What to Give Someone Who Loves Switzerland

Gift shopping for someone who loves Switzerland ought to be simple, and somehow it never is. The airport shelves offer the same cowbells, penknives and chocolate bars, none of which tells the recipient you were thinking about them. Over several years of living here and writing about the country I have built up a better list: things published or made in Switzerland, or things that open a door onto it. It works for Secret Santa, for a friend who is moving to Zurich, and for anyone who simply misses the place.

For the person who takes fondue seriously

Cheese is not a joke in this country, and neither is this book. Haute Fondue gathers 52 recipes, one for every week of the year, from authors who belong to a fondue organisation and tested 80 versions before settling on their favourites. I am a committed fondue eater and I have worked my way through several of them already. Delivery is free inside Switzerland and costs 10 CHF for international orders. If you buy a copy, tell me what you think of it. Say cheese, and mean it.

A fondue set is the obvious companion present for someone who wants to make it at home. A wedge of raclette, a piece of good Swiss cheese or a proper cheese board would please a different kind of cook. And if the gift is really an excuse to travel, our guide to seeing a cheese factory and a chocolate factory on the same day is the place to start; there are also guided cheese tastings and farm visits around the country if you would rather book an experience than wrap a box.

For the one who would rather be outdoors

Switzerland is hiking country, and anyone who runs or walks here will find a use for Run the Alps, which sets out 30 trail runs across the Alps. It is the sort of book that turns a vague intention to get out more into a list of weekends. Campers and hikers might prefer something for the kit bag: a folding camping table, or a monkey swing for the garden between trips.

If your budget stretches further, book them a night in the mountains. Our notes on where to go in Switzerland in winter and on the ski areas locals recommend will narrow down the choice, and Booking.com will do the rest.

For quiz nights, beer and music

BEERIQ and MUSICIQ are Swiss-made party games, and the second is a collaboration with the Montreux Jazz Festival. They suit the friend who runs the pub quiz, the one who talks about hops with feeling, or the one who can name a bass line in three notes. Put either on the table with a group and the evening takes care of itself.

For the traveller and the reader

The Grand Tour of Switzerland is a board game before it is a holiday, and playing it may send your friend off on the real route afterwards. For children and adults who like stories, two books stand out on my shelf: The Monster Book of Switzerland and Basel's Hidden Stories. Both are collectable, and meeting the author of the second was a genuine fan moment for me. They travel well, which makes them good souvenirs to carry home. Orders through bergli.ch take 10 per cent off with the code 'europediaries'.

Maps are a gift I would always be happy to receive, and scratch maps in particular have a way of starting conversations about the next trip. A travel adapter, a set of packing cubes or a decent travel pillow is less romantic but more likely to be used; here are the travel accessories I have found most useful.

For the new arrival, and for the vintage-minded

Someone who has just moved here, or a child learning about the country, will get more from the illustrated Switzerland puzzle than from another guidebook. It is a painless way to learn the cantons and the landmarks. SWISSIQ, the Swiss quiz game, does the same job for anyone who thinks they already know the place.

And for a wall that needs something: a vintage poster of Luzern. It counts as a souvenir, it lasts longer than chocolate, and it looks better than most of what the airport sells.

Those are the ideas I come back to. Which would you most like to be given? Tell me in the comments, and pass the list on to whoever is shopping for you this year.