Throughout the year in 🇨🇭 Geneva and Nyon, from September ⇒ June in 🇫🇷 Cluses, and from October ⇒ May in 🇫🇷 Annecy, several 🖼 museums & temporary exhibitions are FREE on the 🗓 FIRST Sunday of the month!
In addition, the museums often put on some 🎨 wonderful workshops & guided tours for children and families (also FREE) on this day.
The next FREE Sunday will be 🗓 Sunday 5th March 2023, and there are some superb exhibitions on offer!
🇫🇷 FURTHER FRANCE FREE first Sunday of the month
🇫🇷 Cluses FREE first Sunday of the month
From 🗓 September ⇒ May, on the first Sunday of the month, it is FREE to visit:
Musée de l’Horlogerie et du Décolletage
This museum, dedicated to telling 🕰 the industrial and social history of the area, is located in the Espace Carpano & Pons, the old industrial site next to the river. You’ll learn the story of the 🕰 watchmakers of the XVIIIth century, through to the emergence of décolletage during the industrial revolution. There are regular guided visits, temporary exhibitions, films and workshops and treasure hunts for families;
🗓 opening hours on Sunday: 14h to 18h;
website address: Espace Carpano & Pons, 100 place du 11 Novembre, 74300, Cluses / tel: 04 50 96 43 00
[ good to know: if you are visiting Cluses and its surrounding mountain villages, Cluses Arve & Montagnes also offers lots of jeux de piste, jeux aventures, parcours d’orientation and geocaching options. MBFF has tried out a few, and we loved them! ]
🇫🇷 Annecy’s FREE first Sunday of the month museums
From 🗓 October ⇒ May, on the first Sunday of the month, it is FREE to visit:
Les Musées d’Annecy
- 🏰 Le Château d’Annecy;
- 🏰 Le Palais de l’Île;
- 🎥 Musée du Film d’Animation;
[ ⇒ for information about 🖼 temporary exhibitions, see FB page / website agenda ]
🏰 Château d’Annecy – classified as a historical monument since 1959, the Château d’Annecy was once the residence of the counts of Geneva in the 13th and 14th centuries. Today, the castle houses temporary exhibitions, as well as a permanent collection of art of cultural importance, and objects associated with Lac d’Annecy. There are sometimes guided visits on Sundays and temporary exhibitions.
🎨 good to know: carnet découverte for children available;
🗓 opening hours on Sunday: from 10h to midday and from 14h to 17h;
🖼 current temporary exhibition : Le temps suspendu – a photographic exhibition until end of April 2023 / ” Quelles histoires se racontent à travers une photographie ? Objet mémoriel, témoin d’instants décisifs, historiques ou de faits quotidiens, prélevant l’image au cœur de l’action ou lors de mises en scène cadrées et composées, l’image photographique ne cesse de se réinventer pour coller à une idée du réel. Point de vue, motif, atmosphère racontent et représentent des moments de vie en apparence figée au service d’un continuum mouvementé. ”
🖼 ephemeral art : Le rêve du chasseur par Kevin Lucbert – ” Kevin Lucbert est le premier artiste invité par les Musées d’Annecy à créer un wall-drawing (dessin monumental sur un mur) en lien avec les collections d’archéologie. S’inspirant des objets et des thématiques développées dans les salles, et dans la prolongation de Blue Lines II, une série de dessins graphiques et oniriques réalisés à l’encre bleue, “Le rêve du chasseur” développe des thèmes et motifs récurrents dans l’œuvre de l’artiste : le végétal, la montagne, l’eau, l’humain, la mise en mouvement du monde, les liens au rêve et la dimension onirique de notre perception du monde. Kevin Lucbert est un artiste français né en 1985. Diplômé en 2008 de l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, il vit et travaille aujourd’hui entre Berlin et Paris. “
website / agenda address: Place du Château, 74000, Annecy / tel: 04 50 33 87 30
🏰 Palais de l’Île – a building originally from the Middle Ages, classified as a historical monument since 1900, this palais has been a prison, a palais de justice and an administrative centre! There are sometimes temporary exhibitions here.
🗓 opening hours on Sunday: from 10h to midday and from 14h to 17h;
website / agenda address: 3 passage de l'Ile, 74000, Annecy / tel: 04 56 49 40 37
🎥 Musée du Film d’Animation (always free, AND open on Sundays) – located two minutes away from the 🏰 Musée-Château, this museum provides visitors with an introduction to animated cinema;
🗓 opening hours on Sunday: from 10h to midday and from 14h to 17h (shut in January);
website address: Ancienne Chapelle du Conservatoire d'Art et d'Histoire, 18 avenue du Trésum, 74000, Annecy / tel: 04 50 33 87 30
🌎 La Turbine in Cran-Gévrier (Annecy)
La Turbine (Le Centre de Culture Scientifique Technique et Industrielle de Haute-Savoie) is an innovative pedagogic centre equipped for families to learn about science in an interactive way. There are regular 
exhibitions, events and workshops for children of different ages.
opening hours on a Sunday: from Tuesday to Sunday, 14h to 18h;
website / FB page address: place Chorus, Cran-Gevrier, 74960, Annecy / tel: 04 50 08 17 00
current exhibitions :
- « Tous sportifs ! La science occupe le terrain » (7+ years) – until September 2023 / ” Participez à une grande épreuve sportive et ludique : un décathlon réinventé ! La science peut nous aider à améliorer nos performances et inversement le sport est un terrain favorable aux expériences scientifiques. Cette exposition met en avant le sport pour tous, entre performances et valeurs humaines. Alors, prêts à tester un décathlon ? Les différentes étapes ont lieu en même temps et vous participez tour à tour aux 10 épreuves. Vous expérimentez, tout en vous amusant, et glanez des informations sur la physiologie, la biologie, la physique, l’histoire ou encore la mécanique du sport. Un excellent moyen de faire le pont entre le sport, la science et la société ! “;
- « Bouge ton corps » (for 3 to 6 year olds) – until September 2023 / ” L’enfant a-t-il conscience de son corps ? De ses potentialités ? De ses capacités ?Nul doute que les aventures ludiques proposées par ce village aux mille couleurs donnent aux bambins une irrépressible envie de bouger leur corps ! Au détour des rues, des places et des maisons, l’enfant va pouvoir faire connaissance et prendre conscience de son corps. Venez explorer en famille ce parcours constitué de différentes expériences interactives autour de la mobilité, du corps et du jeu. “;
🇨🇭 SWITZERLAND FREE first Sunday of the month
🇨🇭 GENEVA’s FREE first Sunday of the month
Some 🖼 museums – including their temporary exhibitions – are 🗓 FREE on each first Sunday of the month in Geneva!
[ ⇒ see here for more details about Geneva museums ! ]
NB – at the Ville de Genève museums, the permanent exhibitions are always FREE to visit, and there are also some temporary exhibitions for free – I’ve still included some of these on the list, as these museums are GREAT to visit en famille. This initiative does NOT apply to many of the private collections and their exhibitions
Here – below – is a brief description of 🖼 some of the museums in Geneva participating in this initiative – and their current or upcoming temporary exhibitions – that the MBFF family has visited (and enjoyed!):
🇨🇭 Muséum Genève (Natural History Museum)
This wonderful museum has been a favourite of ours since our boys were small!
🗓 opening hours on Sunday: 10h to 17h;
[ ⇒ see MBFF article for more details about the 🐯 Natural History Museum ]
This 🖼 permanent collection of this museum is always FREE to visit, but the 🖼 temporary exhibitions are paying – these are FREE on the first Sunday of the month !
🖼 current temporary exhibitions :
- « Tout contre la Terre » ⇒ 25th June 2023 / ” une exposition qui aborde, sous l’angle des émotions, le dérèglement climatique et l’érosion de la biodiversité. ” / ⇒ more information here;
- « Plastic Léman » ⇒ 22nd April 2023 / ” une exposition entièrement dédiée à la pollution par les plastiques et les microplastiques dans le lac Léman Comment expliquer cette pollution ? D’où provient-elle et en quelle quantité ? Quels sont les dangers ? Existe-t-il des solutions ? Retrouvez les réponses à ces questions sur une vingtaine de panneaux où se mêlent explications scientifiques, infographies et compositions photographiques. “;
-
Miss Djeck raconte Trésors – as part of the Trésors exhibition on the 3rd floor, this exhibition tells the story of a poor circus elephant and her sorry demise . . .
- « 40 ans d’archéozoologie au Muséum » / ⇒ more information here;
website & FB page address:1 route de Malagnou, 1208, Geneva, Switzerland / tel:+41 (0) 22 418 63 00
🖼 current artist in residence: Bernard Garo . . . / final installation: ” Rendez-nous la beauté “;
Musée d’Histoire des Sciences (Geneva)
This museum is located within the 🌳 Parc du Perle du Lac, next to Lac Léman, and opposite the Botanical Gardens; it occupies the beautiful 🏛 Neo-Classical Villa Bartholoni (from the 1830s), and hosts a collection of 🔬 scientific apparatus belonging to scientists and researchers from the 17th to 19th centuries.
This 🖼 permanent collection of this museum is alwats FREE to visit, check for the temporary ones !
🗓 opening hours Sunday: 10h to 17h;
good to know: ask for the 🗺 orienteering parcours leaflet for the park at the reception, and go explore!
website
address: Parc de La Perle du Lac, 128 rue de Lausanne 1202, Geneva, Switzerland / tel: 41 22 418 50 60;
🖼 current temporary exhbition: « La montagne, laboratoire des savants » ⇒ April 2023 (extended) / always FREE to visit;
MEG (Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève)
The MEG is one of our favourite museums in Geneva! It is innovative and puts on fabulous temporary exhibitions, with accompanying workshops for families that are often inter-generational. You have to pay to visit the fabulous temporary exhibitions, but these are FREE on the first Sunday of the month, and the MEG has a fabulous 
children’s pack available (be sure to ask at the ticket office)!
The permanent exhibition at the MEG is Les archives de la diversité humaine, and this is always FREE to visit; here you will find more than a thousand objects from different world cultures!
On the first Sunday of the month, there are regularly animations and guided visits;
opening hours Sunday: 11h to 18h;
[ ⇒ for more information about the MEG, see separate MBFF article here ]
address: boulevard Carl-Vogt 65-67,1205, Geneva, Switzerland / tel: +41 (0)22 418 45 50
NEW glass carving by Maōri artist George Nuku:
The MEG also has 🌈 a fabulous playground next door . . .
. . . and an American-style donut shop around the corner: 🍩 Loops & Coffee (address: boulevard Carl-Vogt 71, Geneva) . . .
MAMCO (modern and contemporary art museum in Geneva)
The 🖼 modern and contemporary art museum in Geneva is fabulous to visit en famille ! The 🖼 temporary exhibitions change regularly, so do check website agenda!
for children and families, the MAMCO offers fabulous guided tours (one on a Sunday) for children: 
Mini et Petit Rendez-Vous;
🗓 opening hours on Sunday: 12h to 18h;
[ ⇒ for more information about a family visit to the MAMCO, see separate MBFF article here ]
website & FB page address: 10 rue des Vieux-Grenadiers, CH-1205, Genève / tel: +41 22 320 61 22
MAH (Le Musée d’Art et d’Histoire)
The MAH in Geneva is housed in a magnificent building, and is one of the largest museums in Switzerland, displaying over 650,000 sculptures, objects and paintings over 5 floors.
The MAH is always free to visit (both permanent and temporary exhibitions), but you are asked to donate the amount that you’d like !
for children and families: the MAH has a great play area – Espace #mahfamily – next to the café & restaurant, and there is a full programme of guided visits for families and children !
🗓 opening hours on Sunday: 11h to 18h;
[ ⇒ see MBFF article for more information here ]
website address: MAH, rue Charles-Galland 2, 1206, Geneva
current exhibitions: see website for more information;
Musée Rath (Geneva)
The 🖼 Musée Rath hosts the MAH‘s larger temporary exhibitions. Located next to the Grand Théâtre and the Conservatoire de musique on la Place de Neuve, the 🏛 Musée Rath is a protected building since 1921. Open to the public in 1826, thanks to the generosity of the Rath sisters, it was the first museum of fine art in Switzerland, « un temple des muses ».
MBFF once saw a fabulous Hodler exhibition here!
🗓 opening hours on a Sunday: 11h to 18h;
current exhibition: see here;
website address: place Neuve, 1204, Geneve / tel: +41 (0)22 418 33 40
Musée Ariana (Musée Suisse de la Céramique et du Verre)
The 
Musée Ariana is located near the UN and the Red Cross Museum in Geneva. The 
palatial neo-Classic, neo-Baroque building which houses the Musée Ariana was built at the end of the 19th century by generous collector Gustave Revilliod, always with the intention of it becoming a museum; he chose the name Ariana in honor of his mother, from whom he had inherited his fortune.
This 🖼 permanent collection of this museum is always FREE to visit, and it recounts the history of ceramics and glass chronologically, but the 🖼 temporary exhibitions are paying – these are FREE on the first Sunday of the month !
good to know: there is a beautiful park to explore outside;
🎨 for children & families: a coin enfants, treasure hunts and more / ⇒ see here;
🖼 current temporary exhibitions: Fenêtres sur l’Univers by Yan Zoritchak – ” les stèles de verre optique de Yan Zoritchak promettent une immersion poétique et esthétique au cœur du Big Bang. “, until 21st January 2024 / more information here;
🖼 upcoming temporary exhibitions: see here;
opening hours Sunday: 10h to 18h;
website address: avenue de la Paix 10, 1202 Genève / tel: +41 22 418 54 54
Quartier Libre SIG – Pont de la Machine
There are regular 🖼 temporary exhibitions at this super little exhibition space on Pont de la Machine, a tiny islet on the Rhône and next to Lac Léman . . .
current exhibition: Les Allumé-es – MBFF visited this small exhibition last month and we LOVED it !/ FREE to visit all the time, not just on Sundays ! / ⇒ more information here;
website & FB page
address: Quartier Libre SIG - Pont de la Machine, 1204, Genève
🇨🇭 NYON’s FREE first Sunday of the month
[ good to know: in nearby Lausanne, many of the museums are FREE on the first SATURDAY of the month (just to confuse matters!) / ⇒ see here for a list of museums in Lausanne ]
In Nyon, 🎫 a combined ticket covers entrance to all 3 museums in the town (and all three are FREE on the first Sunday of the month!), valid 12 months:
- 🐟 Musée du Léman;
- 🏛 Musée romain;
- 🏰 Château de Nyon;
Nyon’s Musée du Léman & Aquarium
The 🐟 Musée du Léman & Aquarium is a museum dedicated to the 💦 history of Lac Léman and 🐟 an aquarium too!
🗓 opening hours Sunday: 10h to 17h (and November to March 14h to 17h);
good to know: 🌈 there is a super playground right next door and great picnic spots!
website & FB page address: quai Louis-Bonnard 8, 1260, Nyon, Switzerland / tel: +41 (0) 22 316 42 50
permanent exhibition: « Petite Nature? » (36 questions to decode the the secrets of the lake!);
temporary exhibitions: see here;
Le Musée Romain de Nyon
The foundations of the basilica of the forum were discovered in 1974 and since 1979 the Musée Romain has been here, within the walls, allowing visitors a glimpse into the world of ancient Noviodunum.
MBFF visited in 2019, and the boys really enjoyed the museum, with a little treasure hunt available for kids!
opening hoursSunday : November to March, 14h to 17h and April to October, 10h to 17h;
good to know: there are workshops available on Sundays and a treasure hunt is available for children!
website address: rue Maupertuis 9, CH-1260, Nyon / tel: +41 22 316 42 80
also good to know: take the time to explore Nyon’s Roman ruins while on a visit to the museum . . .
Le Château de Nyon
Originally a maison forte (fortified house) dating from the middle of the 12th century, 🏰 the Château de Nyon was altered in the 16th century by the Bernese. After the Vaud Revolution of 1798, the castle was bought by the City of Nyon, and it therefore contains: courts, assemblies of the municipal council, prisons and, since 1888, the museum. The castle was completely restored between 1999 and 2006, and it holds a large collection of porcelain produced in the 18th century in the famous Nyon factory as well as objects that tell us about Nyon’s 3000 year history. It also offers temporary exhibitions devoted to historical themes or contemporary art;
🖼 current exhibitions: see here;
website & FB page address: Château de Nyon, Place du Château, CH - 1260 Nyon / tel: +41 (0)22 316 42 73
Mont Blanc Family Fun 
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