The magic of Zürich’s market stalls
A byword for abundance, quality, craft and cosmopolitanism, the city’s many regular street markets also tell Switzerland’s story
Published in the Financial Times Globetrotter column, 11 September 2023
A cheese stall at the market on Helvetiaplatz
There are few better places to get a sense of Switzerland than in Zürich’s street markets. From the tony Bürkliplatz food market to the gritty Kanzlei flea market (see below), these are places filled with stories about Switzerland, its people, its history and its economy. Even if, for some reason, you have no intention of buying beautiful Ticino apricots, tangy Appenzeller, a vintage Bally bag or an old Swiss Army knife, a visit will always be enjoyable and rewarding.
Here are some things to look out for as you embark on your tour of the city’s markets.
Ruralism
Cowbells at Bürkliplatz antiques and flea market
Switzerland has always been a deeply rural country. Minutes outside Zürich, you will come across family-owned farms producing good-quality ingredients. Although the various markets in the city are not billed as farmers’ markets, you will quickly notice that many of the stands belong to (and are staffed by) farmers. The range of local rural produce is particularly dazzling in summer, with all manner of berries for sale, along with the juiciest of peaches and plums (look out for the mirabelles), the most succulent apples and pears (multiple varieties) and the crunchiest of nuts, but also delicious dairy products, meat, poultry and game. You will also find delicate fish from Swiss lakes, such as Egli, Felchen, zander and trout.
This rural side of Switzerland is reflected in the city’s antique and flea markets. It is easy to become absorbed by the range and variety of cowbells on offer, from the lighter forged Treicheln bells to the heavy cast Glocken with their commemorative texts, medals and straps, vestiges of once-celebrated livestock and famous foundries long since closed. You will also come across beautiful old wooden pitchforks, scythes and wickerwork baskets for harvesting grapes — all suitable for the lakeside cottage orné.
Neutrality
Shooting and Waffenlauf medals at Kanzlei flea market
Alongside medals for magnificent livestock, you are likely to encounter medals for sharpshooters, a different design for each of the country’s 3,300 shooting ranges and Waffenläufe, races in which the contestants wear combat gear and carry rifles. Compulsory training for army assault-rifle owners is part of Switzerland’s military service, which Swiss men between the ages of 18 and 30 are obliged (and which Swiss women can volunteer) to perform. Look out also for the decorative brass buckled officers’ belts (sadly mostly designed for the Giacometti-waisted), khaki torches, caps and badges — reminders of what an important role the army plays in this neutral country.
Of course, none of this military paraphernalia has ever been used in combat — the country’s neutrality means that it has not experienced world war. You become aware of this when you find fashion magazines and photo albums from the late 1930s and early 1940s, evidence of life carrying on more or less as normal. The devastation of Europe and relative prosperity of Switzerland also meant that antiques made their way to Switzerland. My father, for example, a young Englishman serving in Germany in the late 1940s, would barter his cigarette rations for antiquarian books, which he would then sell in Switzerland.
Affluence
‘The emblem of the nation’s affluent neutrality’: Swiss army knives at Kanzlei
The Swiss army knife is the emblem of Switzerland’s affluent neutrality. The markets of Zürich are filled with promotional editions of this humble pocket knife, emblazoned with the logos of many of Switzerland’s peaceful 20th-century corporate giants, from Brown Boveri to Ciba-Geigy, Maggi, UBS and Nestlé.
Signs of Switzerland’s wealth and global footprint are found in the souvenirs from trips to distant lands (ostrich eggs from South Africa and decorative plates from Brazil), carefully selected pieces of vintage fashion and, of course, the bittersweet memories of the glorious Swissair and its 2002 bankruptcy: badges, brandy glasses and Béard cutlery.
Those who love Swiss travel and transport will also find all manner of very Swiss memorabilia: from toy post buses to old bicycle number plates and mountain railway sets, or models of vehicles that once were produced in Switzerland such as Felber, Monteverdi or Saurer.
Italy
Parmesan at a Helvetiaplatz stall
It has been estimated that of the 7mn Italians who left Italy between 1946 and 1976, around 2mn came to Switzerland, two-thirds of whom to German-speaking Switzerland. The influence of this Italian immigration is felt across the city, not least in its markets. And, of course, Italy is very close by. Every food market has at least one stand offering perfect pasta, pestos, salumi and cheese, as well as transalpine fruit.
Selected food and flower markets
Bürkliplatz
Bürkliplatz: ‘Zürich’s most elegant food and flower market’
Don’t miss the mirabelles when they’re in season
This is Zürich’s most elegant food and flower market, on a lovely square at the end of the Bahnhofstrasse: high-quality stands catering to high-net-worth shoppers. Great Swiss fruit and vegetables from producers Ernst Wettstein, the Mörgeli family, the Müller family and the Mirmenhof farm. Sheep’s milk yoghurt from the Zieglers. For Italian products, try Olivestei, or the irresistible Don Giovanni. Good fish from the Gloor family, and poultry, rabbit and game from the Schönholzers. If you like tropical products, head to Fruitpassion, where two women from Yaoundé sell ethically sourced and pesticide-free pineapples, plantains and peanuts. There are also various nurseries with flowers and lawns of herbs (the Schwenk family). At the centre is a charming early-20th-century bandstand — a good place from which to contemplate the market and to consume the natural Swiss apple juice you have just bought before you cross the street for lunch at the Baur au Lac. Open Tuesday and Friday, 6am–11am, year round.
Helvetiaplatz
The market at Helvetiaplatz is known for the quality of its produce from Switzerland and Italy…
… and has a ‘younger, more family’ vibe than Bürkliplatz
This is a younger, more family scene than Bürkliplatz — think Christiania bikes laden with organic produce and progeny. Wonderful vegetables and fruit from Switzerland and Italy. Look out for the little stand of Gerber Pfister, with its walnuts, jams, herbs and salads straight from the farm; Gian Carlo Poaletti’s dried fruit and olives; and the Fiechter sisters’ popular butcher’s stand. Bank, on the north-west side of the square, is good for breakfast or brunch, and you may also wish to spend a little time in the legendary Buchhandlung im Volkshaus bookshop in the nearby Stauffacherstrasse. Open Tuesday and Friday, 6am–11am, year round.
Oerlikon
Oerlikon’s market sits in front of a striking modernist building
A short tram ride on the no. 11 takes you to the suburb of Oerlikon. A large and impressive market bursting with fresh produce (often being sold by the producers) against the concrete backdrop of a handsome 1950s building. Fisherman Remo Pfister will supply your Egli fish from Lake Zürich, Rusconi your grapes and apricots from Ticino and you will find tomatoes from Argovia and berries from Thurgovia among the many fruit and vegetable stands. You may even come across a potted Edelweiss. Open Wednesday, 6am–11am, and Saturday, 6am–noon, year round.
Gemüsebrücke (‘Vegetable Bridge’)
A flower stand and the Manser bread stall from Apenzell at Gemüsebrücke
A small and picturesque market on the Rathausbrücke, the wide bridge over the river Limmat that connects the city hall with the Weinplatz. Good alpine butter and cheeses from Ströbel (also on the Bürkliplatz), fruit from Wegmannobstbau, vegetables from Mörgeli and bread from Appenzell at Manser. Beware the Ferraris crossing the bridge en route to the Hotel Storchen. Open Saturday, 7am–12.30pm, year round.
Selected antique and flea markets
Kanzlei
The pyramid in Kanzlei food market
A proper flea market in a children’s playground with around 300 stands grouped around a mysterious pyramid. We came across a brilliant selection of vintage clothes and accessories put together by Linda Jensen, co-founder of the Last Tango art association. You will also usually find a good range of collectors’ Swiss army knives and transport memorabilia. A favourite recent find was a bottle opener in the form of a gold ingot, a 1980s corporate gift from Swiss Bank Corporation. Open Saturday, 7.20am–4pm, year round.
Bürkliplatz
The eclectic array of finds at Bürkliplatz might range from Barbie (and companion)…
… to vintage pink glassware, as well as objets d’art and esoteric collectibles
More of an antiques than flea market, but also with a great range of goods, from vintage clothing to objets d’art, old watches and esoteric collectibles. On a recent visit we chanced upon a dealer who was selling the entirety of her childhood collection of Barbie dolls — there was even a Swiss Barbie in the mix. Her motives for this divestment were unclear. Was she, like so many of us, coming to terms with her gender-stereotyped past, or merely out to make a quick franc in this year of Barbiemania? We also were tempted by a 4sq m Swiss flag, and fantasised about decorating the chalet we do not own with antique skis and sledges. Open Saturday, 7am–5pm, May to October.
Photography by Laura Hodgson