Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum)
A French Renaissance chateau with dozens of towers sits on a river peninsula two minutes from the main train station — and it covers all of Swiss history from the Stone Age forward.
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Gustav Gull's 1898 building occupies a tongue of land between the Sihl and Limmat rivers. The Gothic section alone justifies the trip: carved altars, liturgical panel paintings, and chivalric arms spanning the Middle Ages. A diorama of the Battle of Murten, a Coin Cabinet of 14th–16th century Swiss currency, and a Collections Gallery of Swiss furnishings round out a sweep from prehistory to the 21st century. The building itself was expanded as recently as 2016.
What to look for
- Gothic carved altars, liturgical wooden sculptures, and panel paintings in the medieval section
- The diorama of the Battle of Murten and the Armoury Tower
- The Coin Cabinet displaying 14th–16th century Swiss coins
Two-minute walk from Zürich HB main station; tram and trolleybus stop Bahnhofquai/HB is directly outside.
Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum) is one of 17 sights worth the detour in Zurich, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Zurich pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Zurich
- LetzigrundOn this track, on 21 June 1960, Armin Hary became the first person in history to run 100 metres in 10.0 seconds.
- Zürich HauptbahnhofSwitzerland's largest station runs 2,915 trains a day — and a river flows through it in a tunnel, with tracks both above and below.
- GrossmünsterThe church where Zwingli launched the Swiss-German Reformation in 1520 — and then his followers stripped out the organ and every statue to prove the point.
- Zürich Opera HouseThe first electrically lit opera house in Europe — built in 16 months, nearly razed by street riots, and winner of Opera Company of the Year at the 2014 International Opera Awards.
- Cabaret VoltaireHugo Ball borrowed a back room on Spiegelgasse in February 1916 and accidentally invented Dada — Lenin was renting a flat fourteen doors up the same street.
- Kunsthaus ZürichTwo buildings on opposite sides of Heimplatz, linked underground, housing one of Switzerland's most important art collections — the 2021 David Chipperfield sandstone block alone added over 80% more floor space.