On the hills of La Côte, in the Vallon de l’Aubonne, the Wood Museum is in the heart of the National Arboretum, a lush green park with about a thousand species of trees from Switzerland and other countries. Visitors have to the park and the museum all year round.
The Wood Museum located on the first floor of the Le Plan farm, in the Vallon de l’Aubonne Arboretum, has a rich collection of woodworking tools. The 6,000 exhibits include 1,500 tools of the trade used by carpenters, winnowers, shingle makers, stringed instrument makers and clog-makers.
Jean-François Robert, forest engineer and former head of the Vaudois Forestry, Hunting and Fishing Department has been in charge of the design and management of the museum since 1974 and has published several research papers on the wood and forestry trades and their tools.
The Arboretum includes 4,000 species of trees and shrubs from temperate regions and, in particular, many varieties of apple trees which have ceased to be cultivated. Opened in 1968, this 200 ha arboretum is set in beautiful countryside above Lake Geneva.