• Switzerland Guide

  • Introduction to Switzerland
  • Weather
  • Things not to miss
  • Getting around
  • Money
  • Entry requirements
  • Public holidays

• Explore Switzerland

  • Geneva
  • Lausanne and Lake Geneva
  • The Arc Jurassien
  • Basel
  • Bern
  • The Emmental
  • Solothurn
  • Fribourg
  • The Bernese Oberland
  • Valais
  • Luzern
  • Zentralschweiz
  • Zürich
  • Ostschweiz and Liechtenstein
  • Graubünden
  • Ticino

• Cities

  • Basel
    
  • Bern
    
  • Geneva
    
  • Lausanne
    
  • Luzern
    
  • Schaffhausen
    
  • St Gallen
    
  • Winterthur
    
  • Zürich
    

Switzerland Guide

The Arc Jurassien

Biel/Bienne

• Accommodation
• Eating

This double-barrelled town can get a little confusing. German-speakers call it Biel, French-speakers know it as Bienne. It's Switzerland's only officially bilingual town and so all road signs, documents and public information must be produced in both languages. Train timetables, maps and books always call the place "Biel/Bienne", and the locals cheerfully straddle the Röstigraben without a second thought – perhaps chatting with a friend in German while ordering lunch in French.

It's a lively, modern town: reasons to visit amount to little more than strolling in the Old Town, dropping in on a couple of small museums or taking a boat ride on the lake or the river.