Skip to content Skip to footer

Street-Art in Switzerland

Even though I’ve travelled extensively in Europe and seen my fair share of street-art in various countries, I found the range of art in Switzerland to be distinct and pleasantly surprising.

I always knew that the Swiss have a love for the arts, but imagined that it was primarily behind doors, in museums – of which there are quite a few in the country.

However, while walking the various big cities and small villages of Switzerland, I came across several types of street-art. There were the conventional murals or large art pieces on walls and the occasional graffiti. But then there were random sculptures in streets, and most interestingly, the fountains that dot the country have individual features that are no less arty and fabulous.

In addition to that, the Swiss celebrate literature and the arts by having statues of celebrities, especially if they have some form of a connection with the country.

The range of street-art in Switzerland is quite diverse, and there are surprises to be found around every nook and corner.

A painted electricty box in Geneva

Street-Art

Street-art in its “traditional” form is not always readily visible in Switzerland. Many of the paintings were in small passages, discovered entirely by chance. From the large murals in Lausanne featuring comic book characters to the legendary Charlie Chaplin on residential buildings in Vevey, these elaborate pieces add a sense of drama and colour to the region they represent. While street-art is typically visible throughout the country, these grand pieces were located mostly in the bigger cities.

Water Fountains

Switzerland boasts of free and fresh water for everyone through a network of water fountains. What is even more attractive is that these fountains always have some artistic element to them. Be it the wooden log or Rosey the cow in Gstaad, a pretty flowery one in Corseaux, or the more old-style water fountain of Bern; it was a pleasure to come across different types of fountains while walking the streets of small villages as well as the big towns.

Rosey the Cow in Gstaad

Interactive Art

A special mention goes to Charles Morgan who is a local artist from the Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) area. He produces some genuinely exceptional functional art that often includes some interaction with the public. The picture below is one of his installations at the Montreux pier. Another other was in a display case of a shop in Vevey. In that particular art piece, visitors are encouraged to put the palm of their hand on the glass which makes the mechanics of the art inside the shop move.

Street-Sculptures

It’s not unusual to find statues while visiting cities around the world, but in Switzerland, quite a few of them are randomly placed in town squares or next to pedestrian streets. Gstaad had a few of these sculptures as did Geneva. In Gruyeres, I found a couple of strange ones outside the HR Giger Museum. Then there are also the statues of famous former citizens or visitors to Switzerland that include Charlie Chaplin in Vevey, Freddie Mercury in Montreux, and Rousseau in Geneva.

Water Sculpture in Vevey, Switzerland

Random Art

I always believe that “art” doesn’t necessarily have to be drawing or paintings that depict something. Occasionally, a row of coloured buildings – like a side street in Lausanne – or the metal cut-outs placed alongside the lake in Montreux – for the annual Montreux Jazz Festival – is equally fascinating.

Colourful Building in Geneva

Graffiti

Although most of Switzerland is extremely clean in terms of graffiti, I did come across the odd one here and there. The one in Vevey that resembles Gandhi was quite interesting, and I do believe the artist was trying to make a point – which I couldn’t quite understand. Then there is the usual “stuff on the wall” type graffiti I came across while walking in Lausanne, but once again street-art of this kind was quite rare.

Evian, France

So, it’s not Switzerland, but we did take the boat – included in the Swiss Train Pass – from Lausanne across Lake Geneva to Evian and found the most unusual street-art there. The art consisted of large wooden structures placed at a few locations in the town. One looked like Yoda, and the other was some kind of beast.

Imaginative, colourful, attractive, and weird; Art doesn’t get any better than this.

Lausanne, Switzerland - Street Sculpture

15 Comments

  • Dino Pebenito
    Posted 9 March, 19 at 8:23 PM

    I Just hit a plus button to add this beautiful place to my bucket list. Beautiful arts, and a great post to describe the photos

    Reply
    • Post Author
      Ticker Eats The World
      Posted 9 March, 19 at 8:45 PM

      Thanks Dino. Switzerland really is a fascinating country. I think a lot of people are too focused on it being expensive (which it can be, but there are ways to save money) and the nature, so they miss out on the other stuff.

      Reply
  • Clarice
    Posted 12 March, 19 at 11:26 PM

    Wow! These are really beautiful creations. It would be really nice to see them up close. Hopefully, we get a chance to visit Switzerland. Thank you for sharing these. Enjoyed reading your post.

    Reply
  • Courtney
    Posted 13 March, 19 at 1:29 AM

    Wow, what a fantastic post. I had no idea the Swiss had so much beautiful street art. I have been to a couple cities in Switzerland, but do not recall seeing anything as artistic as what you have posted. I will have to keep my eye out and come back to this article if i ever visit the cities you listed.

    Reply
    • Post Author
      Ticker Eats The World
      Posted 13 March, 19 at 3:05 PM

      I realised that the art, be it sculptures or street-art, is placed in a very subtle manner. Even the two huge street murals were on the side streets of Lausanne, and I never found anything written about them when I was doing my research before visiting.

      Reply
  • Leah
    Posted 13 March, 19 at 4:41 AM

    We plan to go to Switzerland soon, so I am going to save this for reference. Beautiful artwork! And I love all the variety in the different art pieces.

    Reply
  • Jane Dempster-Smith
    Posted 13 March, 19 at 9:00 AM

    I love street art and what you have shown us here in really interesting work. The Gandhi artwork is unusual and also so small. I too was not sure what the artist was expressing. Your photos were incredible. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • vishvarsha
    Posted 14 March, 19 at 10:05 AM

    Wow! Such and offbeat and wonderful post about Switzerland 😀 That music man is so cool. The mural of Charlie Chaplin is so fitting and the one of Mahatma Gandhi so surprising. BTW my personal favourite is the cow installation next to the water trough, brought back memories of one of my favourite book/cartoon Heidi! ^_^

    Reply
  • Lisa
    Posted 15 March, 19 at 1:17 AM

    For a country that’s quite conservative, it’s very cool to see these different types of street art. I love Charlie Chaplin films, so it’s so fun to see that building in Vevey paying homage to him. It’s great to see the Freddie Mercury statue too as I’m still a big Queen fan.

    Reply
  • Paul Healy
    Posted 15 March, 19 at 2:40 PM

    I never really thought of Switzerland as a street art destination but it looks like it is! I love the highrise buildings with the Charlie Chaplin images, they look very cool. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  • Yukti
    Posted 15 March, 19 at 8:08 PM

    Switzerland is the first foreign country which I visited and that too for honeymoon and I was totally floored by its beauty and charming landscapes. I never knew about that Switzerland is also a street art destination as maybe I was very busy traveling. But now when I go again, I would definitely look these wonderful art-pieces. Those comic characters and legendary Charlie Chaplin on residential buildings are my favorites. Thanks for sharing some unique feature of Switzerland.

    Reply
  • Angelica Kajiwara
    Posted 16 March, 19 at 12:42 AM

    I’m dying to go to Switzerland! These gorgeous photos make me so jealous. I love finding unexpected street art. We always pull over for photos when we can. Thanks for sharing this fun article.

    Reply
  • Kathy@DavesTravelCorner
    Posted 26 March, 19 at 3:10 PM

    I’ve never associated Switzerland with street art, Medelin, yes, Los Angeles yes – very cool!

    Reply
  • Trackback: 5 Easy Ways to Save Money in Switzerland – Ticker Eats the World
  • Trackback: 5 Easy Ways to Save Money in Switzerland | Ticker Eats the World

Leave a Comment

Subscribe to Ticker Eats the World

Keep up-to-date with the latest in travel, hotel recommendations, food, and restaurant reviews, by subscribing to Ticker Eats the World.