Guided Tours

Guided Tours

Education plays an important part at the Vitra Design Museum. A specially trained team develops specific educational activities that are tailored to audience´s needs and enable visitors of different ages to learn about and engage with design and architecture. Our educational activities are aimed at children and young adults, as well as expert audiences, students and all design- and architecture enthusiasts. A wide-ranging programme of tours, workshops, talks and other events allows visitors to gain a deeper insight into the multifaceted field of design and architecture. We are happy to assist you in choosing an activity suitable for you and your group.

Architecture Tours

Architecture Tours

The Vitra Campus is a magnet for design and architecture enthusiasts. Few other places in the world can boast such a large number of contemporary architectural icons. It was here that Zaha Hadid created her very first structure in 1993 – the Fire Station – and American architect Frank Gehry constructed his first building in Europe in 1989. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the VitraHaus of 2010 on the north side of the campus is an eye-catcher, even from afar. Alongside the Vitra Schaudepot, also designed by Herzog & de Meuron, a second public area was created on the campus in 2016. Then, there are other works like the Conference Pavilion by Tadao Ando, a geodesic dome based on the designs of Richard Buckminster Fuller, a petrol station by Jean Prouvé, factory buildings by Nicholas Grimshaw, Álvaro Siza and SANAA and the Vitra Slide Tower by the artist Carsten Höller. Daily guided tours explain the backgrounds of architects and buildings alike. More information about the buildings

The Vitra Campus comprises a public and a private area. In the public space, you will find the Vitra Design Museum, the VitraHaus and the Vitra Silde Tower on the Álvaro-Siza-Promenade. The private area, where the production facilities are located, can only be accessed as part of an architecture tour. Please note that only guides of the Vitra Design Museum are allowed to conduct guided tours through the exhibition and on the Vitra Campus.


Architecture tour in German:

Monday-Thursday, 11 pm
Friday-Sunday and on public holidays, 11am&2pm

Summer (June-August):
Additionally from Monday-Thursday, 2 pm

Meeting point: VitraHaus
Reservations at the Vitra Campus or at www.design-museum.reservix.de 

    Architecture tour in English:

    Monday-Thursday, 12 pm
    Friday-Sunday and on public holidays, 12&3pm

    Summer (June-August):
    Additionally from Monday-Thursday, 3 pm

    Meeting point: VitraHaus
    Reservations at the Vitra Campus or at www.design-museum.reservix.de 

    Architecture tour in French:

    First Saturday and Sunday of every month, as well as on French public holidays (29 March, 1 April, 1, 8, 9 and 20 May, 14 July, 15 August), 2:30 pm

    Meeting point: VitraHaus
    Reservations at the Vitra Campus or at www.design-museum.reservix.de

    Private architecture tours
    Bookings at: info(at)design-museum.de

    Information guided tours (EN)
    Information guided tours (FR)

    Tours for pupils and students:
    Information guided tours (EN)
    Information guided tours (FR)

    More information at info(at)design-museum.de or T +49.7621.702.3200

    Guided Tours – Vitra Design Museum

    Guided Tours – Vitra Design Museum

    The exhibitions in the Vitra Design Museum, Vitra Schaudepot and the Vitra Design Museum Gallery can be visited independently or with guided tours. Groups can book guided tours individually. Along with German and English, we also offer guided tours in French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Russian and Swedish. Please note that only guides of the Vitra Design Museum are allowed to conduct guided tours through the exhibition and on the Vitra Campus.

    Guided tour in German
    »Transform! Designing the Future of Energy«:

    From 29 March 2024
    Friday, 3pm
    Saturday, Sunday and on public holidays, 12pm
    Vitra Design Museum

    The buildings, infrastructures, and devices for generating, distributing, and using energy are products of human creativity. The exhibition explores the ongoing energy transition from a design perspective: from devices for harvesting renewable energy to solar buildings and wind turbines. Join our guided tour and discover how design can assist us in switching to renewable energies and reducing our energy consumption!

    The tour will be held in german.

    Transform! Designing the Future of Energy
    WEDNESDAY MATINEE (DE) | 17 July 2024
    10 am, Vitra Design Museum

    Buildings, infrastructures, and devices for generating, distributing, and using energy are the products of human design creativity. This dialogue tour explores the ongoing energy transition from a design perspective: from everyday devices based on renewable energies to solar buildings and wind farms. Join us and discover how design can assist us in switching to renewable energies and reducing our energy consumption!

    The tour will be held in german.

    € 10 per person, no registration required

    Private exhibition tours:
    Bookings at info@design-museum.de

    For group bookings: 
    Information guided tours (EN)
    Information guided tours (FR)

    Tours for pupils and students:
    Information guided tours (EN)
    Information guided tours (FR)

    More information at info(at)design-museum.de or T +49.7621.702.3200

    Guided Tours – Vitra Schaudepot

    Guided Tours – Vitra Schaudepot

    The guided tour focusses on the highlights from the Vitra Design Museum collection, including rare and singular pieces from designers such as Gerrit Rietveld, Alvar Aalto, Charles & Ray Eames but also less well-known or anonymous designs, rarities and prototypes. Additionally, the presentation »Colour Rush! An Installation by Sabine Marcelis« at the Vitra Schaudepot allows for fascinating cross-references between periods and styles, and provides visitors with an overwhelming immersive experience.

    Science Fiction Design: From Space Age to Metaverse

    From 8 June 2024, every Sunday and on public holidays, 2pm, Vitra Schaudepot

    The annual themed presentation in the Vitra Schaudepot spotlights visions of a future world manifested in design creations ranging from early science fiction film sets to the design of virtual spaces. The dialogue tour highlights pioneering objects from the Vitra Design Museum collection and examines how technological innovations and utopian concepts found their way into our everyday environment, influencing and shaping the world we live in.

    The tour will be held in german.

    Science Fiction: From the Space Age to the Metaverse
    WEDNESDAY MATINEE (DE) | 31 July 2024
    10 am, Vitra Schaudepot

    Join us on a tour of the new themed presentation in the Vitra Schaudepot! Discover ideas of a future world in design creations ranging from early science fiction film sets to virtual spaces and examine pioneering objects from the Vitra Design Museum collection to find out how technological innovation and utopian concepts find their way into our everyday environment.

    The tour will be held in german.

    € 10 per person, no registration required

    For group booking: Information guided tours
    More information at info(at)design-museum.de or  T +49.7621.702.3200

    Special Tours

    Special Tours

    Garden and Architecture (EN)
    Saturday, 11 am, VitraHaus

    Projects by prominent architects and landscape designers – from the Garden House by Tsuyoshi Tane to the Oudolf Garten by Piet Oudolf and the »Diogene« Tiny House by Renzo Piano –  illustrate practical and contemporary ideas for a more sustainable approach to building. Join our guided tour of the Vitra Campus and discover its unique landscape and architecture.

    Reservations at www.design-museum.reservix.de 

    Expert Tour: Discover the Oudolf Garten with Carola Ziereisen   
    SPECIAL TOUR (DE) 16 May, 20 June, 18 July 2024 
    6 pm, VitraHaus

    The variegated plants and flowers in the Oudolf Garten on the Vitra Campus are an inspiration for planning a perennial garden of one’s own. Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf relies on perennial, often self-propagating plants, grasses, and shrubs as well as wildflowers that have long been ignored by gardeners. On this guided tour, Gardener Carola Ziereisen explains how the garden’s unconventional design matches the innovative choice of plants. She talks about developing and caring for the garden and gives helpful hints for planning one’s own garden.

    € 10 per person; please register here

    The tour will be held in german.

    Wunderkammer

    Wunderkammer

    The »Wunderkammer« presents an engaging display of more than one thousand objects from the collection of former Vitra Chairman Rolf Fehlbaum. Similar to its historical antecedents, the Wunderkammer on the Vitra Campus brings together curiosities and artefacts from around the world. For all their variety and multiformity, the toy robots, space toys, comic book characters, merchandising products, and folk art in the collection share their origins in twentiethcentury popular culture. Visitors to the Vitra Campus can explore the Wunderkammer on a guided tour.

    Registration here.

    Guided tour in German
    Every Sunday and on public holidays, 3 pm

    Meeting point: Vitra Schaudepot

    For group booking: Information guided tours
    More information at info(at)design-museum.de or  T +49.7621.702.3200

    Production Tours

    Production Tours

    Take a look behind the scenes of the production at the Vitra Campus. Experience different steps of the manufacturing process of the Aluminium Chair on a guided tour in the production hall of Frank Gehry. The chair developed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1958 is considered one of the greatest furniture designs of the 20th century. Vitra has been producing this timeless classic over a period of decades in the same superior quality. Find out more about its history as well as the significance of innovation, quality and sustainability at Vitra. The tour is followed by an introduction to Vitra’s test centre.

    Every Wednesday and Thursday 13:30 pm, VitraHaus. The tour will be held in German. 

    For group booking: Information guided tours
    More information at info(at)design-museum.de or  T +49.7621.702.3200

    Offers for Children

    Offers for Children

    For children, we offer guided tours though the current exhibition and the Vitra Campus which are specially adapted to our young guests. The participants are introduced to the theme in an entertaining way, interact with the guide and are made familiar with the huge importance of design and architecture in their everyday environment. Also many of our workshops for children and pupils include a guided tour, followed by a practical workshop under the direction of experienced teachers.

    More information and reservations at info@design-museum.de or 
    T +49.7621.702.3200

    Offers for Schools

    Offers for Schools

    For school classes, we offer guided tours though the current exhibition and the Vitra Campus which are specially adapted to our young guests. The participants are introduced to the theme in an entertaining way, interact with the guide and are made familiar with the huge importance of design and architecture in their everyday environment. Also many of our workshops for children and pupils include a guided tour, followed by a practical workshop under the direction of experienced teachers.

    Information for group booking: Guided Tours for Schools & Students

    More information and reservations at info(at)design-museum.de or
    T +49.7621.702.3200

    Digital Tours

    Digital Tours

    Explore the Vitra Design Museum’s exhibitions, its collection, or the architecture on the Vitra Campus in exclusive digital tours providing an attractive alternative for groups unable to travel to Weil am Rhein. Learn from experts, join in, ask questions, and get closer to our highlights! Attendees require an internet connection and the free videoconferencing software Zoom.

    Find your digital tour here:
    Digital Tours

    More information and reservations at 
    info(at)design-museum.de
    or T +49.7621.702.3200