Experiences: Culture

The Musegg Wall towers over Lucerne and offers you history and views in one. Climb the medieval towers and enjoy the view of the lake, the city and the Alpine panorama.

The Art Museum Winterthur possesses one of the most beautiful modern art collections in Switzerland. But artistic works don’t come to a halt here - as the building constructed in 1995 by the Zurich-based architects Gigon & Guyer makes the hearts of even less passionate art lovers beat faster.

Martinskirche (St. Martin's Church) is found in the little village of Zillis in Graubuenden. The church is famous for its painted ceiling dating to the 12th century. The ceiling painting, which consists of 153 panels, is the only one in the world that is nearly completely preserved.

The imposing Alte Zeughaus (old armory) shapes Solothurn’s cityscape since a good 400 years and, as historic building as well as museum, is certainly worth a visit.

The Dürrenmatt Centre created by Mario Botta offers an exhibition environment which borrows both from literature and from the fine arts.

The Patek Philippe Museum takes visitors on a journey through time, exploring the 500-year history of watchmaking.

Rheinfelden is the oldest town in the canton of Aargau. Offering over 15 different themed tours, city guides present Rheinfelden’s rich history and illuminate its journey into a modern future.

Vullierens Castle, together with its magnificent gardens and sculpture park, constitutes one of Switzerland’s most remarkable heritage sites with a superb 180° view of the Alps, Mont Blanc and Lake Geneva.

A unique museum dedicated to the legendary band Queen fascinates rock music fans and all those who want to become fans.

The collections of the capital city’s fine arts museum, the Kunstmuseum Bern, are among the finest in the country. The innovative venue also offers a creative forum for exploring current trends in art as well as the changing world around us.

In the last 10 years the industrial wasteland to the west of Zurich has grown into a new bright lights district: The blue-green shimmering Prime Tower, the University of Arts on the Toni-Areal and newly awakened life beneath the arched viaducts. And the nicest way to view all this and the constantly made changes is on foot or by bicycle.

The Vela family is omnipresent in Ligornetto right up until today: And no wonder, as close to Milan, it brought the sculptor Vincenzo Vela fame, glory and prosperity. He invested his money in an imposing art villa, which today is home to the Museo Vincenzo Vela, where you can admire the works of the artist family.

You can learn how posters tell entire stories and writings express emotions at the m.a.x. museo. The building, by architects Durisch+Nolli, is enclosed in glass cladding. At night it shines with soft light, during the day it is a place of pilgrimage for lovers of graphic design.

Good architecture is not only self-evident, instead as important to the city as the bend in the Rhine. Here you have buildings by international stars like Frank Gehry or Zaha Hadid – and the world-famous Basel-based duo Herzog & de Meuron. Anyone keen on architecture is in their element here, and able to follow one of three architectural paths.

Leuk Castle, located in the municipality of Leuk in Valais, is a historical landmark dating back to the 12th century. Surrounded by picturesque vineyards and mountains, it combines medieval architecture with modern use as a cultural center for exhibitions and events.

The secrets of time are revealed in a magical place: the 18th-century Château des Monts. An extensive collection covers 500 years of watchmaking history. Unique and surprising exhibits such as automata, mechanical songbirds and pendulum clocks will enchant all visitors.

Alone the facade of this museum is extraordinary: 84 solar panels of glass cover the building of Architect Jean-Pierre Emery - with the surroundings, Lac de Louché and the Valais mountains mirrored therein. Inside visitors meet with an exhibition space of around 1000 square meters, upon which the unusual and changing exhibits never cease to positively surprise viewers.

The internationally-renowned Convent of St. John in Müstair enjoys UNESCO World Cultural Heritage listing and owes its existence and uniqueness to Charlemagne. It is one of the few existing architectural examples from the Carolingian period.

Opened in 1841, the Vaud Museum of Fine Arts in Lausanne is one of the oldest museums in Switzerland exclusively dedicated to art. The museum presents several temporary exhibitions each year from its collection of 10,000 works.

The regional city headquarters of the Zurich police force houses a fresco by Augusto Giacometti (1877-1947) that is one of the most important works of art and architecture in the city of Zurich.

A listed historical monument, this museum houses an impressive collection of art.

The park surrounding the Villa dei Cedri, which today is home to the Municipal Museum for Modern and Contemporary Art, is a living example of an English-style park of the 19th century. A further attraction is the vineyard behind the villa, whose grapes are used to produce the popular Merlot.

Just a stone’s throw away from upper Lake Zurich, the 75,000 square-meter park of the tree museum welcomes you to stroll, see and enjoy. It’s here that the landscape architect Enzo Enea brought his passion to life: In an open-air museum with over 50 trees lovingly nurtured together with a feel for space and nature’s natural works of art. Since 2013 the exhibits include contemporary sculptures of well-known artists. These works of art create a subtle dialogue with the gardens and broaden the overall allure of Enea’s landscape design concept. The current exhibition includes sculptures by Jaume Plensa, Barry Flanagan, Richard Erdman, Jörg Immendorff.

Discover the peninsula on Lake Biel, the former Cluniac priory and traces of prehistoric and Roman occupation.

Hohenklingen Castle has been towering above the charming town of Stein am Rhein since the year 1200. The renovated castle attracts visitors interested in history as well as connoisseurs.

The exhibit of the Thurgau History Museum in Frauenfeld Castle describes the eventful 15th century when the borders of today’s Canton Thurgau were formed. An insightful multimedia walk transports you into the fascinating world of knights, monasteries and provincial governors.

Reichenau Castle boasts a spectacular setting on the confluence of the Upper and Lower Rhine. The historic building is now being used by the Tscharner family as a winery.

The Segantini Museum is perched on a small hill at the entrance to the village of St. Moritz. Architecturally, the building recalls a mausoleum - and inside the works of the Italian artist Giovanni Segantini are celebrated. Segantini in fact spent the last years of his life on the neighboring Schafberg and near Bergell.

With its rust-red exterior, Palazzo Castelmur is one of the landmarks of the Bergell. The exhibition there follows the life of the emigrants from Bergell, who made careers as confectioners all over Europe.

The Cathedral Treasure Museum comprises two groups of objects: The actual cathedral treasure and the cycle of murals depicting death from 1543, both of which are exhibited on two floors and are a source of fascination to visitors of all ages as well as a unique resource for experts. The location of the museum, the baroque Episcopal Castle in Chur, is a cultural monument of national importance and also one of the most important secular buildings in Graubünden.

Just a 15-minute walk from Ascona rises the 321 metre tall Monte Verità. The panoramic view of the village and the Lago Maggiore is fantastic – just like the story of the eccentrics from around the world who established an early hippy colony here in 1900. This spirit can still be seen today in the hotel, in the museum – and while strolling through the park.

Changing exhibitions present aspects of the works of the painters Carl August Liner (1871-1946)and Carl Walter Liner (1914-1997) as well as 20th century and contemporary art.