Zurich's Succulent Collection + Special Event

The Succulent Collection is a small museum consisting of multiple connected greenhouses. It is one of the few free museums of Zurich, hosted by the University of Zurich.

The greenhouses are divided into different regions, simulating different countries and climate zones. There are information boards describing the plants and their survival strategies. Some exhibits are interactive; in one of the greenhouses you can play a game connecting a plant to the products that are made from it. For example, Agave to Tequila.

It took us about 30 minutes to see everything. If you read all the information it would probably take about one hour. In front of the museum you can buy some of the plants you see inside. We finished our visit for that day and continued our walk.

A few days later Amby read that the Queen of the Night was blooming at the Succulent Collection. This was a special occasion because this plant only blooms one night a year and the flower closes and falls off before sunrise.

We decided to go and see. The museum was open for this special event until midnight, and we arrived around 11pm. There were some other people there to see the flower so we had to wait in line for a bit.

The flowers were beautiful and smelled a bit like vanilla and chocolate. So it was worth it to wait a bit. The whole museum was open that night, with snacks and plants available to purchase.

If you are interested in succulent plants this museum is great option to include on a tour of this side of Lake Zurich. It is nice that it is free, and seeing the Queen of the Night blooming made it extra special.