Shopping in Switzerland
Shopping in Switzerland is fun and exciting as there is a wide array of products to tempt even the unwilling buyer. The stores are pretty and the merchandise is usually of exceptional quality. In bigger cities and towns, shops are usually open Monday to Friday 8.30am to 6.00pm and on Saturdays, some of these might close slightly earlier. In the smaller towns and villages, shops still close at lunchtime, around noon to 2pm. On Sundays, expect most places to be closed except for a selection of stores in Geneva and Zurich. There is a 7.6% VAT or sales tax on goods that is included in the price and foreign visitors are entitled to a refund of VAT on goods of a value of CHF 400 or more. The prices in Switzerland are often already set, so there is no bargaining.
As in many other countries, souvenirs and trinkets can be found in most places but for an exceptional selection of art and handicraft items from the surrounding region, look for Schweizer Heimatwerk, an upmarket and exclusive chain selling Swiss-made, beautifully crafted games and wooden toys, ceramics, jewellery, textiles and ceramics and other things. While in Zurich, on the Limmat Quai just across the train station, visit the Schweizer Heimatwerk boutique there as it is a marvellous crafts store that features works from all over the region. You can also find their boutiques at Zurich and Geneva airports and in the town centres of Zurich and Basel.
Switzerland is known for many products and is also sometimes dubbed the land of brands. Unsurprisingly, it offers plenty of shopping opportunities and perhaps one of the best products this efficient country is known for are its watches. With names like Cartier, Patek Philippe, Tag Heuer, Rolex and Rado, it produces high quality, exclusive and extremely upscale watches sought after worldwide. The regulatory body for the Swiss watches industry is the Federation de l’Industrie Horlogere Suiss (Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry) and has links to every Swiss watchmaker found on its website www.fhs.ch. The most famous company selling watches in Switzerland is Bucherer which has branches in Bern, Basel, Geneva and Zurich, among other cities. If you’re looking for a Swiss brand of watches that might be more affordable, Swatch is a great buy with its exciting and colorful designs.
Besides watches, the Swiss army knives are also world-famous and the original and leading brand is Victorinox, which has become a design icon. Since supplying knives to the Swiss army in 1893, the the Swiss army knife has been continuously redesigned, with new features added to meet the changing needs and preferences of both military and private consumers. There are even knives with memory sticks these days. Another brand, Wenger is also well-known and produces official Swiss army knives. Knives cost around CHF 7.50 to CHF 200, depending on its design and functionality.
Women will love the Swiss brands like Akris and Bally. Akris is Switzerland’s largest clothes manufacturer that has only recently forayed into making handbags. In 2010, it released the Ai bag and the Amata clutchbag, both made of woven horsehair. For footwear, Bally is known all over the world for providing quality and comfort in its elegant footwear and another brand that is lesser known but nevertheless a Swiss favourite, is Navyboot, a national chain that has great boots and shoes.
Other things you might want to buy in Switzerland include cuckoo clocks and the hand-carved ones at Lotscher in Brienz are very attractive. Brienz is famous for its woodcarvers and Huggler produces most of the beautiful pieces on display in the souvenir shops. The Saint Gallen lace is exquisite as are other hand-embroidered Swiss items and in terms of clothing, some good buys include fine cottons, ski wear and children’s clothing. The world’s first water colour pencils were made by Swiss brand Caran d’Ache and Sigg water bottles with aluminium-coated flasks in bright colours are also Swiss-made. For food, the internationally popular Swiss cheese is a favourite buy as well as mouthwatering Swiss chocolate like those made by Lindt and Suchard.
