Guided tours
Explore the buildings and grounds of the Swiss OpenAir Museum Ballenberg with our colleagues. Our guided tours shine a light on a variety of themes, including architecture, rural life and industries, crafts and customs. Discover the museum in the company of our knowledgeable, expert guides.
Themed tours
We’d be happy to accompany you and your group around the buildings and grounds of the Swiss Open-air Museum. Our tours focus on a variety of different themes. A short description of each theme can be found on this page. Terms and conditions (see Prices guided tours) are the same for each theme.
General tour – Ballenberg Tour
Get a closer look: this tour introduces you to working and everyday life in rural Switzerland. Take a peek inside living quarters and bedrooms, experience a typical day for a family in times past, see what’s growing in the vegetable garden, and find out more about the crafts of our ancestors and their ingenuity in the face of scarce resources.
Themed tour – Alpine farming
An idyllic miniature Alpine world: ever since Heidi, the Swiss Alps have been synonymous the world over with unique natural beauty, tranquillity and fortitude. But living and working in the Alps has rarely been idyllic. This seasonal way of life has also given rise to special buildings. This tour takes you past various Alpine buildings, showing you the benefits and drawbacks of mountain life, as well as regional differences.
Themed tour – Architecture
The architecture of rural Switzerland is extremely diverse. At the Swiss Open-Air Museum, you can explore over 100 buildings from every region of Switzerland. Our guides show you typical regional buildings and talk about living and working in different social conditions. They integrate the buildings into realistic stories and reveal fascinating details.
Themed tour – Self-sufficiency
Dried, smoked, preserved or buried: in the past, a well-stocked cellar ensured the family’s survival in the winter months. As such, those winter reserves were a farmer’s wife’s pride and joy.
Join us as we explore a variety of gardens and a number of historical kitchens and storage rooms that date back to before the advent of freezers or supermarkets.
Themed tour – Crafts
Join our guides as they introduce you to a variety of crafts, some almost forgotten and some still indispensable to this day. A visit to the open-air museum’s various workshops reveals how traditions survive and how those skills can be harnessed in new ways today. Watch our artisans at work and marvel at their ability and skills.
Themed tour – Herb garden
Gain a fascinating insight into the effects of healing herbs, how they were once used and how they are still used today. Take a wander through the open-air museum’s herb garden and explore the Ballenberg Pharmacists’ Shop. Our museum pharmacists have an encyclopaedic knowledge of garden and kitchen herbs, as well as how to prepare and use them. Ask them anything!
Prices guided tours
15 to a maximum of 20 people per guide
CHF 28.00 per person
Groups under 15 people
CHF 420.00 flat fee
- A shortened version of our general “Ballenberg tour” lasting 60 minutes is available for a cost of CHF 25.00 per person, CHF 375 flat fee for small groups under 15 people.
- These rates are valid until 1 November 2026.
- The themed tours run for 120 minutes and are not available in a shortened version.
- All prices including VAT, excluding entry charge to the museum.
- Prices and programmes are subject to change.
Ballenberg
Swiss Open-Air Museum
Museumsstrasse 100
CH-3858 Hofstetten bei Brienz
Opening hours Administration
3 November 2025 to 8 April 2026
From Monday to Friday
8.30 am to 11.30 am
1.30 pm to 4.30 pm
Opening hours
9 April to 1 November 2026
10 am to 5 pm daily
