Experiences: Culture

The southeastern corner of the former town fortification, the Gunpowder Tower, was built between 1522 and 1532 and was used to store gunpowder. Its external diameter is about 14 m, the inner diameter 8.5 m.

In St. Gallen you'll find history at every turn. The city's landmark is the Convent of St. Gall with its Baroque cathedral. The convent, including the library and monastery archives, was added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 1983.

The special museum in Romont, the Swiss Glass Museum, exhibits works of art that have been created on and behind glass. The exhibits range from Medieval glass paintings to the art of reverse glass painting. Romont houses the world's largest collection of the latter.

Walk through the car-free old town of the oldest city in Switzerland. Between winding alleys, boutiques and restaurants, you will immerse yourself in over 5000 years of history.

At the heart of the charming medieval old town of Fribourg - just a few steps from the Espace Jean Tinguely / Niki de Saint-Phalle - the museum of art and history invites you on diverse journeys of discovery. And very few people know that the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire houses the largest collection of sculptures of Switzerland.

Basel is the Swiss architectural Mecca - as seen on setting foot inside the Museum of Architecture on the Barfüsserplatz in Basel. However, it’s not only the sum of famous Basel buildings you get acquainted with here - instead, intelligent and innovative exhibitions encourage debates on dealing with the different facets of modern architecture.

The Château de Prangins was built in the 18th century by Louis Guiguer, a Swiss banker living in Paris, and has hosted illustrious guests from Voltaire to Joseph Bonaparte.Overlooking Lake Geneva, this beautiful listed building is home to the Swiss National Museum.

Take the gondola up to Alpe Foppa on Monte Tamaro. At the top, the toboggan run, rope park and tyrolienne are waiting for you. On the high-altitude trail you hike to Monte Lema with a view of Ticino lakes and Alpine peaks.

Swissminiature is Switzerland on a smaller scale. There are 128 models of houses, castles and monuments in the open air, distributed throughout the 14,000 square meter park. The models have been recreated authentically - with great attention to detail - and are surrounded by thousands of plants and flowers.

A musical treat of a special kind is offered by the Toggenburg Sound Trail. The panorama trail starts on Alp Sellamatt and combines amazing things with the most beautiful landscape. An exciting route for curious nature lovers.

The Spalentor is the most imposing of the three city gates that were part of the large city fortifications dating back to the year 1400. Many important supplies entered the city of Basel from Alsace through this gate. From here, there is a wonderful view over the roofs of Basel’s old town and the hills of the Jura, the Black Forest and Vosges.

Versailles in miniature: this magnificent palace was built in 1696 by Charles de Chandieu, an officer in the French army, in the French classical style. You’ll see families of ducks enjoying themselves on the pond.

Visit the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen near Basel. The museum, designed by Renzo Piano, is located in a park with water lily ponds and displays over 400 works from Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh to Warhol.

Villa Langmatt Park is a total work of art and is the perfect refuge for a romantic picnic. Order, in advance, a basket of gourmet delicacies including the traditional Spanischbrödli.

The Art and History Museum has over 7,000 exhibits on display, ranging from prehistoric finds to modern paintings. The Musée d’art et d’histoire, which opened its doors in 1910, is the largest art museum in the city of Geneva and home to an extensive collection by the eccentric and distinctive Swiss portraitist Jean-Etienne Liotard.

Since the 1970s old farmhouses, stables, bakehouses or barns are no longer demolished when they are due to be replaced by modern buildings. Instead, the buildings are dismantled stone by stone, and rebuilt in the Ballenberg Open Air Museum.

At the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, you will discover mobility, technology and communication on land, on water, in the air and in space. History comes alive, the future is tangible – an excursion in any weather.

La Chaux-de-Fonds is more closely associated with watches than perhaps any other town or city. Located at an altitude of 1,000 metres above sea level, its streets are laid out in a chessboard pattern. This successful symbiosis between urban development and the watchmaking industry has led to the city being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. La Chaux-de-Fonds is also the birthplace of Le Corbusier.

The Treasure Chamber of the Principality of Liechtenstein is located in the heart of the Liechtenstein capital, Vaduz. The little museum exhibits unique treasures that are closely associated with Liechtenstein and that cannot be found anywhere else in this form and combination.

At the Swiss Science Centre Technorama in Winterthur, touching is encouraged. Here you can explore scientific phenomena with all your senses. Over 500 experiment stations, shows and workshops invite you to discover.

The Verbier 3-D Foundation Sculpture Park is a free, year-round open-air museum at 2,300 meters in the Swiss Alps. It showcases contemporary art created during artist residencies, blending seamlessly with the alpine landscape between La Chaux and Les Ruinettes list stations above Verbier.

The locals still think of the ruins as their own Stein Castle. Standing majestically over Baden, it offers a magnificent view of the Old Town.

The Olten Art Museum was opened in 1905 and features modern art exhibitions in addition to a collection of works by illustrator Martin Disteli.

Schadau Castle was built between 1846 and 1854 for the Neuchâtel banker Denis Alfred de Rougemont. The location of the castle, on the southern banks of Lake Thun where the River Aare flows out of the lake, and with its views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, is almost as attractive as the architecture itself.

A visit to the vine and wine museum in the imposing Château de Boudry is a must for all wine enthusiasts. This region has been home to vineyards and winegrowers for over two thousand years. Of the six million litres of wine produced in the Neuchâtel vineyards in the 17th and 18th centuries, around four million were consumed in the region itself.

The present name of this highest tower with the strongest walls was taken from the Capuchin monastery that was built in the vicinity in 1595.

The Uferpark recreational area on the outskirts of Solothurn invites old and young alike to linger, relax and enjoy themselves. With a wide bike path, a promenade for those out for a stroll, barbecue areas complete with wooden benches, as well as windows to nature with access to the Aare river and a beach, who could ask for more?

The Grossmünster is Zurich's landmark. You will visit the Romanesque church, climb the Karlsturm and discover the medieval stained glass windows – right in the heart of the old town, between Limmat and Niederdorf.

Hagenwil Castle is one of the best preserved moated castles in Switzerland and was first mentioned in the 13th century. For over 200 years, it has been owned by the Angehrn family, who run a restaurant in the castle and produce their own wine.

With its collection of 150,000 items in some 80 languages, the Martin Bodmer Foundation is among the largest private libraries in the world.

Is it the Aare River that lets inspiration flow or the milk which used to be given out during school breaks? There’s hardly another city in Switzerland that has produced as many writers as Olten.

The Chapel Bridge is Lucerne's landmark and one of the oldest wooden bridges in Europe. Walk across the 204-meter-long bridge, discover the historical paintings and enjoy the view of the Reuss River and the Old Town.