The Museum
Practical information
Museum of art and history
Opening hours
Tuesdays to Sundays from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm
Covid certificate required
The Museum is also open on these special days:
1st April 2024 (Easter Monday)
20 May 2024 (Whit Monday)
16 September 2024 (Fasting Monday)
The Museum is also closed on these special days:
28 & 29 September 2024
24 and 25 December 2024 (Christmas Eve/Christmas Day)
31 December 2024 (New Year's Eve)
1st January 2025
Price of admission
CHF 12.00 / CHF 8.00 Residents / CHF 4.00 for students, AVS (social insurance cardholders), unemployed, military, groups of 10 or more people, Museum Tuesdays. CHF 4.00 for groups of students from universities and other higher education institutions outside the canton of Neuchâtel.
Free entry: persons aged up to 16, holders of the Neuchâtel museums card (CHF 40.00 per year / CHF 20.00 for students, AVS, unemployed) and Cultural GA.
Free admission on Wednesdays
Combi offers with public transport discount
SBB RailAway combination offer
If you travel to us by public transport, you benefit from a reduction on the return journey and admission. The RailAway combination offer is available at all staffed railway counters, from Rail Service on 0848 44 66 88 (CHF 0.08/min.) or online at www.sbb.ch/mahn.
Jaquet Droz Automata
CHF 120.00 for groups of up to 10 people
CHF 10.00 per person for the 11th and each additional person
CHF 70.00 for interpreting (German or English)
Special sessions for schools
CHF 60.00 is the inclusive price for schools of all levels from all locations
Guided tours with commentary
CHF 120.00 for a guided tour with commentary by a curator or assistant curator, on request
Atelier des musées
Guided tours, duration 1 hour for groups of 25 people:
Schools in the city of Neuchâtel: 75 CHF
Other schools: 85 CHF
Non-school groups: 100 CHF
Complete information on this page.
The historical galleries
Av. DuPeyrou 7
(courtyard of the Hôtel DuPeyrou)
Telephone: +41 (0)32 717 79 25 (general information)
Telephone: +41 (0)32 717 79 20 (secretarial team)
Opening hours
Wednesdays and Sundays from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, or by appointment (except on public holidays).
Price of admission
Free of charge
Special enquiries
For all information about opening times and days, and special visits (Jaquet-Droz automata, historical models, concerts or Museum Tuesdays), please call our reception on +41 (0)32 717 79 25, between 11:00 am and 6:00 pm (except on Mondays).
A multi-disciplinary approach
The Museum is a place where people can enjoy beauty and pause to reflect: it combines visual pleasure with a desire to gain a deeper knowledge of the world around us. This is why it adopts a multidisciplinary approach to its core activities: managing the collections, designing exhibitions, and outreach. Driven by its commitment to make the most of its heritage, the MahN also prompts visitors to question their own relationships with culture, ideas and the objects that surround them.
A museum that is open to the world
The MahN is committed to serving the general public, and it aims to be accessible to everyone. This is why cultural outreach is a key feature, with guided tours, workshops for adults and children, concerts and many other unique events. The MahN also develops and fosters partnerships with figures in the cultural world and scientific institutions – in the local region and beyond – to shed new light on its activities and integrate new issues into its scope.
The Museum's Arts section (comprising the entire Fine Arts collection) dates back to 1816 when Maximilien de Meuron donated two paintings to the City of Neuchâtel. This collection was relocated to the "Museum of Fine Arts" that opened in 1884.
The Fine Arts Department includes several specialised holdings (graphic arts, painting and sculpture) and it manages collections of works by local, national and international creative artists. The Department is always in tune with the times and it keeps up with all contemporary trends.
The evolution of the Department's holdings has been shaped not only by the approaches of its successive curators, but also by many gifts and bequests from astute collectors or patrons including the prestigious Amez-Droz bequest (1979) and the contemporary Jeunet Donation (2000).
Visite virtuelle
Cliquer sur l'image pour démarrer la visite
The History and Applied Arts section comprises the historical, applied arts and numismatics collections: the "hard core" of these holdings was the basis for the Neuchâtel Historical Museum in 1885. Each collection is entrusted to a curator who is responsible for the relevant department.
The History and Applied Arts section manages a vast number of holdings that reflect the MahN's all-inclusive nature and interdisciplinary approach.
Its flagship collections are of both artistic and historical interest, with hand-crafted as well as industrially manufactured items. Highlights include the Jaquet-Droz automata, the advertising materials from the Suchard-Tobler company, and the collections of indiennes and artistic medals.
The Museum of Art and History (MahN)
Designed to plans by the architect Léo Châtelain, the Museum of Fine Arts opened in 1884 to house the City of Neuchâtel's collection of paintings. From 1885 onwards, its ground floor accommodated the city's Historical Museum, which combined the historical, archaeological and ethnographic collections. The ethnographic collection left the Museum in 1904; the archaeological section followed suit in 1952. The Museum's staircase, with monumental paintings by Léo-Paul Robert (1851-1923) and superb architectural decorations by Clement Heaton (1861-1940), is an outstanding example of "total art".
After a century of cohabitation, the two institutions took the name of "Museum of Art and History" in 1989. Two annexes designed by François Wavre were added to the building in 1952-1953.
The main, south-facing façade has an impressive wooden door. A frieze of 12 medallions executed in mosaic runs along the top, with effigies of Egyptian, Greek, medieval and modern art (1887): works by Albert de Meuron, Alfred Berthoud, Gustave Jeanneret and Albert Anker. In the centre below the dome, a large semicircular composition by Albert de Meuron, also in mosaic, depicts pagan and Christian art juxtaposed with ideal art (1897), itself surmounted by a sculpted pediment bearing an eagle and Neuchâtel's coat of arms.
The Historical Galleries
The Historical Galleries are located in the northern courtyard of the Hôtel DuPeyrou. Originally known as the Léopold-Robert Gallery, this building was erected between 1862 and 1864 by the architect Hans Rychner at the instigation of the Society of the Friends of the Arts. This was the City of Neuchâtel's first construction project for the specific purpose of housing a museum. An extension was added in 1894-1895 under the direction of Alfred Rychner, based on a design by Léo Châtelain. From 1952 to 2000, the building housed the Cantonal Museum of Archaeology, which eventually relocated to the Laténium at Hauterive. The Manini Pietrini architectural practice of Neuchâtel then transformed the building completely, installing facilities for the Municipal Archives that include a consultation room, storage space and an exhibition area for the historical models of the City of Neuchâtel.
The Art Library
The Art Library was established when the Museum opened in 1884, and was then merged with the library of the University's Department of Art History, which was also housed in the Museum. After the construction of the University's new building in the Jeunes Rives area during the 1980s, some of the University's works were removed from the library.
Since then, systematic development has been limited to the sections containing monograph or collective exhibition catalogues, especially via the system of free exchange with most of Switzerland's art museums that has been in place since 1990. The total stock comprises over 12,000 volumes. Documents already inventoried can be consulted by appointment. The inventory can be consulted online via the catalogue of the Network of Neuchâtel and Jura Libraries.
The History Library
This library has a varied collection of about 2,000 volumes related to the history of Neuchâtel and its region. The collection is split between two locations:
- The Historical Galleries, where documents can be consulted during the opening hours of the Municipal Archives, or by appointment.
- The Museum of Art and History, where documents can be consulted by appointment.
The inventory can be consulted online through the catalogue of the Network of Neuchâtel and Jura Libraries.
The Applied Arts Library
This specialist library comprises over 1,000 items dealing with the applied arts. It is particularly rich in works on watchmaking, automata and the manufacture of indiennes.
The documents can be consulted by appointment. The inventory can be consulted online through the catalogue of the Network of Neuchâtel and Jura Libraries.
The Numismatics Library
This specialist library comprises over 2,500 volumes, periodicals and sale catalogues. All periods and many regions are covered, with a particular focus on Roman and Swiss coinage. The library is also particularly rich in works dealing with medals, some of which are unique. The enormous choice includes historic volumes, contemporary free creative works, records of international congresses, and exhibition catalogues.
The vast majority of the works can be borrowed, and those which are not available for loan can be consulted on request. The inventory can be consulted online through the catalogue of the Network of Neuchâtel and Jura Libraries.
For further information: bibliotheque.mahn@ne.ch