Château de Prangins
Swiss National Museum
- The Château de Prangins offers a journey to the Age of Enlightenment. With its five hectares of park and gardens, the castle of Prangins is an exceptional site and a privileged excursion destination for families.
- The Café du Château: offers a menu of seasonal dishes inspired by the castle’s old-fashioned vegetable garden, the largest historical garden in Switzerland. Every Sunday, between 10:30 am and 3:00 pm, a brunch is served in the form of a buffet.
Temporary exhibition
Permanent exhibitions
The permanent exhibition Noblesse oblige! Life in a Castle in the 18th Century invites visitors—through immersive museography—to enter the daily life of a noble family from the Vaud region during the Age of Enlightenment.
The former reception rooms of the Château de Prangins, which include a parlor, dining rooms, and libraries, have regained their former splendor and serve as the backdrop for the exhibition. Original-colored woodwork, textiles with vibrant patterns, and faux-marble decorations provide a setting for around 600 period objects.
A piece of furniture, a wall covering, a lamp, a decorative object have much to say about our lifestyle, tastes, values, and activities. Based on masterpieces from the Swiss National Museum, the exhibition shows everything that a decor or an interior can reveal about the people who lived there or those who designed it.
Voltaire, Jacques Necker, Joseph Bonaparte, Katharine McCormick, and Bernie Cornfeld are just a few of the personalities who lived or stayed at the Château de Prangins. In the grand corridor on the first floor, these former residents appear, like ghosts, to surprise the public and share anecdotes with them.
The oldest democracy in the world, a major financial hub, and perpetual armed neutrality: is this Switzerland, or is it just a series of clichés about it? This exhibition aims to examine these myths and confront them with the daily lives of the population from the 18th century to the present day.
Each room addresses an important theme for understanding Switzerland yesterday and today: identity, territory, family and the role of women, as well as work and democracy.
Intended particularly for younger generations, this new presentation amplifies their voices, intertwining them with the testimonies of those who contributed to the prosperity of Switzerland since the late 19th century. In conclusion, the public is invited to reflect on one of the myths still relevant today: that of “Swiss happiness”!
Discover the Potager du Château de Prangins, the largest historical kitchen garden in Switzerland and a permanent open-air exhibition. Like the museum, the Potager has its roots in the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment, when expeditions and travelers brought back countless new plants and curiosities from around the world.
With the permanent exhibition Indiennes: A Fabric Conquering the World, the Château de Prangins intertwines local and global history, connecting Switzerland with the world through a journey across four continents. By following the trajectory of printed cotton fabrics, the exhibition reveals the involvement of many Swiss individuals in key chapters of modern history, such as industrialization, the triangular trade, colonization, and slavery.
Museums: boring, dusty, and too serious places? Absolutely not! For the first time in Switzerland, a museum offers a permanent exhibition in the form of a role-playing game specifically designed for very young audiences; there are two levels available in four languages (F/D/IT/E): one for children aged 4 to 10 and the second for those aged 11 and older.
The exhibition places the visitor at the heart of the experience. The result is an immersive experience that varies each time, depending on the choices made during the game. Depending on the options taken, the journey can last from 5 to 20 minutes per character!
Take a stroll along the Promenade des Lumières around the Château de Prangins with family, friends, or a loved one!
This discovery path is accessible at all times* and free of charge! About twenty silhouettes, representing characters connected to the Château de Prangins—such as Voltaire, Madame de Staël, Joseph Bonaparte, or an anonymous servant fetching water from the fountain—invite you to wander and explore.
Special offer:
20% off the adult price
10 CHF 13 CHFFree entrance for kids up to 16 years old
Do you want tickets? Please fill in the online ticket order form below.
Building E, door 40, level 1.
Mon. to Fri. : 9am – 1:30pm / 2pm to 5pm
022 917 11 11
15 November to 2 February
Swiss Press Photo 24 showcases the best Swiss photo journalism from the last year. The photos give us a glimpse behind the fast-moving headlines and provide a snapshot of 2023 – from the end of Credit Suisse to the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI. The exhibition features the categories News, Daily life, Swiss stories, People, Sports, and World. It invites us to reflect, makes us smile, and provides compelling evidence that a picture can often say more than a thousand words.