H R Giger Museum and Bar,...

A surprise find for us in Gruyères was the Museum HR Giger. This Museum is home to the permanent collection of the works of H.R. Giger, the award winning Swiss designer of Ridley Scott's blockbuster "Alien" movies.

How did this 400 year old historic walled city of Gruyères get chosen to be home to science fiction, extra-terrestrial designs, ideas and beings? In celebration of his 50th birthday in 1990, Giger was invited to mount a major retrospective of his work at the Château de Gruyères. The exhibition "Alien dans ses Meubles" was a huge success with attendance by some 110,000 visitors. After many subsequent visits to the medieval village of Gruyères, Giger fell in love with the region. When Giger heard that Château St. Germain was up for sale, he acquired it with the thought to establish his own museum.

The Museum opened its doors in 1998. On permanent display at the Museum is the most extensive collection of artworks from Giger’s different creative periods, including most of Giger’s film designs such as the artwork of "Alien" and "Alien 3", "Dune", "Species", "Poltergeist 2" and "The Mystery of San Gottardo".

Next to the Museum is the amazing Giger Bar whose interior is like the insides of an alien and the furniture and decor adopt alien themes as well. If you want to feel lost in Sci-fi world, this is a really surreal bar to have your drink in.