Long Night of Zurich Museums 2026 – Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen

52 Zurich Museums Open Until Late on Saturday 5th Sept 2026

Looking for something special to do in Zurich in September 2026? One of the city’s biggest cultural events of the year returns on Saturday 5th September 2026, when museums across Zurich stay open late for Die Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen – Zurich’s Long Night of Museums.

From 6pm until 2am, you can explore art, history, architecture, science, design, nature and culture at 52 participating museums, with around 80 exhibitions and a huge programme of guided tours, workshops, performances, concerts, films, talks, parties and special events.

Even better, one CHF 25 ticket covers all participating museums as well as public transport in central Zurich and the special museum transport services. If you have ever wanted to explore Zurich’s museums after dark, this is the night to do it.

Long Night of the Museums Zurich 2026 – Quick Facts

Event: Die Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen / Zurich’s Long Night of Museums
Date: Saturday 5th September 2026
Time: 18:00–02:00
Where: Museums and cultural venues throughout Zurich
Number of museums: 52
Regular ticket: CHF 25
Under 17: Free
KulturLegi: CHF 17.50
Public transport: Zurich Zone 110, 2nd class, included
Official website: Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen

The event traditionally takes place on the first Saturday in September and has grown into one of Zurich’s best-known annual cultural nights. The original concept dates back to 2000.

What Is Die Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen?

The Long Night of Museums gives visitors the opportunity to experience Zurich’s extraordinary museum landscape in a completely different way. Instead of museums closing in the early evening, participating institutions remain open late into the night, with many continuing until 2am! And this is much more than simply extended opening hours.

Museums put together a special programme for the night with everything from:

guided tours
concerts
performances
workshops
talks and readings
films
parties
children’s activities
food and drink
interactive experiences

The 2026 online programme currently contains hundreds of individual programme entries, so there is an enormous amount to choose from. So whether you’re interested in modern art, Swiss history, football, archaeology, astronomy, architecture, natural history, design or something rather more unusual, there should be something to tempt you.

Which Museums Are Taking Part in Zurich’s Long Night of Museums 2026?

There are 52 participating museums and cultural institutions in 2026. They range from some of Zurich’s biggest museums to small and unusual collections you may never normally think of visiting. Among the participating venues are:

Kunsthaus Zürich
Landesmuseum Zürich – Swiss National Museum
Museum Rietberg
FIFA Museum
Museum für Gestaltung Zürich
Museum Haus Konstruktiv
Migros Museum für Gegenwartskunst
Kunsthalle Zürich
Urania-Sternwarte Zürich
Zoo Zürich
Tram-Museum Zürich
focusTerra – ETH Zürich
Naturhistorisches Museum UZH
Moulagenmuseum
Uhrenmuseum Beyer
Pavillon Le Corbusier
NONAM – North America Native Museum
Mühlerama
Sukkulenten-Sammlung Zürich
ZAZ BELLERIVE Zentrum Architektur Zürich
Friedhof Forum – Museum über Leben und Tod
FCZ Museum
Schweizer Finanzmuseum
Cabaret Voltaire
Zentralbibliothek Zürich
Zivilschutz-Museum

There are many more, so it is well worth looking through the full programme before deciding on your route.

Some of the Most Unusual Museums to Visit

One of the best things about the Lange Nacht der Museen is that it gives you an excuse to discover museums and collections that you might otherwise overlook.

You could head to the Urania Observatory and explore its historic telescope after dark, discover the world of medical wax models at the Moulagenmuseum, descend into the fascinating Zivilschutz-Museum, or learn more about earthquakes and the earth at focusTerra at ETH Zurich.

For football fans there are two very different options: the internationally focused FIFA Museum near Bahnhof Enge and Zurich’s own FCZ Museum. Zurich Tourism also recommends experiencing the Zoo Zürich at night, visiting the Urania Observatory in darkness and exploring some of the city’s more atmospheric museums after normal opening hours. This really is a good night to choose somewhere you’ve never visited before.

2026 Programme Highlights

The full programme is enormous, and many events take place several times during the evening. Examples of activities listed for 2026 include hunting for real fossils at the Naturhistorisches Museum UZH, creating photo collages at Museum Rietberg, exploring an archaeological historic alleyway in Zurich’s Old Town, DJ music at the FIFA Museum, family trails at the Landesmuseum, workshops, films, tours and much more. The official programme can be filtered according to:

museum
time
art and cultural theme
concerts
tours
films
workshops
performances and theatre
parties
children’s and family activities
wheelchair accessibility
English-language events
language-neutral events

This is particularly useful for international visitors who want to find out about the Long Night of Museums events in English.

What Does the Ticket Include?

Your Long Night ticket includes:

admission to all participating museums
the special VBZ museum shuttle buses
public transport in ZVV Zone 110 / City of Zurich, second class
the event’s additional special transport services

The integrated Zurich public transport ticket can already be used during the day on 5 September, and the return journey is valid until 5am on Sunday 6th September 2026. Considering that one ticket allows you to visit dozens of museums as well as covering transport between them, it represents very good value.

Where Can You Buy Tickets?

Tickets can be purchased online before the event, which is probably the simplest option. Advance tickets are also available at locations including:

Tourist Information at Zurich Hauptbahnhof
ZVV Contact at Zurich HB
VBZ customer service centres
FIFA Museum
Kunsthaus Zürich
Tram-Museum Zürich

On 5th September, tickets are also available from 5pm at information stands at Bellevue and outside the Landesmuseum, with additional evening sales points opening from 6pm. At the first museum you visit, your digital or print-at-home ticket is checked and exchanged for a Long Night wristband, which then serves as your admission ticket for the rest of the evening.

Important: Museum Passes Are Not Valid

The Swiss Museum Pass, including qualifying Raiffeisen MemberPlus cards, museum annual passes, VMS and ICOM cards, AHV cards and student cards do not replace the Long Night ticket. It is also not possible to buy a Long Night ticket for just one individual museum.

Getting Around During the Long Night of Museums

One of the cleverest aspects of the event is that you really don’t need a car. With so many museums scattered across Zurich, special transport makes it surprisingly easy to move from one area of the city to another.

VBZ Museum Shuttle Buses

The VBZ operates six special museum shuttle routes – M1 to M6 – connecting many of the participating venues. The Tram-Museum Zürich also sends out its historic museum tram and vintage bus for the occasion. Regular Zurich public transport within Zone 110 is also included in your ticket.

Take the Museum Boat – MS Sentosa

Possibly the most atmospheric way of travelling between museums is by boat. The charming MS Sentosa operates as a museum shuttle around the Zurich lake basin, connecting museums close to Lake Zurich. It departs from Bürkliplatz, Pier 6, with stops including:

Bürkliplatz – Fischstube – Tiefenbrunnen – Enge – Bürkliplatz

The first departure from Bürkliplatz is at 20:00, with hourly circuits and the final departure at 01:00. Travel on the MS Sentosa is included in your Long Night ticket, although capacity is limited. It’s surely one of the nicest ways to travel from one museum to another on a September evening in Zurich.

Travel by Bike With Züri rollt

You can even cycle between museums. Long Night ticket holders can borrow a bike free of charge from Züri rollt at the Europaplatz bike station beside Zurich HB/Sihlpost during the evening until 10pm. Bikes borrowed for the event can be kept until 2pm the following day without incurring the usual late-return fee.

How to Plan Your Museum Route

With 52 museums taking part, you won’t get anywhere near all of them in one evening – nor should you try! A little planning makes a huge difference. Instead of constantly crossing the city, choose several museums in the same general area.

Route Idea 1: Zurich Old Town & City Centre

A central route could combine places such as:

Landesmuseum Zürich → Urania-Sternwarte → Old Town churches → Kunsthaus Zürich

This works particularly well if you want a mixture of Swiss history, architecture, astronomy and art.

Route Idea 2: Enge & Lake Zurich

You could combine:

FIFA Museum → Museum Rietberg → Sukkulenten-Sammlung → MS Sentosa

This also gives you the opportunity to include the special museum boat in your evening.

Route Idea 3: Seefeld & Tiefenbrunnen

Another interesting cluster includes:

ZAZ BELLERIVE → Pavillon Le Corbusier → Mühlerama → NONAM

This route works well if you’re interested in architecture, design and some of Zurich’s smaller museums.

Which Museums Get the Longest Queues?

This is worth knowing in advance. According to the organisers’ experience from previous years, some of the most popular experiences can attract significant waiting times. These include:

the Grossmünster and St Peter tower tours
the Ehgraben archaeological site
the earthquake simulator at focusTerra
many guided tours at the Landesmuseum
the Uhrenmuseum Beyer
the dome experience at Urania-Sternwarte

If one of these is at the top of your list, consider going there early.

Want to Avoid the Crowds?

The organisers also suggest heading slightly away from the most central museums. Venues which have traditionally offered a less crowded experience include places such as the Botanischer Garten UZH, Tram-Museum Zürich, NONAM, Schweizer Finanzmuseum, Museum für Gestaltung at Toni-Areal, Science Pavilion UZH and the museums at Löwenbräukunst. This is another reason not to automatically head only for Zurich’s most famous museums.

Important: Not Every Museum Stays Open Until 2am

Although the main event runs until 02:00, individual museums have different closing times. Some close at midnight or 1am. In particular, Zoo Zürich closes at midnight and the last admission to the zoo is at 10pm. So check the individual opening times of the places you most want to see and put any early-closing museums near the beginning of your itinerary.

Long Night of Museums With Children

The Lange Nacht is not just for adults. There is a large selection of family and child-friendly events, and the online programme has a dedicated filter for children’s and family activities. As admission is free for everyone under 17, it can also be an inexpensive way for families to explore several Zurich museums in one evening.

You don’t necessarily have to stay out until 2am either. Start at 6pm, choose two or three museums with interactive activities and turn it into an early-evening museum adventure.

Accessibility at the Long Night of Museums

The organisers are also working to make the Long Night accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Accessibility information for participating museums is available through Ginto, and the programme can be filtered according to accessibility. There is also a specially organised museum tour with Swiss German Sign Language interpretation in 2026.

People with disabilities who require assistance can obtain a free ticket for an accompanying person by contacting the organisers in advance or visiting the information stand at Bellevue during the event.

Food, Drinks and Entertainment

Don’t imagine that you will spend eight hours silently walking through exhibitions! A number of participating museums offer food, bars, refreshments and special culinary programmes, and the official programme has a dedicated Food & Drink section. There are also DJs, concerts, performances, workshops and parties taking place throughout the evening. So the atmosphere is very different from an ordinary museum visit – it feels much more like a city-wide cultural festival.

Our Tips for Zurich’s Long Night of Museums

Choose your must-see museums before you start. With 52 venues, trying to decide everything spontaneously can waste valuable time.
Start with an early-closing museum. Some venues close at midnight or 1am.
Visit your highest-priority museum early. Popular tours and smaller venues can develop queues.
Don’t try to see too much. 4 or 5 really enjoyable museum visits are better than racing through ten.
Plan geographically. Group museums in the Old Town, Enge, Zürichberg, Seefeld or Zurich West rather than zig-zagging across town.
Use the shuttles. Your transport is already included in the ticket.
Try the MS Sentosa. Travelling across the Zurich lake basin by boat after dark is part of the fun.
Look beyond the famous museums. This is one of the best opportunities of the year to discover Zurich’s small and unusual museums.

Long Night of Museums Zurich 2026 – FAQ

When is the Long Night of Museums in Zurich in 2026?

Die Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen takes place on Saturday 5 September 2026 from 18:00 until 02:00 the following morning.

How many museums take part?

There are 52 participating museums in Zurich in 2026, covering art, design, cultural history, science, nature, architecture and many other subjects.

How much is a ticket?

A regular ticket costs CHF 25. Admission is free for under-17s, and a KulturLegi ticket costs CHF 17.50.

Is Zurich public transport included?

Yes. Your ticket includes second-class public transport in ZVV Zone 110 – the City of Zurich – as well as the special VBZ museum shuttle services.

Can I use public transport before 6pm?

Yes. If you buy your Long Night ticket in advance, the integrated public transport ticket can already be used during the day on 5 September.

Is the Long Night of Museums suitable for English speakers?

Yes. Although many activities are in German, the online programme allows you to filter specifically for English-language events as well as language-neutral events such as concerts, performances and visual activities.

Is the Long Night of Museums good for children?

Yes. There are numerous family-friendly activities and under-17s attend free of charge.

Can I use my Swiss Museum Pass?

No. The Swiss Museum Pass and most annual museum membership cards are not valid in place of a Long Night ticket.

Do all Zurich museums stay open until 2am?

No. Many do, but some participating museums close at midnight or 1am. Always check the individual venue before planning your route.

Die Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen 2026

Long Night of Museums Zurich Tickets 2026

The regular ticket costs CHF 25. For 2026 the ticket prices are:

Adults: CHF 25
Under 17: Free
KulturLegi: CHF 17.50

For the free U17 ticket, this year’s eligibility is for those with a date of birth of 6th September 2009 or later. Proof of age may be requested.

When: Saturday 5th September 2026

Time: 18:00–02:00

Where: 52 museums and cultural institutions across Zurich, Switzerland

Includes: Admission to participating museums plus Zurich public transport Zone 110 and special museum transport

Official programme and tickets: Die Lange Nacht der Zürcher Museen

If you enjoy art, culture, history, science – or simply discovering a different side of Zurich – the Long Night of Museums is one of the best September events in Zurich. Whichever museums you choose, have a wonderful night!

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