Four things the Swiss Travel Pass gets you free at Gruyères
Gruyères gives you four, and two of them are next door to each other at the top of the village, which makes it one of the better value days on the list of free attractions.
Here's what your pass opens without you reaching for a wallet:
- Château de Gruyères, the 13th century castle at the top of the village, seat of the Counts of Gruyères for nearly 300 years. The castle ticket covers the interiors, the garden and whatever temporary exhibition is running.
- The H.R. Giger Museum, next door in the Château St Germain, twenty rooms of the Oscar-winning Alien designer's work and the largest collection of it anywhere.
- La Maison du Gruyère, the cheese dairy at Pringy below the village, with its own stop at Pringy-Gruyères, where they make the stuff daily rather than mime it for coaches.
- Maison Cailler at Broc, the chocolate factory a short hop up the valley.
What Gruyères Castle and the village actually look like
The village is one cobbled street of 13th to 17th century houses running uphill to the castle, and no cars, which does wonders for photographs and for your nerves. The castle ticket is the full package: the interiors, the garden and the temporary exhibitions. The garden is open from Easter to October, so in winter you get it from the ramparts or the castle balcony instead.
If you like your fortresses stacked, the three at Bellinzona are also free on the pass and a very different sort of day out.
The H.R. Giger Museum, twenty rooms of biomechanical nightmare
Giger designed the creature in Alien and won an Oscar for it. The museum, in the Château St Germain next to the castle, holds paintings, sculptures, furniture and film sets, the Alien designs themselves, and work for Dune and Species, going back to the 1960s, all in rooms kept deliberately dark. Twenty rooms of it, and it costs you nothing.
Two things to know before you walk over. Under-16s only get in with an adult, and the museum isn't step-free. Guided tours cost extra, CHF 90 for 45 minutes or CHF 120 for an hour, in five languages, booked two weeks ahead.
Gruyères ticket prices with and without a Swiss Travel Pass
The Giger Museum is the only site here with prices worth laying out in full, and it's the clearest illustration of what the pass is doing for you.
| Ticket | At the counter | With a Swiss Travel Pass |
|---|---|---|
| H.R. Giger Museum, adult | CHF 12.50 | CHF 0 |
| Student, senior, military | CHF 8.50 | CHF 0 |
| Child | CHF 4 | CHF 0 |
| Groups of 12 or more | CHF 8.50 / 7.50 / 3 | CHF 0 |
| Giger plus the upper castle | CHF 20 | CHF 0 |
| Gruyères Castle | — | CHF 0 |
| La Maison du Gruyère | — | CHF 0 |
| Maison Cailler at Broc | — | CHF 0 |
CHF 20 for the Giger and the upper castle is the number to hold onto, and that is before the cheese dairy and the chocolate factory, which the counter would also charge you for.
Is the DayPass La Gruyère worth buying?
The DayPass La Gruyère costs CHF 32 and covers the castle, La Maison du Gruyère, Maison Cailler and local transport. That's a fair deal if you don't have a Swiss Travel Pass. If you do, you already have all three plus the trains, so buying it would be paying twice for the same day.
The Half Fare Card is a different story and not a happy one. It halves your fares to get here and gives you exactly nothing on the castle, the Giger, the dairy or the chocolate. On a Half Fare you're paying that CHF 20 for the Giger and castle combination like everyone else.
Getting from Gruyères station to the castle
Trains stop at Gruyères, at the foot of the hill, and the cheese dairy has a stop of its own one along at Pringy-Gruyères. From Zurich it's around 2h 30mins via Bern and Bulle. Trains also come in from Bern and Fribourg, and from Lausanne via Bulle. The interesting one is Montbovon, which puts you on the GoldenPass route, so you can arrive scenically from Montreux, or from Bern, Thun and Interlaken. All of it is covered by the pass.
From the station up to the castle, you have a choice:
- Walk from Gruyères-Gare, 20 minutes uphill.
- Shuttle bus from the station to the hilltop.
- Gruyères-Ville bus stop, at the town entrance, 5 to 10 minutes from the castle.
- Car parks, 10 to 20 minutes on foot up through the town, since the village is car-free.
Opening hours for the Giger Museum and the castle garden
The Giger Museum runs daily from 10:00 to 18:00 between April and October. In winter it's Monday to Friday 12:00 to 17:00, and from 10:00 at weekends. Last entry is 45 minutes before closing, so a 17:15 arrival in summer buys you very little.
The castle garden is Easter to October. The Giger Bar keeps its own hours entirely, and you can walk in without a museum ticket.
The Giger Bar, and where to leave your bag
There are no chains and no fast food up here, which is either a relief or a problem depending on how hungry the children are. The H.R. Giger Bar next to the museum has the same ribbed skeletal architecture as the exhibition and is worth a look even if you skip the museum entirely, and unlike the museum it's step-free.
The castle has lockers, and bulky bags have to be left at reception, so don't turn up mid-transfer with a suitcase and expect to carry it round the ramparts.
What might annoy you about Gruyères
In high summer, when the coaches unload, the village briefly feels like a theme park version of a Swiss village. It has too much real history to write off on those grounds, and an early start or a late afternoon gets you a different village. La Maison du Gruyère avoids the problem by being a genuine working dairy making cheese every day rather than a performance of one.
How to fit the castle, the Giger and the cheese into one day
Half a day is enough for the hilltop if you're selective, and a full day if you add Broc. Do it in this order:
- Arrive at Gruyères station and walk or take the shuttle up the hill, allowing 20 minutes on foot.
- Do the old town and the castle first, before the coaches land.
- Pick one of the Giger Museum or, back down the hill at Pringy, La Maison du Gruyère. Both is comfortable, one is enough.
- Look into the Giger Bar on your way past, ticket or no ticket.
- Only head on to Maison Cailler at Broc if you've got the rest of the day for it, rather than squeezing it into what's left.
FAQ
Is Gruyères Castle free with the Swiss Travel Pass?
Yes, entry is CHF 0, and that covers the castle, the garden and the temporary exhibitions. The garden itself is only open Easter to October; in winter you see it from the ramparts or the castle balcony.
Is the H.R. Giger Museum included in the Swiss Travel Pass?
Yes, free. Without a pass it's CHF 12.50 for an adult, CHF 8.50 for students, seniors and military, and CHF 4 for a child. Guided tours are extra either way, at CHF 90 for 45 minutes or CHF 120 for an hour, booked two weeks ahead.
How long is the walk from Gruyères station to the castle?
About 20 minutes uphill. There's a shuttle bus from the station to the hilltop if you'd rather not, and the Gruyères-Ville bus stop leaves you 5 to 10 minutes from the castle at the town entrance.
Does a Half Fare Card get you into Gruyères Castle or the Giger Museum?
No. A Half Fare Card halves your train fare and gives you nothing at all on the castle, the Giger Museum, La Maison du Gruyère or Maison Cailler. You'd pay the CHF 20 combined castle and Giger price in full.
Can children visit the H.R. Giger Museum?
Under-16s are admitted only when accompanied by an adult. Child entry is CHF 4 without a pass and free with one. The museum isn't step-free, though the Giger Bar next door is.
Can you do Gruyères and Maison Cailler in one day?
You can, but it's a full day rather than a half one. If you've only got a morning, do the old town and castle first, add either the Giger or the cheese dairy, and leave Broc for another time.
