In Britain, Christmas has a fixed shape: stockings in the morning, a lunch that drifts into the afternoon, the King’s speech at three. In Switzerland, as across much of continental Europe, the centre of gravity sits a day earlier. The main event is the evening of the 24th, and by the time the 25th arrives, the Swiss are already on to the leftovers. Spend Christmas in Switzerland and you get both: a proper Christmas Eve dinner the Swiss way, and a Christmas Day lunch that feels closer to home. Neuchâtel, on the northern shore of its lake and roughly an hour and a half by train from Geneva Airport, is a good place to try it. At Hôtel Beaulac, the Lake Side restaurant serves a festive menu on the evening of 24 December and at lunchtime on the 25th, and the rooms look out over the water. Both sittings fill early, so if the idea appeals, book now at beaulac.ch or on +41 32 723 11 11.
Christmas Eve, the Swiss way
In French-speaking Switzerland, the evening meal is called the souper, and on the 24th it is the meal that matters. This is when families gather, when nobody is in a hurry, and when the evening carries more weight than the rest of the day put together.
At the Lake Side, Hôtel Beaulac’s brasserie, the Christmas Eve souper is a proper festive dinner in three courses, served at the table while the lights of the town come on across the water. The menu changes every year. In 2025 it paired marinated salmon with a capon ballotine in morel sauce and a chocolate and caramel yule log, which gives a fair idea of the register: seasonal and celebratory, with no buffet and no endless procession of courses.
Two practical points. Book early: tables on the 24th are among the most sought after of the year, and prepayment is usually requested when you reserve. And book the room at the same time. The real luxury of Christmas Eve is not having to drive after pudding, or ferry tired grandparents home. You simply go upstairs, and the evening ends where it began, by the lake.
Christmas Day lunch, closer to home
One linguistic trap worth knowing before you book: in Swiss French, dîner means lunch, not dinner. The dîner du 25 décembre at the Lake Side is therefore Christmas lunch, with the same festive menu as the night before.
There are no crackers and nobody will put the King on, but this is the part of a Swiss Christmas that British visitors tend to find most familiar: a long table at midday, several generations around it, and nobody stuck in the kitchen. It also suits couples who would rather keep the 24th quiet, in the room or at the bar, and save the big meal for daylight, with the lake bright in the sun on the days when the bise has cleared the grey.
If you are bringing children, mention it when you book; the team plans better when it knows who is coming. The same goes for allergies and dietary requirements, which are much easier to accommodate with a little notice.
Between meals: Neuchâtel over Christmas
Christmas here is more than two well-laid tables. Throughout Advent the town runs a full programme of Christmas events: the wooden chalets of the Christmas market, an ice rink, lights strung through the old town and, in recent years, a big wheel on Place Alexis-Marie-Piaget, a few steps from the hotel. Most of it runs until 24 December, so arriving on the 23rd lets you catch it before the town settles down for the holiday.
On the afternoon of the 24th, do the simplest thing: walk up to the castle and the Collegiate Church. In late December the sun sets just before five, and the view over the rooftops and the lake from the esplanade at that hour is well worth the climb. Come back down through the lanes of the old town and finish on the lakefront for the last of the light.
The 25th is quiet, with most shops shut, which is exactly its charm. A walk along the quays towards the Nid-du-Crô harbour, or west towards Serrières, fills a morning easily. And if Neuchâtel is sitting under low cloud, take the Chaumont funicular: on foggy days you often climb straight out of the grey into sunshine. Just check the bank holiday timetable first.
Getting there, and why three nights make sense
The 2026 calendar is kind. Christmas Eve falls on a Thursday, Christmas Day on a Friday, and the weekend follows. Three nights by the lake are enough for both festive meals, an afternoon at Chaumont or in the vineyards, and an unhurried journey home on the Sunday.
Getting here is straightforward. Fly into Geneva, Zurich or Basel; from Geneva Airport the train takes roughly an hour and a half, and from Zurich Airport a little under two hours. Once you are here, you will not need a car.
For families, the hotel’s suites keep everyone under one roof without anyone tripping over anyone else, and the lake-view rooms deliver what a Christmas morning should: light and quiet. In the evening, Waves, the rooftop bar on the seventh floor, is the place for a last drink looking across to the lights on the southern shore.
Every stay of at least one night in the canton also comes with the Neuchâtel Tourist Card, which gives you free public transport for the length of your stay, the funicular included, and free entry to a number of museums on the days they open.
A Christmas without cooking, driving or washing up
Christmas in a hotel is not a break with tradition. It keeps what matters, the table, the people, the time, and leaves the rest to people who do it for a living. Neuchâtel adds a lake, an old town lit for the season and the chance to rise above the clouds the next morning.
Tables for the Christmas Eve souper and the Christmas Day lunch at the Lake Side are limited and are booked directly with the restaurant on +41 32 723 11 11. For your room, go to beaulac.ch: the earlier you book, the better your chance of waking up to the lake on Christmas morning.
