American life in Zurich: Thanksgiving, football and a clubhouse since 1931

Zurich draws Americans in banking, pharma, tech and academia, plus plenty of trailing spouses and students. The community isn't huge, but it's old, organized and welcoming. You'll keep your traditions; you'll just order the turkey weeks ahead.

The short version

• Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26, 2026) and the Fourth of July are ordinary workdays in Switzerland. Celebrations move to evenings and weekends.
• The American Women's Club of Zurich has been active since 1931, runs a clubhouse in Seefeld with an English library of over 6,000 books, and is a founding member of FAWCO [3][4].
• Democrats Abroad has a Zürich chapter, one of three in Switzerland [1]. Republicans Overseas lists no Swiss chapter on its website, so contact the national group [2].
• The Zurich Renegades play American football in Switzerland's top league; the Zurich Barracudas won the Swiss baseball title in 2025 [6][7].
• There's a US Consular Agency in Zurich for limited services; the embassy itself is in Bern [10].

Holidays: bring your own turkey

Thanksgiving in Zurich

You have three options, and most people end up doing all of them over the years:

1. Host Friendsgiving on the Saturday after. Swiss coworkers are usually curious and happy to try sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
2. Cook on Thursday night after work, if you're brave and have a big enough oven.
3. Join a group dinner through a club, a church or an alumni group.

A whole turkey is a special order. Ask your local butcher or supermarket counter a few weeks out, because the meat case usually has turkey breast, not 18-pound birds. Swiss ovens are often smaller than the ones back home, so measure first. Canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce turn up in international aisles and specialty shops; our guide to American food, restaurants and bars in Zurich covers where to look.

The Fourth, and the First

The Fourth is a normal day here, so expect barbecues on the weekend nearest to it, along the lake or in a friend's garden. Grilling spots along the lakeshore and in city parks fill up fast on summer evenings. Then, four weeks later, you get August 1, Swiss National Day, with fireworks over the lake and bonfires on the hills. Many Americans say it's the best way to feel at home: a summer holiday with fireworks, just with more cheese.

The American Women's Club of Zurich

The AWCZ is the anchor of English-speaking social life for many American women in the city. Its mission is to foster social exchange and support within Zurich's English-speaking community [3].

• Clubhouse: Höschgasse 38 in Seefeld (Kreis 8), on tram lines 2 and 4, with a library, kitchen, meeting rooms and event space [3].
• Since 1931, and a founding member of FAWCO, the worldwide federation of American and international women's clubs [4].
• Activities: book clubs, arts and culture, fitness and wellness, language groups, a kids' corner, a professional network (PAWZ), a film festival, community service, and American holiday celebrations [3][4].
• Members get the library of over 6,000 English books, a monthly newsletter, a members' directory and FAWCO membership [4].

Business and professional groups

The Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham Switzerland) has been around since 1967 and is based at Tödistrasse 1 in Zurich. It promotes business ties between the two countries, lobbies for its members, hosts briefings and luncheons, and helps companies and staff move between Switzerland and the US [5]. It's a business group, not a social club, but its events are a good way to meet Americans working for Swiss and US firms. US college alumni clubs are active in Switzerland too, and some host Thanksgiving dinners.

Churches in English

• International Protestant Church Zurich (IPC): an English-speaking, non-denominational Protestant congregation that dates to 1961 [9]. Our source page is undated, so check its current service times directly.
• English Speaking Catholic Mission: Mass in English on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 11:15 a.m., with offices at Neptunstrasse 60 (Kreis 7). Its roots go back to English-language Masses that began in 1962 [8].

Both are good places to find Thanksgiving dinners, choirs and new-in-town help.

Football, baseball and game day

• Zurich Renegades: founded in 1983, the club has won seven Swiss Bowls and plays in the top division, the Nationalliga A, at Sportplatz Looren in Witikon [6]. Swiss football is amateur, tickets are cheap, and former high school and college players are welcome to try out.
• Zurich Barracudas: the city's baseball club won the 2025 Swiss championship, beating the Therwil Flyers 3–2 in the final series, its first title in ten years [7]. Yes, you can play catch in Zurich.
• Watching the NFL: Sunday 1 p.m. Eastern kickoffs start at 7 p.m. in Zurich, Sunday night games in the small hours, and the Super Bowl runs until breakfast. Sports bars in the city show the big games, and some go all out for the Super Bowl.

Politics: both parties' groups

Plenty of Americans in Zurich stay involved in US politics. We list both parties' groups side by side, without endorsing either.

• Democrats Abroad Zürich is one of three local chapters of the party's Swiss country committee. It holds meetings and events through the year, and its 2026 calendar included voter registration drives and social evenings in the city [1].
• Republicans Overseas is the main overseas Republican group. Its leadership page lists a vice president for Europe but no Swiss chapter [2], so contact the national organization to connect with Republicans in Switzerland.

Whatever your politics, the key step is the same: send a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) every year to register and request your absentee ballot from your last US state. See our guide to voting from abroad.

The embassy, and the agency in town

The US Embassy is in Bern, about an hour by train, at Sulgeneckstrasse 19. Zurich has a US Consular Agency at Dufourstrasse 101, in the Zurich America Center, which handles a limited range of services; all three US offices in Switzerland share the embassy's phone line and email [10]. Passports, CRBAs for babies born here, and most notarials run through Bern. Enroll in STEP so the embassy can reach you. Our guide to STEP and help from US embassies explains what they can and can't do.

Finding your people

A lot of American life in Zurich is informal: coworkers at the big employers, parents at the international schools, running groups along the lake, and the person next to you at the Kreisbüro filling out the same form. Swiss reserve is real, and friendships take longer to form than back home. Learning even basic German, or a bit of Swiss German, opens doors.

When you're new, our community group for Americans in Switzerland is a good place to start. Ask who's hosting Thanksgiving, where to watch Monday Night Football on a Tuesday morning, or how to say "whole turkey" to a butcher.

Sources

1. Democrats Abroad: Zürich chapter
2. Republicans Overseas: Leadership
3. American Women's Club of Zurich: Our clubhouse
4. American Women's Club of Zurich: Benefits of membership
5. Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce: About us
6. Wikipedia: Zurich Renegades
7. blue News: After a ten-year break, the Barracudas are champions again (Aug. 23, 2025)
8. forum magazine: English Speaking Catholic Mission, about us
9. OSCAR: International Protestant Church Zurich
10. Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs: US representations in Switzerland

Keep reading

• American food, restaurants and bars in Zurich
• Moving to Zurich as an American: visa routes
• Voting from abroad: the FPCA and FVAP
• STEP and help from US embassies