Zurich Museums Guide: Kunsthaus, Swiss National Museum & Best Cultural Sites

Zurich has one of the highest concentrations of world-class museums per capita of any city in Europe — a cultural density that surprises many visitors who associate Switzerland primarily with banking and skiing. From the newly expanded Kunsthaus Zürich, which now holds the largest art museum collection in Switzerland, to the Swiss National Museum's comprehensive overview of Swiss history and culture, the city's museums offer days of genuinely excellent content.

The Kunsthaus Zürich doubled in size with the opening of its Chipperfield extension in 2021, and the collection now covers Giacometti (the world's largest collection of his work), Monet, Picasso, Munch, and contemporary Swiss artists in exceptional depth. The new wing's architecture is itself worth visiting — David Chipperfield's austere stone building creates a striking dialogue with the original neoclassical museum across the Heimplatz square. The Swiss National Museum near Zurich HB, housed in a neo-Gothic castle-like building, covers Swiss history from prehistoric times through the 20th century with engaging multimedia exhibitions and one of the country's finest collections of medieval artefacts and Alpine folk objects.

For more specialised interests, the Museum Rietberg in a beautiful park-side villa houses world-class collections of Asian, African, and Oceanic art. The Haus Konstruktiv specialises in Concrete and Constructivist art in a converted power station and is the most conceptually interesting small museum in the city. Across the lake in Zurich-Riesbach, the Zurich Zoo and the remarkable Villa Wesendonck (which houses the Rietberg's outreach centre) are worth combining with a tram ride along the lake's eastern shore. Most Zurich museums are closed on Mondays; the Kunsthaus is free on Wednesday evenings.