Château de Prangins - Musée national suisse

The château, a majestic residence built in the 1730s in classical French style, is home to the Swiss National Museum in western Switzerland.

The château became a museum in 1998. With its gardens and interiors restored to their 18th-century state, it makes for a day out that will appeal to lovers of both nature and culture.

The permanent exhibition “Noblesse oblige! Life at a Château in the 18th Century" showcases the historical heritage of Château de Prangins. The reception rooms on the ground floor have been restored to their former splendour, with lavish decoration.

Four exhibitions offer a variety of visits: "Let the Journey begin!", a game exhibition from 4 years old, which highlights the means of transport ; "Discovering the Enlightenment", an open-air exhibition, "Chintz. How a Fabric Conquered the World"; and the magnificent castle vegetable garden.

This museum welcomes you in the following languages: D/F/I/E. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00.

This museum greets you in the following languages: D/F/I/E
Opening 1998

Current exhibitions

Discovering the Enlightenment

01.02.2022 - 01.02.2040

Accessible free of charge and at all times*, this cultural walk around the site locates the château in the context of the estate, telling its story in the places where it happened. Some twenty silhouettes representing individuals linked to Château de Prangins – from Voltaire, Madame de Staël and Joseph Bonaparte to an anonymous servant fetching water from the fountain – act as waypoints for a charming stroll through the grounds.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D/F/E
Guided tours are offered in the following languages: D/F/I/E

The Kitchen Garden

01.02.2022 - 01.02.2040

Permanent open air exhibition, the kitchen garden of the Château de Prangins is the largest historical kitchen garden in Switzerland. With its selection of unusual vegetables, fruits and flowers from another time, it is home to more than 200 ancient regional varieties and focuses, like the museum, on the 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment during which travel and science bring many new varieties to its precincts.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D/F/I/E
Guided tours are offered in the following languages: D/F/I/E

Let the journey begin! A fun exhibition for families

01.02.2022 - 01.02.2040

For the first time in Switzerland, a museum is launching a permanent exhibition in the form of a role play specially designed for very young visitors, with two levels to choose from in four languages (French, English, German, Italian): one for children aged 4 to 10 and the other for ages 11 and above. The exhibition puts the visitor centre stage to create an immersive experience that is different each time!

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D/F/I/E

Chintz. How a Fabric Conquered the World

01.02.2022 - 01.02.2040

The new permanent exhibition Chintz. How a Fabric Conquered the World, interweaves local and global history and considers Switzerland’s links to the wider world. It sheds light on the involvement of many Swiss people in key chapters of the modern period, including industrialisation, the triangular trade, colonisation and slavery.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D/F/I/E
Guided tours are offered in the following languages: D/F/E

Noblesse Oblige! Life at a Château in the 18th Century

01.02.2022 - 01.02.2040

The permanent exhibition “Noblesse Oblige! Life at a Château in the Eighteenth Century” is an immersive museum experience enabling visitors to share in the day-to-day life of a noble family in the Vaud region during the Enlightenment. The former reception rooms of Château de Prangins have been returned to their former splendour and now form the backdrop for the exhibition. Boiseries, textiles and false-marble decorations provide the perfect surroundings for some 600 objects from the era.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D/F/I/E
Guided tours are offered in the following languages: D/F/E