Information
The National Park visitor centre is located in Zernez in the Engadin. It is open continuously during the high season in summer and autumn. Reduced opening hours apply in winter. There is a charge for visiting the exhibition rooms. Dogs are not permitted in the exhibition rooms. Please select a menu item for further information.
The National Park Centre is open daily from mid-May to the end of October from 8.30 am to 6 pm.
You can find the current opening hours here
Admission prices for the exhibition:
Adults CHF 9.–
Children (6 – 16) CHF 5.–
Family ticket CHF 20.– (children accompanied by parents)
Groups (10 or more) CHF 8.– per person
Children under 6 are free
All group visits must be pre-booked.
The museum pass is valid.
Free admission with the Raiffeisen MemberPlus card.
Reka-Checks and Engadin vouchers are accepted.
There is no admission fee for the information area of the visitor centre.
In the extensive shop you will find National Park hiking maps and guides and a variety of other information articles. The shop also offers specialised literature and illustrated books, clothing and souvenirs.
Our staff at the information desk will give you personal and expert advice on planning your hike in the Swiss National Park. You can hire binoculars and book excursions. All the information services of the Zernez Guest Information are also available.
Free WLAN is available throughout the National Park Centre.
The National Park Centre is located in the village of Zernez, an important transport hub between the Upper and Lower Engadine, the Pass dal Fuorn and the Val Müstair. You can reach Zernez from the south-east by bus or private car via Val Müstair and the Pass dal Fuorn. To the north, the Flüela Pass and the Vereina Tunnel are the most direct connections by public transport or private car.
- Bus stop: Zernez, Center dal Parc Naziunal
- Train station: Zernez, Staziun (10′ walk to the National Park Centre)
- Parking: in the immediate vicinity of the National Park Centre, signposted
- Our travel map provides a helpful overview for your journey.
You can find more information about travelling here.
According to Procap Switzerland, the member association of and for people with disabilities, the visitor centre of the Swiss National Park is well accessible and barrier-free.
Further information on accessibility in the visitor centre can be found in the links, according to type of disability:
Have you lost or left something behind?
Contact the National Park Centre in Zernez. We will be happy to help you!
Visitor Centre
Swiss National Park
Urtatsch 2
7530 Zernez
Phone +41 81 851 41 41
info@nationalpark.ch
Wilderness in the Centre
The Swiss National Park means real wilderness. Consequently, the leitmotiv of the completely new National Park exhibition is wilderness. Everything you experience here is not only genuinely wild, but also genuinely National Park.
In four exhibition rooms, you can experience the National Park in all its facets. Get up close with the natural processes that are strictly protected in the park. At interactive stations, you get personally involved in research. In a lively presentation, you will also learn exciting facts about key moments in the history of the National Park. Questions about your own attitude to wilderness run as a common thread through the entire exhibition and lead to an unexpected finale. Let us surprise you!
- Media guide in 5 languages (G/F/I/R/E)
- Audio play with Furbina and Ratsch for younger guests
- Play stations for children
The exhibition was planned and realised by Groenlandbasel scenographers in close cooperation with the Swiss National Park’s communications team.
Temporary exhibition
RESPECT, INSECT!
From 21 March 2024, we present the exhibition RESPECT, INSEKT! created by Naturama Aargau to mark its 20th anniversary. This class of animal, which often receives little attention, is of immense importance: insects gnaw up leaves, dig up the soil and pollinate fruit and vegetables. They are food for frogs, fish and birds and ensure that the soil remains fertile. The six-legged creatures are fascinatingly diverse and irreplaceable in the natural cycle of growth and decay. RESPECT, INSEKT! promotes an understanding of their way of life and shows what we can do to preserve native biodiversity.
The exhibition will celebrate its opening event on 21 March 2024 at the National Park Centre in Zernez and will continue until 8 March 2025.
20 March 2025 to March 2026
A changing landscape
An exhibition about visible changes in the more than 100 years of Swiss National Park.
More information to come …
Module Parks Grisons
On the ground floor of the National Park Centre, in addition to the current special exhibition, you can also get to know the 7 Grisons parks better.
Dive into the world of the Grisons parks on the interactive Grisons parks wall. In addition to fascinating pictures and videos, the differences between the individual park categories are explained and you can find out lots of interesting facts about the areas of activity, the natural and cultural values and the objectives of the individual parks via touchpoints. The audio station was specially developed for children and entertains them with entertaining stories, songs and animal sounds.
Architecture
The Visitor Centre, designed by architect Valerio Olgiati, captivates with its clear lines and its extraordinary spacial concept. Monolithic and unostentatious and built from lightweight concrete, the three storey building creates tension between architecture and nature as well as old and new.
The spacious rooms are intriguing with their clever lines created by the floors, walls, ceilings and stairs. In this way, they manage to frame the exhibits. Arranged in the guise of an enfilade, they guide visitors through the exhibition. The floor plan, always identical, is continuously mirrored, deliberately causing visitors to lose their orientation – a concept that supports and enhances the content of the exhibition.
Not only the construction is unusual and innovative, but also the materials that were used. The building consists of light concrete, which is made of gravel, water and cement and also contains expanded clay (Liapor) pellets. Thanks to these Liapor pellets the building needs no further insulation. The walls thus have two functions: they are both the supporting elements and the insulation layer. This construction method has numerous advantages: thermal bridges can be avoided and energy saved; maintenance costs are also lower compared to other construction methods. The building is heated by the communal wood chip heating system. We decided to do without air-conditioning. An earth-to-air heat exchanger, which controls the ventilation system, regulates the supply of warm or cold air according to needs.
Valerio Olgiati was born in 1958 and studied architecture at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. He went on to live and work in Zurich and later in Los Angeles for several years. In 1999 he opened his own architectural firm in Zurich, adding a branch office in Flims in 2005. He teaches as a visiting professor at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, the Architectural Association in London, and Cornell University in New York. Since 2002 he holds a professorship at the Accademia di architettura Mendrisio of the Università della Svizzera Italiana. Among his most well known buildings in Switzerland are the school in Paspels, the Yellow House in Flims and the studio house of the songwriter Linard Bardill in Scharans.