The giant canton of Bern takes in a swathe of diverse countryside from Alpine peaks to rolling farmland. The north of the canton is focused around Bern itself, Switzerland’s low-key and attractive federal capital. Plan your trip to Bern with our guide to Bern, based on The Rough Guide to Switzerland, your travel guide for Switzerland.
Discover colourful culture in our Bern travel guide, Switzerland © Shutterstock
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Every Swiss values his or her home canton above all the others, but the Bernese draw on a particularly deep wellspring of nationalistic pride.
They’re famous for their slow, deliberate manner, reflected in the lethargic, sing-song Bernese dialect of Swiss German that you’ll doubtless overhear.
Of all Swiss cities, Bern (Berne in French) is perhaps the most immediately charming. Crammed onto a steep-sided peninsula in a crook of the fast-flowing River Aare, its quiet, cobbled lanes are lined with sandstone arcaded buildings straddling the pavement.
Aerial view over the city of Bern — the capital city of Switzerland © 4kclips/Shutterstock
The hills all around, and the steep banks of the river, are still wooded. Views over the Old Town’s clustered roofs, with the Alps on the horizon, are breathtaking. Coming from Zürich or Geneva, it’s hard to remember that tiny Bern – once voted Europe’s most floral city – is the nation’s capital.
Despite its political pre-eminence, Bern has a population under 140,000 and retains a small town’s easy approach to life. Traffic is kept out of the Old Town and you could spend days just wandering the streets and alleyways, café-hopping and – if it’s warm – joining the locals for a plunge into the river.
The medieval street plan, with its arcades, towers and street fountains, persuaded UNESCO to name Bern a World Heritage Site.
In a competition for the world’s most beautiful and relaxing capital city, it’s hard to think what could knock Bern into second place. Indeed, Bern is one of the reasons you voted Switzerland one of the most beautiful countries in the world.
Bern also happens to feature in our run-down of top things to do in Switzerland this summer.
Take a tour of Bern in the company of an expert Bern travel guide to uncover history, followed by a pampering session in the Hamman and Spa.
Travelling with kids? Book a family-friendly walking tour to create a higlight of your Bern vacation.
It’s a reverential place, both for its lofty, gloomy interior and the spectacular Alpine vistas from its tower, the tallest in Switzerland.
Bern's magnificent Münster © scimmery/Shutterstock
Below this is a children’s museum, and a subterranean concert hall, while the southern “hill” focuses on Klee the researcher and mathematician.
As you probably guessed, this is the home region of Switzerland’s best-known cheese.
This is the place to get the single best meringue in Switzerland, and also the trailhead for many wilderness hikes, principally the tough path through the mountains to the 2350m Brienzer Rothorn (7hr).
An Emmental village in the canton of Bern, Switzerland © Markus Thoenen/Shutterstock
Three long, parallel cobbled streets (which all change their names along their length) define the Old Town area: Aarbergergasse–Zeughausgasse–Rathausgasse–Postgasse is the northernmost; Spitalgasse–Marktgasse–Kramgasse–Gerechtigkeitsgasse is in the centre; Schauplatzgasse–Amthausgasse–Münstergasse–Junkerngasse is to the south.
The most hectic shopping goes on in the western half of the Old Town, on Marktgasse and Spitalgasse in particular; the older, eastern half is slower-paced. However, not for nothing does the tourist office tout the famous arcades, lining both sides of every street in the Old Town, as being “the longest covered shopping promenade in the world”.
The Murten Berntor in Bern © Swiss Tourism
The Zytglogge clock-tower is in the centre of the Old Town, and is as much the symbol of Bern as the bear. The focal point of public transport and walking routes within the Old Town – and both the benchmark of official Bern time and the point from which all distances in the canton are measured.
Its squat shape, oversized spired roof and giant, gilded clock face will imprint themselves on your memory of the city.
The BärenPark (Bear Park) is to the east, where three shaggy brown bears are housed in a steep hillside area with a riverside pool at the bottom. The park was created in 2009, but bears were kept at this site from the early sixteenth century in the small Bärengraben (Bear Pits).
Bern's main museums are clustered around Helvetiaplatz to the south.
Standards, even within historic buildings, are high – the only drawback is the need to book ahead.
Bern Kramgasse © Swiss Tourism
The busy Bärenplatz is lined with cafés and restaurants, but many of the best places are tucked away in the cobbled lanes, offering alfresco dining during the summer and firelit warmth in winter.
Snacks at Cafe des Pyrenées — one of the best cafés in Bern © jtap.io/Shutterstock
Walking is the only way to get a sense of the atmosphere of the arcades – and it’s the principal delight of Bern travel.
Aside from trams along Marktgasse, this is also the only public transport running through the Old Town. From the train station (direction Zentrum Paul Klee), the bus heads to the Zytglogge, then on down picturesque Kramgasse and Gerechtigkeitsgasse, and across the Nydeggbrücke to the BärenPark, terminating in the eastern suburbs at the Zentrum Paul Klee gallery.
Taking a tram in Bern is a scenic experience © MrinaD_37/Shutterstock
St. Nicholas cathedral in Fribourg — one of the best excursions from Bern © Elenarts/Shutterstock
If you're into the idea of exploring further afield, read up on the best outdoor experiences in Switzerland.
Whatever kind of trip you're looking for, The Rough Guide to Switzerland and our run-down of things not to miss in Switzerland will help you plan — think of them as your personal travel guide to Switzerland.
Not a fan of planning? Consider booking a hassle-free tailor-made trip to Switzerland, with customisable itineraries covering everything from unforgettable highlights of Switzerland, to touring the Grand Circle.
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written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 13.07.2022
