What's good for shopping in Switzerland?

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Starwalker

for souvenir shopping, i'd suggest Schweizer Heitmawerk in Zurich (there are a handful of them there). it's a store specializing in hand-crafted, locally made products, mostly serving as souvenirs. i bought a wooden cow there with red spots, and a hand-hammered cowbell with leather strap the first time i visited the country... for me, even though it's a little more expensive to buy the locally made goods, it's better than buying the same things at some souvenir store where all the stuff is made in Hong Kong.

if you go to places like Coop or Coop City, you'll find lots of knick-knacks with the Swiss flag on them... things like rulers, mouse pads, pencils, shot glasses, snow globes, clips and magnets, etc etc. the prices are also very reasonable at Coop/Coop City (cheaper than the shops aimed at tourists).

i do agree with Solomon about the chocolate. you will not find chocolate as high in quality and as low in price anywhere else than in Switzerland. the last time i went, i brought back 10kg of chocolate bars (which is meant to sustain me until the next time i go back).

you'll notice how much Swiss people love their own flag design... it's on everything! you'll see wallets, t-shirts, backpacks all with the flag design... and it's not just for tourists; i've seen Swiss people carry messenger bags with a big cross on the front too.

if you like more expensive things, the premier luxury company in Switzerland is Bally. very nice (and comfortable) shoes, and other leather accessories. some of their bags are quite attractive as well. but unless you go during sale season, Bally is not cheaper in Switzerland than elsewhere.

Nathalie D

First of all not all watches are expensive. You can find plenty of cute swiss watches that are affordable. Check out cow decor, t-shirts with swiss logos, items made out of pewter, food items.

Servette

I agree with most of the answers (except that cuckoo clocks are not from Swizterland), but everyone forgot about....CARAN D'ACHE CRAYONS.......Very hard to find elsewhere, because they are very high quality. "Manor" carry them at a lower price than tourists trap shops.

ndnwarrior

Souveniers are pretty much what you should look for in Switzerland. The other thing you could look for is a good time-good experiences. Most things you might purchase might actually be less expensive in your home country, so what ever you purchase might be better enjoyed if it conveys an association with a happy memory there and is hopefully unique to Switzerland. Gasoline is not going to be cheaper in europe. LOL. But Swiss watches are nice. Swiss knives are really cool. I didnt see that mentioned. There are really a huge variety of Swiss knives that make awesome gifts for family and friends at a reasonable price. Swiss knives are the ones with all the cool little extras. They usually have a red handle with kind of a cross design.

Solomon G

Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate. The yanks haven't got a clue about chocolate.

Swiss cheese, maybe.
Cuckoo clocks
William Tell crossbow.
Maybe some snow, if you can find a way of transporting it without letting it melt.
And then some more chocolate, to keep you supplied until your next visit. Because there's no way you'll get chocolate like this for a long time.

telemeister

You can get Swiss Army Watches which are really cool (and there are heaps of styles!!!) or the Mondail watches - they are the ones originally designed for the train stations in Switzerland and are a classic of modernist design.

You can buy all the usual touristy stuff, but you should try the different types of food, particularly the German influenced stuff, such as zÃ¼rigschnÃ¤tzlets (spelling?!?) in Zurich, which is served with Rosti (which itself differs across the country!).

Swiss Army knives are cool. I got one with a light, you can get them with USB keys and all sorts of stuff.

The chocolate is great, if you are going to eat there and then, look for the stores that sell it in large chunks, they will have stacks of it (literally stacks!) piled up on counters for you to choose.

Mostly, as noted before, it is about connecting an item with a memory. I have a little Swiss clock sitting on my desk at the moment. It is a swiss chalet with a clock inside, it's pretty tacky, but it reminds me of the time I was lucky enough to spend in Switzerland!

kiwi

I'm Swiss, how about a swiss army knife, a tipical swiss kitchen towel, a cheap swiss watch (not all are expensive), "lÃ¤ckerli", something tipical from basel or "Bern bears", made out of ground nuts, sugar and, of course CHOCOLATE!!

Daniel R

gasoline

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