts down the last ten seconds. At 12.19am the lights around the lake basin go out, and at 12.20am fifteen minutes of fireworks rise over the lake, staged by the Swiss pyrotechnicians Hirt & Co. of Wollerau.
Our advice: the Quaibrücke, Bürkliplatz and the General-Guisan-Quai put you closest to the display, so arrive well before midnight. Leave your own fireworks at home: private fireworks are not allowed on the festival site or in the festival tents.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Jules Verne Times Two · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsSilvesterzauber: programme 2026 Zürich Tourism: New Year’s Eve in Zurich
The festival stages, the VIP platform and raclette by the lake
Each stage has its own sound. The 90’s Bash on the Schanzengraben plays 1990s and 2000s hits from 8pm to 2.30am; Studio 2027 on the Schiffländeplatz pours mulled wine and espresso martinis at a 12-metre bar from 2pm, with disco funk at midnight; Bar am Wasser brings cocktails and DJs to the Bürkliplatz; and the House Markt in the Bürkliplatz pavilion plays house and techno, with a free area and a ticketed VIP zone.
For a seat with a view, two ticketed spaces stand out. The raised VIP Platform on the General-Guisan-Quai is open from 11pm to 1am, with an open bar and limited capacity, for the fireworks across the basin. Raclette Zauber, in a heated and decorated tent on the Ganymed terrace at Bürkliplatz, serves raclette with a starter and a dessert buffet, with live music, from 7.30pm to 2.30am.
Our advice: tickets for the VIP Platform, the House Markt stage zone and Raclette Zauber are sold through the Silvesterzauber website; book early, as capacity is limited.
Silvesterzauber: stages and tickets
The Tonhalle and the Opera House
The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich plays its New Year’s Eve concert in the gilded Grosse Tonhalle on Wednesday 30 December at 7.30pm and Thursday 31 December at 7pm, with Wayne Marshall conducting: Gershwin’s Strike Up the Band overture, Ellington’s Harlem, Bernstein’s On the Town dances, the Ellington and Strayhorn Nutcracker Suite, Iain Farrington and Bernstein’s On the Waterfront. Tickets are CHF 170, 135, 110, 85 and 40.
After the 31 December concert, the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft and the Kongresshaus offer a nightcap in the concert foyer at 9pm, which leaves plenty of time to walk down to the lake for midnight.
At the Opera House on the Sechseläutenplatz, Barrie Kosky’s staging of Lehár’s The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) plays on 31 December at 6pm, conducted by Giedrė Šlekytė. It runs about 2 hours 45 minutes with one interval and is sung in German with German and English surtitles. Our advice: the 6pm start leaves you free for a late dinner and the fireworks.
Tonhalle Zürich: New Year’s Eve concert, 31 Dec Tonhalle Zürich: New Year’s Eve concert, 30 Dec Opernhaus Zürich: Die lustige Witwe
New Year’s Eve dinners at the grand hotels
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © NOTE: This image is a panorama consisting of multiple frames that were merged or · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsBaur au Lac, in its park by the lake, sets four tables for the night from 7pm. Baur’s serves a five-course menu with live music at CHF 340 per person; in Le Hall, the historic lobby bar, the Leon Garner Jazz Band plays over three courses at CHF 155 per person, both excluding drinks. Chalet au Lac serves a five-course cheese fondue or fondue chinoise menu at CHF 295 per person. Marguita’s five-course dinner was already sold out when we checked.
High on the Zürichberg, The Dolder Grand celebrates with live music, disco and champagne and snacks at midnight, with the city’s lights and the fireworks on the horizon. Its New Year’s Eve packages, for two nights or more over 31 December, pair a stay with an eight-course dinner at The Restaurant, a four-course dinner in the Garden Salon, or a CHF 200 credit at Saltz or the Winter Edition pop-up, plus New Year’s brunch and the spa.
On the Utoquai, La Réserve Eden au Lac serves a six-course Mediterranean-Italian dinner with a DJ and a live act at Eden Kitchen, and a five-course Japanese-Peruvian sharing menu with a welcome drink at La Muña. The Eden Bar stays open until at least 2am. Our advice: every one of these rooms books up; reserve now, and walk to the lake for the fireworks after dinner.
Baur au Lac: festive dining Baur’s: New Year’s Eve Le Hall: New Year’s Eve dinner Chalet au Lac: New Year’s Eve The Dolder Grand: New Year’s Eve La Réserve Eden au Lac: festive dining
New Year’s Eve service and New Year’s Day
For a quieter close to the year, the Fraumünster holds an ecumenical New Year’s Eve service at 7pm on 31 December, with festive music for brass beneath the Chagall windows, and a New Year’s service on Friday 1 January 2027 at 5pm.
The Opera House welcomes 2027 with its New Year’s Concert, Fuchs & Jordan: the French soprano Julie Fuchs, a former member of the house ensemble, with Philippe Jordan conducting, on Friday 1 January at 11.15am and again on Saturday 2 January at 7.30pm. At La Réserve Eden au Lac, New Year’s Day is for its relaxed Lazy Sunday and Sunday Roast at Eden Kitchen.
Opernhaus Zürich: Fuchs & Jordan New Year’s Concert Fraumünster: services
Getting there and getting home
Take public transport. On New Year’s Eve the S-Bahn, trams and buses run until 4am, on most lines every half hour, and within the city many tram and bus lines run at least every 15 minutes. Trains and trams are packed straight after the fireworks; linger by the lake a little longer and you will find a seat. Silvesterzauber recommends buying a ZVV 24-hour ticket or a 9-o’clock day pass in advance, to avoid the queues on the way home.
Before the holidays, the city runs as well as it celebrates: the Zürcher Silvesterlauf, the city’s much-loved December run, holds its 50th edition on Sunday 13 December 2026, with a Run for Fun in which the organisers hope to see 4,000 runners in pink piglet beanies. Our advice: wrap up warmly for midnight by the lake, and see our Christmas page for the markets.
Silvesterzauber: getting there Zürcher Silvesterlauf Christmas in Zurich
Questions and answers
What time are the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Zurich in 2026?
The Silvesterzauber fireworks begin at 12.20am, twenty minutes after midnight, and last fifteen minutes, until 12.35am. The church bells of the city centre ring from 11.40pm to 11.58pm and the lights around the lake basin go out at 12.19am.
Do you need a ticket for Silvesterzauber in Zurich?
No. Silvesterzauber is a public festival and entry is free. The VIP Platform on the General-Guisan-Quai, the VIP stage zone at the House Markt and the Raclette Zauber tent are ticketed.
Is there a New Year’s Eve concert in Zurich?
Yes. The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich plays its New Year’s Eve concert with Wayne Marshall on 30 December at 7.30pm and 31 December at 7pm, and the Opera House stages The Merry Widow on 31 December at 6pm. The Opera House’s New Year’s Concert is on 1 January 2027 at 11.15am.
Sources: silvesterzauber.ch, zuerich.com (Zürich Tourism), tonhalle-orchester.ch, opernhaus.ch, thedoldergrand.com, bauraulac.ch and its own e-guma booking pages, lareserve-zurich.com, fraumuenster.ch and silvesterlauf.ch, checked 12 November 2026. Check before you go.