Pfistern Fondue Carriage

The Pfistern Fondue Carriage is a winter group experience in the old town of Luzern, central Switzerland, organised by the Zunfthausrestaurant Pfistern at Kornmarkt 4, a historic guild-house restaurant near the Rathaus and the Reuss river. The programme starts at the Pfistern Christmas bar, where guests are welcomed with mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. From there the group boards a horse-drawn carriage and travels through the lit old town while eating a cheese fondue, which turns the dinner into a moving experience set among the Christmas lights.

The menu is simple and traditional. The Pfistern cheese fondue is served with bread, silver onions and gherkins. Dessert is Lebkuchen, the spiced gingerbread associated with the Christmas season, served with red-wine plums and vanilla ice cream. The balance is therefore mostly savoury, with a single sweet course at the end. Drinks are included: tea, mulled wine, water, one bottle of wine for every four people, and kirsch, the cherry spirit traditionally taken with fondue in Switzerland.

The experience is sold only to groups. It requires a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 12 participants and must be booked ahead with the restaurant, which can be reached on +41 41 410 36 50. The listed price is from CHF 89 (about $111 USD) per person for groups of 4 to 12. The whole programme, including the aperitif, takes about 3 hours. The timing is aimed at the Christmas season, so it is not available through the rest of the year.

Because the group shares a single carriage and a fixed menu, the pace is relaxed but the format is not flexible. Participants should tell the restaurant about allergies, lactose intolerance or alcohol-free preferences at the time of booking, as the fondue and the drinks package are built around cheese and wine. Warm clothing is important: even with blankets and the shelter of the carriage, winter evenings in Luzern are cold. The starting point at Kornmarkt is in the pedestrian old town, a short walk from Luzern railway station, the Kapellbrücke and the Jesuit Church, and photographs of the illuminated streets are a natural part of the evening.