I saw an article in the paper announcing the birth of the 2011 St. Bernard Puppies, and I couldn't…read moreresist going to see them. I went just to the see the puppies, and was pleasantly surprised by the museum. The museum in Martigny is located in an old military warehouse next to the Roman amphitheater. As you walk through the museum you are able to view artifacts that tell the story of the Great St. Bernard Hospice and Pass, and then at the end, see the actual St. Bernard dogs. Definitely get the audio guide, unfortunately, it is an additional cost, but it is definitely worth it, as it brings the museum to life. Without the puppies, I probably would have rated this a 3 star, but the experience with the museum and seeing the puppies, was definitely a 4 star memory.

Winter is not a good season to be here, no puppies and the adult dogs are lazy laying inside…read more.. I was hoping I can actually play with the Saint Bernard dogs, but it was not much opportunity to play with the dogs...

As far as local history museums go, this is one of the best anywhere. It helps that the subject…read morematter is so iconic. The museum focuses on the scaling of the Matterhorn, and how the town culture developed around Alpine climbing. You'll find all sorts of artifacts like the original ropes and ice axes used to climb the matterhorn. The museum has three levels. The first is the main entrance, ticket booth, and gift shop. There are lockers to leave bags and hangars for jackets. The second level is below the street and is a metal grate walkway with historical items. The deepest and final level has the largest selection of artifacts and information. An audio guide is available in many languages but you'll need to download an app. Staff is minimal but does speak English.

Located in the center of Zermatt, Switzerland under it's namesake the glass dome Matterhorn…read moremuseum. Entry fee CHF 10, but was part of our 10 day Collette tour of Alpine Trains and Scenic Lakes. Severe space restrictions, with most of the museum underground. Three stories, with only the top story above ground. The bottom two floors have a constructed replica of a 19th century Swiss village, with stuffed farm animals, and furnishings from the period. You walk down the main street of Zermatt, only from 200 years ago. Film depicts life back in the older days, and the equipment used to climb the Matterhorn. Model of the mountain, where you may press a button next to the first successful hike to the top by that particular pathway, and see the lighted guided path alongside the mountain. The earliest hikes from the 1860s were on the more gradual inclines, whereas the latest hikes were on the very steep cliff faces. Today about 3000 people successfully climb the mountain annually, as it is described as a moderate climb, but exposed to the elements. About 150 people try to climb the mountain daily, which takes 9-12 hours. The last third is through snow and ice, requiring crampons. Only a handful of those 150 will make it to the top and back. About a handful die each year, with some 500 people killed in attempting the climb throughout the ages. There is even a cemetery for those killed on the mountain. A much more formidable mountain to climb is France's Mt Blanc, tallest mountain in Europe, with some 8,000 climbers killed! There are guides who for about 1300 Euros will take you to the top of Matterhorn, to have your selfie picture taken!

This is an awesome museum if you're really interested in the Olympics or if you're a child. I…read morereally enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it to the average adult. The exhibits were well put together, and there was a lot of interesting information to read with fun games for children. I loved the temporary exhibit (free to the public) about running and the focus on Paris 2024. Admission was more expensive than I would have liked, even with the student discount for 14 CHF. The Olympic park outside is nice to walk around.

It's been a long time since I came through here. I created a listing to review the Olympic Games…read morebut it got merged with the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. I've actually been to this museum, funnily enough (in 2005, I believe it was, but I could be off), so I decided to post the review anyway. The Olympic Museum in Switzerland is worth a visit if you are obsessed with the Olympics but we're really not. We like the World Cup a lot. So I won't be taking Barbie back here with me most likely. It's still a pretty cool Museum and it's been a long time since I was here but it looks from the pictures like it's changed, so I'll have to consider maybe giving it another visit when I come back to Switzerland maybe next year maybe no go.

Great museum with hundreds of horological items that can easily constitute a 2+ hour visit. For the…read moreprice, it is a must-see for any collector. Do note that the vast majority of exhibition text is in French and that the English text is scant (only for major exhibits and introductions to new periods or significant historical events). We did not use audio guides or join an official group tour. Though the exhibits progress from the 1600s to the early 2000s and are genuinely COOL, there is a lack of cohesion or progression and on top of that you're making awkward, jagged turns to follow the ascending numerical order of the exhibits. The space feels completely maxed out. The vast majority of visitors seem to have a truly difficult time following any preset order after turning the first corner of the two most dense floors. Though anyone could enjoy a short visit, it is disappointing that some of the absolute basics of watches that the average person would want to know about (how does a manual wind actually work, what is an automatic movement, what is meant by "complication," what is quartz, tell us more about the pocket watch to wristwatch thing, why are holy trinity watches so expensive, etc) are simply not addressed. The production quality of the video that is screened in the auditorium is DECENT but it ends abruptly almost as if the bureaucrat in charge of its funding just stepped in one day and said to the producer "okay--done!" Compared to the rest of the media put out by Patek, it's not a good reflection of the brand.

For my 3000th review. Super special place. This has got to be one of the coolest museums I've ever…read moreseen in my life! If I could get this place 10 stars I definitely would. I have admired Patak Philippe watches in all the fashion magazines for many decades. So this was a huge event for me to be able to come to their museum. The museum is just like their shops, beautiful and elegant, super clean with white gloves. The museum has three levels and you can get an audio guide on the first floor. There's also periodic watch making demos you can join to watch a real live factory technician talk about watchmaking by hand. The amount of gorgeous watches from historical times to now, contains many priceless masterpieces. I especially love the ones with the music box and trinkets that moves. It is absolutely fascinating amazing to see. One of the coolest museums I've ever been in the world. Absolutely recommend!

Totally worth a visit for fans and the curious…read more I grew as a fan of the Alien franchise, so it was definitely a treat to see some of the other work from HR Giger. The museum is small, but there's enough for you to spend an hour or two checking things out. The artwork is somewhat trippy and incredibly iconic and unique, with a combination of cyberpunk, body horror, religious, and sexual imagery. It's a pretty weird and random fit for the idyllic and quaint Gruyeres, but the contrast makes it part of the fun. Definitely check it out if you are in Gruyeres. Admission was included as part of my Swiss travel pass.

I'm a fan of Giger's work in the Alien, Species, Dune and other projects so when I was in…read moreSwitzerland I made a point to come here. The fact that it's located in a historic medieval village and cheese making region is quirky, but adds a dimension to balance out those activities. The museum is located in an old medieval castle/gate type building. There are several floors featuring Giger's creations along with an area for rotating exhibits by other artists in the same genre. Obviously the biggest draw for most people is the art related to the Alien movies. There are concept drawings, models, and actual pieces used in the movies, enough to keep you satisfied! Giger also branched into making other items in a similar theme, check out the dining table and chairs amongst other things. There's a room with erotic art, you need to be over 18 to see that, however there isn't anyone actively enforcing this. You have the opportunity to buy original pieces of art actually created by Giger, along with prints and t shirts, and bottles of the artist's own brand of absinthe. Sadly it's all expensive (even the t shirts were around 40 francs) so be aware. This museum is worth a visit for fans of Giger's work. Definitely consider if your kids can handle visuals like this if they're with you. It's dark by definition.

MUDAC is Lausanne Museum of Design and Contemporary Applied Arts. Permanent collection is…read moreinsignificant. New exhibitions are regularly organised in order to permit visitors to progressively see museum entire own collection. At the time I visited MUDAC there was an interesting temporary exhibition showing the work of a 40 years old French designer Guillaume Bardet. He drew an utilitarian object of daily life like cups, vases, chairs, lamps, etc. every day over a year period from 21 September 2009 to 21 September 2010. A dozen ceramicist produced his objects in white and different colours. Artist mental state mind changed over this year period from joy to deep sadness and despair! At the end of 2010 he became heavily sick for 6 weeks and almost died! Could this performance means and be artist's life's oeuvre? Museum's entrance is every first Saturday of month free. Building is next to Lausanne Cathedral on top of old city where you get a stunning view over lake and mountains.

I loved the Mu.dac. I found it by mistake while trying to find the history museum, and being…read moresomeone who loves design, decided to go in! The staff were super friendly (and were willing to practice my French with me, even though it took a lot longer). I spent a couple hours, really looking at things (it's a small museum). When I was there the first exhibit was on perspective, and the second was on touch- which was a shared exhibit with another museum! The touch one was really cool because you so rarely get to touch anything in a museum. Lots of different textures. I think one of my favorite exhibits was about a man who records himself everyday, then listens to the tape for that day a year later (and records over it). The third floor was a glass exhibit, and it's always nice to look at glass. I'd definitely go here if you're visiting Lausanne!

I had seen online that the Museum of Natural History was free and pretty big in Geneva; Switzerland…read morecan get pretty expensive so it was a priority for me to find things that were free. I spent maybe an hour there in general; I forgot that Natural History Museums are just... taxidermied animals. There were many different kinds of animals, marine life, and rocks. However, not all of them are real (such as a dodo bird), and they lump many different kinds of animals together that would not live in the same habitat in real life, which they depicted on maps. Explanations for the animals are in French and English. It is definitely child-friendly, and children would likely enjoy it more than I, an adult with some time to kill. About a half-hour walk from the lake uphill but also very close to the art museum. For a Sunday, it was very quiet. I did like that they had a real (live) turtle as well, very cool --------- J'ai lu sur internet Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle est gratuite et large dans la Ville Genève. En générale la Suisse est chère ; était une priorité pour moi visiter les endroits gratuits. À mon avis, c'était un musée d'histoire naturelle typiquement, avec les taxidermies (mais toutes des animaux ne sont pas empaillés, il y a beaucoup aussi dans plastique). Il y a beaucoup des animaux, de la vie marine et des minérales. Il y a une tortue vivante. Malheureusement, il y a beaucoup des animeaux ensemble qui ne peuvent jamais vivre ensemble et habitent dans des territoires différents dans le monde, mais ils sont ensemble dans le musée. C'est un peu bizarre. Les descriptions pour tout le musée sont dans les langues français et aussi en anglais. Les enfants voulaient ce musée , mais pour moi c'est moyen. Le musée est 30 minutes à proximité du lac et dans les dimanches c'est calme.

Free to the public. We went on a weekday and it was virtually empty. Every floor is dedicated to a…read moredifferent type of animals. It's a great way to spend a few hours of free entertainment.

Meh. Probably not worth the money for English speakers. Not much on the history of alpinism (a…read morebrief bit about the first ascents of Mont Blanc and a couple cases of old gear), and almost none of the exhibits have an English translation.

From the owner: Histoire de la vallée Le Musée Alpin propose une documentation exceptionnelle sur l'histoire de la…read morevallée, de l'alpinisme, du ski, de la minéralogie et de la cartographie. Une remarquable collection de gravures, lithographies et affiches.

The Wine museum is inside the Aigle Chateau (Castle). The castle itself is beautiful, especially…read morein the spring time when the castle is set against the backdrop of abundantly green vineyards. The wine museum was in French, with no English translations that I could find. However, I was able to get by with my growing French vocabulary. It is fun to wander around the museum and see the various exhibits on wine production, tasting, etc. In the museum shop you can even do a small wine tasting of some of the local Aigle wines. I loved exploring and couldn't get enough of the views of the countryside from the castle.