Zurich museums: the best museums in Zurich, free days and tips
Art, design, history, natural history, football and trams: here are 18 museums in and around Zurich – what makes each one special, when it is open and when you get in for free. Five of them are free for everyone.
Free for everyone
Migros Museum, three University of Zurich museums, focusTerra
Free collection day
Kunsthaus Zürich, every Wednesday
Free evenings
Museum für Gestaltung (Thursday from 5 pm), Kunsthalle (Thursday 5–8 pm)
Heimplatz 1 · tram 3 or bus 31 from the main station to “Kunsthaus” · collection free on Wednesdays, under 14 free
According to the museum, the Kunsthaus holds the most important museum collection of works by Alberto Giacometti, the largest group of paintings by Edvard Munch outside Norway and the world’s largest collection of Dada objects. Highlights include Claude Monet’s two large water-lily panels. Admission to the collection is free for everyone on Wednesdays.
Gablerstrasse 15 · tram 7 to “Museum Rietberg”, then a five-minute walk · free up to and including age 15
The only museum in Switzerland dedicated entirely to art of the world. Run by the City of Zurich, it holds some 32,600 objects and 49,000 photographs from Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. Its history starts in 1857, when Otto and Mathilde Wesendonck moved into their new neo-classical house – today’s Villa Wesendonck.
Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am–5 pm, Thursday until 8 pm; closed on Mondays. Zürich Card holders get in free.
Ausstellungsstrasse 60 (tram 17, 50, 51 to “Museum für Gestaltung”) and Toni-Areal, Pfingstweidstrasse 96 (tram 51 to “Toni-Areal”) · under 20 free
The leading Swiss museum for design and visual communication has been collecting since 1875; with more than 580,000 objects it holds Switzerland’s largest collection dedicated to design culture. The main building on Ausstellungsstrasse is a listed example of Swiss modernist architecture; the Toni-Areal, campus of the Zurich University of the Arts, shows the permanent exhibition “Swiss Design Collection”.
Both open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am–5 pm, Thursday until 8 pm; closed on Mondays. Free admission every Thursday from 5 pm. Tickets are sold on site only, not online.
Höschgasse 8, on Lake Zurich · tram 11/15 or bus 33/916 to “Höschgasse” · season 2026: 17 April – 29 November
The last building designed by Le Corbusier and his only building made of steel and glass, completed in 1967 on the initiative of Heidi Weber. Since 2019 the Museum für Gestaltung runs it as a public museum on behalf of the City of Zurich.
In 2026 it is open Tuesday to Sunday 12–6 pm, Thursday until 8 pm. It stays closed in the winter months (December to April), but you can view the building from outside at any time. Under 20 free; free admission on Thursdays from 5 pm.
Switzerland’s leading institution for constructive-concrete and conceptual art, shaped by the Zurich Concretists Max Bill, Richard Paul Lohse, Camille Graeser and Verena Loewensberg. In May 2025 the museum moved from the ewz Selnau substation to the Löwenbräukunst site.
Open Tuesday and Thursday to Sunday 11 am–6 pm, Wednesday until 8 pm; closed on Mondays and between exhibitions. Free with the Zürich Card.
A museum of contemporary art whose collection goes back to Migros founder Gottlieb Duttweiler, who began buying art in the mid-1950s; the museum itself was founded in 1996. Since 2023 all exhibitions, events and guided tours are free.
Open Tuesday to Sunday 11 am–6 pm, Thursday until 8 pm. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Limmatstrasse 270 (Löwenbräukunst) · tram stop “Löwenbräu” · free on Thursday evenings and up to age 16
A not-for-profit, membership-led institution for contemporary art, founded in 1985 and at Löwenbräu since 1996, with four to six exhibitions a year. A combined ticket with Museum Haus Konstruktiv is available.
Closed on Mondays; Thursday open until 8 pm. Free entry on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 pm, for children up to 16 and with the Zürich Card.
Museumstrasse 2, next to the main station · children up to 16 free
The castle-like museum next to Zürich HB covers Swiss cultural history from its beginnings to the present, with more than 870,000 objects. The museum describes its stained-glass holdings as the world’s largest and most significant collection of stained glass. The exhibition “Simply Zurich” is free, and Zürich Card holders get in free.
The tram stop “Bahnhofquai/HB” is closed until the end of 2026 – use “Central”, “Bahnhofstrasse/HB” or “Sihlquai/HB”.
Natural History Museum of the University of Zurich
Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4 · tram 6, 9 or 10 to “ETH/Universitätsspital” or the Polybahn · free
The university merged its anthropological, botanical, palaeontological and zoological museums into this museum, which opened on 19 March 2024 – so the former Zoological Museum is now part of it. More than 1,500 animals and fossils are on show, including finds from the fossil deposit at Monte San Giorgio and life-size dinosaur models.
Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am–5 pm, plus Thursday 5.30–8 pm for adults only; closed on Mondays. Entrance is free; children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
Archaeological Collection of the University of Zurich
Rämistrasse 73 · tram 5, 6 or 9 or the Polybahn from Central · free
Original pieces and plaster casts take you into the world of antique cultures. The collection goes back to 1852, when professors began using the earnings from public lectures to buy casts.
Open Tuesday to Friday 2–6 pm, Saturday and Sunday 12–5 pm; closed on Mondays. Entry is free.
Seefeldstrasse 317 · tram 11 or 15 or bus 33 to “Tiefenbrunnen” station
One of the few museums in Europe dedicated exclusively to the Indigenous cultures of North America; it is a cultural institution of the City of Zurich. Highlights include a painted wapiti robe of the Pawnee, hand-coloured copper engravings by the Swiss painter Karl Bodmer and a Naskapi hunting coat from around 1700.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 1–5 pm and Sunday 10 am–5 pm; closed on Mondays. Zürich Tourism lists it with free admission for Zürich Card holders.
Englischviertelstrasse 9 · tram 3 to “Hottingerplatz” or tram 2 to “Englischviertelstrasse”
Founded in 1978 as one of the world’s first museums about evolution. The exhibitions “Where we come from” and “Who we are” are bilingual (English and German), and in the Stone Age experience room you can try out the craftsmanship of the time yourself.
Open in the afternoons: Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 1–5 pm, Wednesday 1–8 pm, Saturday and Sunday 1–6 pm. Free with the Zürich Card.
The Earth and Science Discovery Center of ETH Zurich shows how earthquakes are triggered, what makes volcanoes erupt, where gems come from and what fossils tell us about the origin of life. The earthquake simulator is only open during a one-hour guided tour.
Open Monday to Friday 9 am–5 pm and Sunday 10 am–4 pm; closed on Saturdays. Entrance is free.
Seestrasse 27, opposite Bahnhof Enge · children up to 6 free with a paying adult
The FIFA World Cup Gallery displays the original FIFA World Cup Trophy and the FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy; “The Rainbow” shows the shirts of all 211 FIFA member associations. Every visit ends at a giant interactive pinball machine. Free entry with the Zürich Card.
Forchstrasse 260, Burgwies depot · tram 4 to “Burgwies” · children up to 5 free
Housed since 2007 in the Burgwies depot of 1893, the oldest surviving tram depot in the city. On more than 1,600 m² it shows original vehicles from 1897 to 1968 – most can be entered – plus a model tram system and the “Cobralino” children’s tram.
Open Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday 1–6 pm. Adults CHF 14, children 6–16 CHF 7; free with the Zürich Card. Children must always be accompanied by an adult.
Bahnhofstrasse 31, in the basement of the Beyer shop · open until 30 October 2026
More than 250 objects, from an Egyptian water clock of around 1400 BC to the modern quartz watch, including the world’s smallest watch with a calendar function. Open Monday to Friday 2–6 pm; children up to 12 and Zürich Card holders free.
The museum closes after 30 October 2026 and is expected to reopen in autumn 2027 at its new location in the Mühle Tiefenbrunnen (Seefeldstrasse 229).
Schokoladenplatz 1, Kilchberg · children 0–7 free · 20 % off with the Zürich Card
Just outside the city: a 9.3 m chocolate fountain in the atrium and an interactive exhibition through seven chocolate worlds, from cocoa farming to a tasting.
Five museums on this page are free for everyone on every day they are open: the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst (since 2023), the Natural History Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the Archaeological Collection of the University of Zurich – according to the university, entry to all its museums is free – and focusTerra at ETH Zurich.
Free at certain times: the Kunsthaus collection on Wednesdays, the Museum für Gestaltung and the Pavillon Le Corbusier on Thursdays from 5 pm, the Kunsthalle on Thursday evenings from 5 to 8 pm, and the “Simply Zurich” exhibition at the Swiss National Museum.
Free for young visitors: under 20 at the Museum für Gestaltung, under 18 at Haus Konstruktiv, up to 16 at the Swiss National Museum and the Kunsthalle, up to 15 at Museum Rietberg, under 14 at the Kunsthaus.
Zurich museums with the Zürich Card
According to Zürich Tourism, many of Zurich’s museums offer Zürich Card holders free admission. Of the museums on this page, Zürich Tourism lists free entry for the Swiss National Museum, the FIFA Museum, Museum Rietberg, the Museum für Gestaltung, the Pavillon Le Corbusier, Museum Haus Konstruktiv, the Kunsthalle, the Tram Museum, the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum, NONAM and Kulturama. At the Kunsthaus the card covers the collection; exhibitions cost a surcharge of CHF 7. The Lindt Home of Chocolate gives 20 % off the museum ticket.
The children’s card is valid up to the day before the 16th birthday, and children under 6 are free. For some museums the discounts only apply to adults.
Tips for visiting museums in Zurich
Zürich Tourism notes that most museums are closed on Mondays. Open on Mondays: focusTerra, the Tram Museum and – until 30 October 2026 – the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum.
Three museums share one address: Museum Haus Konstruktiv, the Migros Museum and the Kunsthalle are all on the Löwenbräukunst site on Limmatstrasse, at the tram stop “Löwenbräu”.
The Long Night of Zurich Museums takes place on the first Saturday in September; the next one is on 4 September 2027.
Free for everyone: the Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst, the Natural History Museum, the Ethnographic Museum and the Archaeological Collection of the University of Zurich, and focusTerra at ETH Zurich. The Kunsthaus collection is free on Wednesdays, the Museum für Gestaltung on Thursdays from 5 pm and the Kunsthalle on Thursday evenings.
Are museums in Zurich open on Mondays?
Most are not – Zürich Tourism notes that most museums are closed on Mondays. focusTerra, the Tram Museum and, until 30 October 2026, the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum are open on Mondays.
Is the Kunsthaus Zürich free on Wednesdays?
Yes: according to the Kunsthaus, admission to the collection is free for everyone on Wednesdays. Children and young people under 14 are always free.
Is the Zoological Museum in Zurich still open?
Not under that name. The University of Zurich merged its zoological, anthropological, botanical and palaeontological museums into the Natural History Museum, which opened on 19 March 2024 at Karl-Schmid-Strasse 4. Entrance is free.
Which museums are free with the Zürich Card?
Zürich Tourism lists free entry for, among others, the Swiss National Museum, the FIFA Museum, Museum Rietberg, the Museum für Gestaltung, Haus Konstruktiv, the Kunsthalle and the Tram Museum. At the Kunsthaus the card covers the collection; the Lindt Home of Chocolate gives 20 % off.
