Customs Museum

The Swiss Customs Museum presents the tasks performed by Customs and explains the different functions of the Swiss border as they are today and as they were in the past.

Welcome to the Customs Museum in Cantine di Gandria

The Customs Museum is located on the shore of Lake Lugano in a former border guard post. The house is situated in an idyllic location, in the middle of a lush chestnut forest right on the border with Italy. It is the perfect location for a customs museum. The Swiss customs authorities use the museum to showcase the wide range of tasks they perform for our country. These include temporary exhibitions on current topics, making a visit to the customs museum a great experience that can be rounded off with a stop at a Ticino grotto in the immediate vicinity.

Season starts: 20 April 2025
End of season: 19 October 2025

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Current at the Customs Museum

Opening of the new exhibition ‘Species protection concerns us all’. This season, we are focusing on the preservation of protected animal and plant species that are threatened with extinction. We are showing the important work that Swiss Customs does in combating the illegal import of such animals and plants. In addition, due to the great public interest, we have extended the photo exhibition ‘Migration’ for another season.
 

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Other exhibitions

Im rechten Teil des Bildes steht mit weissen Buchstaben auf schwarzem Grund der Titel der , sowie einen Hinweis auf den Inhalt der Ausstellung. Es handelt sich dabei um das Thema «Schmuggel und Flüchtlinge zwischen Italien und der Schweiz im zweiten Weltkrieg». Im Linken Teil des Bildes sieht man zwei Männer, die hintereinander durch ein Dickicht gehen. Der Hintere trägt dabei einen Leinensack über der rechten Schulter

A border between poverty and persecution

The border with Italy was by far the area which saw the most intense levels of smuggling.

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Permanent Exhibition: a 1,935 km border in a museum

Over 2.2 Million people and around 1.1 Million vehicles and 24,000 lorries cross the Swiss border every day. What is the work of Customs? And what were things like when the Swiss border was first set up?

Other topics

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Visits

Information on how to get there, refreshment facilities and nearby walks.

Zollmuseum Ausstellung

Information for schools

We offer guided tours for school classes and provide accompanying teaching material.

The Museum

The Swiss Customs Museum presents the tasks performed by Customs and explains the different functions of the Swiss border and the Swiss border guard as they are today and as they were in the past.

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Publications & Media

Here you will find news from the Customs Museum and reports from the media.

https://www.bazg.admin.ch/content/bazg/en/home/the-focbs/customs-museum-in-cantine-di-gandria--lugano.html