Historic attractions

This museum full of historical planes tells the stories of the flying legends who wrote aviation history in the sky.

These ruins, the emblem of Ardez, stand on a rocky outcrop and offer glorious panoramic views.

During the Roman period, Aventicum was the capital city of the Helvetians, and Avenches remains one of the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland

The salt mines in Bex, exploiting deposits discovered in the 15th century, are a maze of passages, shafts, stairs and gigantic caverns totalling more than 50 km in length. The colossal task of excavating the mine – by hand – took a century.

At the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum you can visit 100 original, centuries-old houses and farmhouses from all over Switzerland; explore “historical” gardens and fields; and make a journey of discovery in our large medicinal plant garden.

Graubünden and the German-speaking region of South Tyrol in Italy are linked in many ways: from the postbus service of the Engadin- Meran Route Express, to a shared culture Stiegen zum Himmel – “Stairways to Heaven" – is a special connection: an itinerary links medieval fortresses, Romanesque churches and chapels, historical settlements and cultural landscapes on both sides mountainous border.

This village of sgraffito-decorated houses in the Engadine/Scuol holiday region enjoys national protection.

This international-award-winning museum offers a rich variety of insights into castle life over the last 800 years.

The choir walls of this church, built in 1480, are covered by a cycle of wall paintings – now fully restored.

Nyon occupies one of the most favourable positions on Lake Geneva – which is why the Romans founded their first colony on Helvetian soil here.

The most beautiful Roman mosaics north of the Alps lie within a walled Gallo-Roman town measuring 400m x 400m.

The 11th-century abbey church of Payerne is one of the most important Romanesque churches in Switzerland, with its harmonious spaces, delicate stonework and fine murals.

Between the 9th and 11th centuries, Altfinstermünz was the customs and judicial centre for the Lower Engadine, Nauders and Pfunds.

Rougemont is an unspoilt traditional village in the valley of the Pays d’Enhaut, whose gentle landscape is home to an exceptional variety of local flora and fauna.

The impressive castle at Sargans, with its fascinating museum and fine restaurant, brings the Middle Ages vividly to life.

The Swiss National Museum’s Forum of Swiss History shows daily life from 1300 to 1800.

The Museum of the Swiss Charters includes the precious document of 1291 said to mark the founding of the Swiss confederation.

Two historical houses (13th and 17th centuries) set in beautiful grounds make up the museum of the Ital Reding Estate.

Solothurn is known as the most beautiful Baroque city in Switzerland, renowned for the architecture favoured by the ambassadors of the King of France who resided here from 1530 to 1792 – hence its epithet of the “City of Ambassadors”.

The landscape on either side of the Splügen pass – between Thusis in Graubünden, and the small Italian town of Chiavenna – shows traces of its 2,000-year history as a transit route over the Alps.

St. Gallen’s History and Folklore Museum contains the largest ethnological and historicocultural collection in north-east Switzerland.

Internationally important museum of art (covering the late Middle Ages to the present), and natural history with a regional focus.

The elegant Textile Museum displays the most sumptuous fabrics as well as the finest St. Gallen embroidery.

The castle at Tarasp, built in 1040, is the symbol of the Lower Engadine, looking out over the valley.

Well-preserved traditional village at the entrance to the Lower Engadine, with a terraced landscape rich in wildlife.

Who was the real William Tell?

The former Carthusian monastery at Ittingen is a place with more than 850 years of history, and is one of the most important cultural sites in the region.

The oldest timber-frame settlement in Switzerland, with a medieval castle and regional museum. Tours on request.

Masterpieces of European art are displayed in “Am Römerholz”, a historical house in its original grounds.

The castle-like Swiss National Museum contains the largest historico-cultural collection in the country.

Can there be any more authentic way of experiencing history than to walk among 2,000-year-old ruins, or to touch an object once held in Roman hands?