The Gallery Walk
Beyond the major institutions, Zürich has a thriving gallery scene that rewards the curious. This walk takes in a curated selection of contemporary and modern spaces across the city — from established names to emerging voices — exploring whatever is currently on their walls. The programme changes, the conversations change, and no two walks are ever quite the same. I'll bring the context and the backstory, you bring the curiosity. If something sparks a question or pulls you in a particular direction, we follow it. Think of it less as a tour and more as a shared afternoon looking at art with someone who knows where to go.
The Rämistrasse Cultural Corridor
Rämistrasse has been at the centre of Zürich's cultural life for well over a century, anchored by institutions that shaped the city's identity long before contemporary art galleries were part of the picture.
In 1996, Victor Gisler, founder of Mai 36 Galerie, moved his gallery to Rämistrasse — just a few minutes' walk from the Kunsthaus. Today Mai 36 is one of the most important galleries in Switzerland; Gisler went on to serve as a member of the Art Basel Committee for twelve years and was a founding member of Zurich Art Weekend in 2018. For years, Mai 36 was largely alone on the street as a contemporary art space. That changed around 2020, when a cluster of high-profile openings signalled a decisive return. Galerie Eva Presenhuber opened a second Zürich location near the Kunsthaus in early 2020. The renowned Lévy Gorvy with Rumbler gallery followed, as did Hauser & Wirth, who opened two locations on Rämistrasse — a bookshop and a showroom.
Rämistrasse runs parallel to the Kunsthaus and serves as a physical and symbolic axis between commercial and institutional power in the city. The opening of the Chipperfield extension in 2021 — doubling the Kunsthaus's footprint and bringing it firmly into the international museum conversation — made the street's gravitational pull stronger still. Sotheby's Zürich office sits on Rämistrasse. Galerie Urs Meile, which had spent decades between Lucerne and Beijing, opened a permanent space here in 2023.
Rämistrasse, with its layered history of exile culture, Dada, anti-fascist theatre, bohemian restaurants and international galleries, represents a century of Zürich's argument with itself about what culture is for.