Souvenir Shopping in Switzerland
Watches, Army Knives, Cuckoo Clocks, and Food are Swiss Souvenirs
Sep 11, 2009
Most travelers in Switzerland can name the country’s more famous tourist souvenirs. Cuckoo clocks, watches, and chocolate head the list, with a long list of other products to choose from when touring Switzerland's open air markets and Christmas markets..
Don’t expect to find bargains. Swiss craftsmanship is meticulous and time-consuming. As a guide leading a tour in Lausanne said, “If you want t a cheap watch, go to Asia. We don’t make them here.”
Swiss Army Knives
Swiss Army knives range from miniatures barely bigger than a pen cap to models that include virtually an entire hardware store. The knives are made by two companies, Wenger and Victorinox, both of which claim to make the ‘original” and “authentic” knives for the Swiss Army,
And they are both telling the truth. When the Swiss government decided that each solider should be outfitted with a good army knife, it needed to choose a supplier. Victornix and Wenger shared a common history, but one was in the French speaking canton of Jura, and the other was in the German speaking canton of Schwyz. To ensure harmony, the government decided to split the contract and give licenses to both companies (perhaps a demonstration of the attitude of compromise and cooperation that makes it possible for a country with four distinct languages and cultures – French, German, Italian, and Romanche --to survive harmoniously) .
Visitors can buy knives and other products directly from the Victorinox factory in Ibach.
Swiss Watches
Swiss watches became icons of craftsmanship, accuracy, and ornate design during the country’s Calvinist days, when jewelry and personal adornment were forbidden. At the time, Geneva was an important center of Europe’s jewelry industry, and the new religious order threatened to shut it down. However, there was a loophole: functional objects, such as watches, could be ornate. So Geneva’s jewelers collaborated with the city’s watchmakers, creating the tradition of fine Swiss watch-making.
Modern Swiss watches include some of the finest in the world, with elaborate mechanisms and jewels, costing thousands of dollars. For average budgets, the popular (and inexpensive) Swatches are widely available, as are sturdy, functional watches made by Victorinox and Wenger, the official makes of Swiss army knives.
Traditional Swiss Crafts
In addition to watches and knives, traditional crafts can be found in stores, open-air markets, and Christmas markets in Switzerland.
- Traditional beer steins are a staple of central European markets. Large ones can be used to hold cooking cutlery; more reasonable sizes can be used as actual drinking mugs.
- Music boxes are beautifully carved, and available in all sizes, many of them showing the mechanisms at work inside.
- Cuckoo clocks come in a variety of sizes, although they have to be packed carefully for travel (or shipped).
- Wooden walking sticks are a staple Alpine craft. With today’s trekking pole technology, few people actually use old-fashioned walking sticks any more, but they make nice souvenirs, especially if the traveler buys commemorative metal plates bearing the insignia of various cantons.
Swiss Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate
Swiss chocolatiers invented the process of adding milk to chocolate. Lindt and Nestle are two of Switzerland’s biggest chocolate makers, and Lindt, particularly, makes beautiful packages souvenir and gift boxes. Factory tours (and discounts) are available at the Caillers-Nestlé factory located in the town of Broc, not far from the town of Gruyeres, famous for its cheese.
Swiss wines aren’t well-known outside of Switzerland; most are made for local consumption. Look for vineyards around Lake Geneva, whose warm climate is suitable for wine-making. The use of a screw-on cap is not a sign of cheap wine here: It indicates that the wine is not meant to age, but should be drunk soon after bottling.
Buying cheese to take home is always a problem for tourists: Does it need refrigeration? Will it be allowed through customs? Or will it stink up the luggage and be inedible, even if it does make it home? For travel, choose dry, hard aged cheeses over soft raw cheeses (which often won't be allowed through customs).
Packaged Swiss fondue mixes solve the problem. Traditional fondue is actually a product of harsh mountain winters and necessity, as people had to rely on food on hand – aged dry cheese, and dry bread that was softened by soaking it in the melted cheese. Pacakged fondues contain the Gruyere cheese, kirch and spices that create the distinctive fondue flavor, nd although they need refrigeration ultimately, they'll survive the journey,.Mulled wine spices. Packages f spices for mulling wine and cider. Are available at Christmas markets throughout Switzerland, and make lightweight, easily portable and original gifts.
This is only the beginning of a long list of souvenirs available in one of the world’ most culturally diverse small countries.
For more on shopping world-wide, see Souvenir Shopping Resources.
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