Museum Schloss Kyburg - day trip

From Lynn...
Now THIS was fun! We drove to Kyburg, which was about 30 minutes from Zurich, by car. Kyburg is accessible by public transportation (train and bus), as well. The castle, preserved and filled with authentic historical items (many knight-related), is very interesting. One is free to wander about the entire castle, touching many things and learning about each room and its contents through thorough descriptions on wall panels written in four languages. Kids can touch, run, jump, try stuff out and be themselves. There are bedrooms, common rooms, a torture chamber, wine cellar, prisons, etc. It's not particularly stroller friendly (no elevators, lots of stairs, narrow doorways).

The entrance fee is 8 CHF for adults, 3 CHF for children. It is open TUES - SUN, 10:30 - 5:30. Although there is a sign for a cafeteria, it was closed. We wandered into the town of Kyburg maybe 20 houses, two roads) and went to one of the two local restaurants. They served children's portions and had decent food at fair prices. The restaurant we went to (the first you pass after leaving the castle) also had a bee compound (I know there's a better word -- it's escaping me) out back, and sold their own honey. During warm weather, you could bring a picnic and eat on the grounds or in the adjacent forest.

The castle was built prior to 1037, and was used as a castle until 1798, after which it was bought and sold a few times by wealthy families. In the early 1900s it housed it's last residents. If you need to GPS it, look up "Dorfstrassse" in Kyburg.

Pics from Tanya...

Lots of buttons for little fingers to push.

Quiet chairs for naughty children.

A surprise dragon down the hatch.

And pics from Astrid
(I prepared these without realizing you had updated the post, so I'll post them even though your pics are great Tanya!)

The arms room (lots of spears and armors)


The girls liked looking at this illustration of a family meal.


One room had a life-size recreation of a medieval banquet, another a slide show about the castle. While the girls didn't look at either in depth, these presentations were entertaining for the variety of experiences they provided.


Plenty of room to run about.