Tickets
Einstein House: Tickets & Timing
How to visit Bern’s most famous apartment museum
The Einstein House (Einsteinhaus) is one of Bern's easiest "big story" stops: a small museum on the second floor of Kramgasse 49, the very apartment where Albert Einstein lived from 1903 to 1905. It was here, working days as a clerk at the Federal Patent Office a few minutes' walk away, that the twenty-something Einstein produced the run of papers now known as his "miracle year" (1905)—including the special theory of relativity and the equation E = mc². The flat is compact, central, and fits beautifully into a walking day, especially when Bern's rain pushes you toward indoor moments under the arcades.
Don't expect a vast science centre—this is a modest period apartment, restored with furniture, photographs and documents from the family's time here, plus a short film about Einstein's life and physics on the floor above. The magic is the contrast: a perfectly ordinary middle-class Bern flat that happened to be where one of the most important ideas in modern science took shape.
Ticket prices
- Adults: CHF 8
- Students / pensioners: CHF 6
- Youth (8–15): CHF 5
- Under 7: free
Family and group rates are available; it's worth confirming current concessions at the door.
Opening hours
- Daily: 10:00–17:00
- Last entry: 16:45
- Winter closure: roughly 19 December to 31 January
The exact reopening date shifts each year (in 2026 the house runs 4 Feb–18 Dec, then closed until 1 Feb 2027), so a winter visitor should check the dates before counting on it.
How Long to Plan
- Quick Visit: 20–30 minutes if you’re keeping a tight schedule.
- Comfortable Visit: 45 minutes to read exhibits and enjoy the context.
- With Nearby Stops: 1–2 hours including cafés, fountains, and the surrounding streets.
What to expect inside
- The restored apartment on the second floor, furnished in the style of the 1900s, with the desk-and-parlour feel of the flat where Einstein lived with his wife Mileva and their young son.
- Photographs, letters and documents tracing his Bern years, his patent-office job, and the 1905 papers that changed physics.
- A short biographical film on the floor above, giving context on relativity and Einstein's wider life for visitors who aren't physicists.
- The window onto Kramgasse itself—the same arcaded street, fountains and sandstone facades Einstein walked daily.
- A genuinely "indoor break" between Old Town walks, small enough not to swallow your day.
Why this flat matters
Einstein moved to Bern in 1902 for a post as a technical expert (third class) at the Federal Patent Office, and from 1903 the family rented the apartment at Kramgasse 49. He had no university position and no laboratory—just evenings, a small circle of friends he half-jokingly called the "Olympia Academy," and a relentless mind. In 1905, his annus mirabilis, he published four papers from this ordinary routine: on the photoelectric effect (which later won him the Nobel Prize), Brownian motion, special relativity, and the mass–energy equivalence summed up as E = mc².
That's what makes a visit quietly moving. You aren't looking at a temple of genius; you're standing in a modest rented flat above a shopping arcade, the kind of place thousands of Bernese have lived in, and realising that world-changing physics was worked out in the margins of an entirely normal life.
Practical Tips (So It Feels Easy)
- Go early: A morning visit pairs well with arcades walking and avoids the midday rush.
- Keep it compact: This is best as a short, high-impact stop—don’t over-schedule around it.
- Combine nearby sights: Zytglogge, fountains, and cafés are minutes away.
- Winter win: Perfect for February and cold-weather trips when you want an indoor highlight.
How to Fit It Into Your Day
Einstein House sits naturally in the Old Town route: arcades → clock tower area → Einstein → cathedral viewpoints → river bend. Because it's on Kramgasse you can fold it in without a detour—it's a couple of minutes from the Zytglogge, and you walk right past it exploring the covered arcades (Lauben). For the full pacing, follow the one-day itinerary.
Want to make it a theme? Pair Einstein with the Old Town's fountain stories and the city's best cafés.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost and how long does a visit take?
Admission is CHF 8 for adults, CHF 6 for students and pensioners, and CHF 5 for youth 8–15; under-7s are free. Plan 30–45 minutes to see the apartment and watch the short film—it's a compact museum, not a half-day affair.
Is the Einstein House open in winter?
Not for the whole season—it closes for winter, roughly from 19 December to 31 January, and the reopening date shifts year to year. If you're travelling around the New Year, check the dates on the official site before building your day around it.
Where exactly is it?
It's on the second floor of Kramgasse 49, on the main arcaded street of the Old Town, a couple of minutes' walk east of the Zytglogge clock tower. Look for the entrance under the arcades.
Did Einstein really write relativity here?
He lived at Kramgasse 49 from 1903 to 1905, the years that produced his 1905 "miracle year" papers, including special relativity and E = mc², while he worked at the Bern patent office nearby. It's the apartment most associated with that breakthrough period.
Is it worth it if I'm not into physics?
Many visitors come for the human story rather than the science. The draw is seeing an utterly ordinary flat where extraordinary ideas were born; the film keeps the physics accessible, and the whole thing is short enough to enjoy as one stop on an Old Town walk.
Next Stops Nearby
Next reads
Keep exploring Bern with guides that pair well with this one.
