Note: This museum has been completely renovated and updated since my post. I visited in 2018 and it was a huge improvement. Hopefully I’ll get around to updating this post soon.
For years, I’ve been meaning to visit the Zurich Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum) since I walk by it all the time and at the time, it was free. Of course, by the time I got around to visiting they were charging an entrance fee. It was full of lots of random historical artifacts that were not particularly interesting to me or my kids, like weapons, old books, pottery shards, uniforms, etc. So I would not particularly recommend it for kids.
| Location: | Zurich Region |
| Address: | Museumstrasse 2 CH-8001 Zürich |
| Car: | in Zurich city Parking garage: Sihlquai 41, 8005 Zürich |
| Train: | adjacent to Zürich main train station |
| Open: | Tue – Sun 10:00 to 17:00, on Thurs open till 19:00 |
| Price (2019): | Adult CHF 10, children up to 16 free. Free with Swiss Museum Pass and ZürichCARD |
| Services: | free app to download on website lots of stairs, difficult for strollers |
| More info: | www.nationalmuseum.ch |
First, it’s not stroller friendly, with lots of stairs; however, it was under construction when I was there, so maybe things have changed. If you like that kind of stuff, then maybe you’ll like it. But for kids, not so fun. At the very beginning there’s a giant stuffed mammoth (below) that terrified my kid, who then refused to go any further without me dragging him (for what, I ask myself now).
The only part we both enjoyed was this interesting military diorama with hundeds of figures (shown above), with very detailed painting on each one. All around the display are binoculars so you can get a closer look.
