The Zytglogge, Bern's 13th-century clock tower with its 1530 astronomical dial, at the heart of the Old Town.
Photo: Zairon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Bern travel guide
Bern is arrived at through its Hauptbahnhof, wedged right against the edge of the medieval Old Town on a peninsula formed by a bend in the Aare river - the whole historic center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, is within a 10-15 minute walk of the station. Founded in 1191 by Berchtold V, Duke of Zahringen, the city has been Switzerland's federal city since 1848 (a status distinct from being the country's largest city, which is Zurich), and its sandstone arcades, fountains and 15th-century Zytglogge clock tower give it a more intact medieval feel than most European capitals.
Neighborhoods
Altstadt (Old Town)
The UNESCO-listed core, ringed by the Aare and threaded with roughly six kilometres of covered arcades - the longest such covered shopping walkway in Europe - along streets like Kramgasse and Gerechtigkeitsgasse, punctuated by 16th-century fountains and the Zytglogge clock tower.
Matte
The old working riverside quarter just below the Old Town, reached by the little Mattenlift elevator; historically home to boatmen and craftsmen, it's now a quiet pocket of bars and workshops tucked between the water and the cliff-like terrace above.
Marzili
The riverside lawns and public pool directly below the Bundeshaus, connected to the government quarter by the Marzilibahn - at 106 metres, billed as Europe's second-shortest public funicular - and packed with locals sunbathing and swimming the Aare all summer.
Kirchenfeld
The 'museum district' across the Kirchenfeldbrucke from the Old Town, home to the Bernisches Historisches Museum and its integrated Einstein Museum at Helvetiaplatz, plus the Rosengarten viewpoint and the Tierpark Dahlholzli zoo.
Top attractions
Zytglogge
Bern's clock tower began as the city's western gate around 1218-1220 and gained its elaborate astronomical clock, built by mechanic Kaspar Brunner, in 1530 - the same movement still runs the tower's figures today. The interior is visitable only on a guided tour (advance booking recommended, capped at 19 people per group).
Barenpark
The open-air riverside enclosure where Bern's symbolic bears have lived since 2009, when it replaced the older Barengraben bear pit (in use since 1857) with a roughly 6,000-square-metre park along the Aare, linked to the old pit by a tunnel.
Bundeshaus (Federal Palace)
The seat of the Swiss Federal Assembly and Federal Council, overlooking the Aare valley from Bundesplatz; free guided tours run when parliament isn't in session, and the square in front hosts a market several mornings a week.
Bern Munster
Switzerland's tallest cathedral, begun in 1421 under master builder Matthaus Ensinger and only completed - spire and all, at just over 100 metres - in 1893; the portal's Last Judgment carving has more than 200 figures, and the tower can be climbed for panoramic views.
Einstein House
The modest Kramgasse 49 apartment where Albert Einstein lived with his wife Mileva and son Hans Albert around 1905, the year he wrote his special theory of relativity while working at Bern's patent office; restored with period furnishings and a short film on his life.
Food
Bernese cooking runs heartier than much of Swiss cuisine: the local rosti is traditionally made with butter and bacon lard rather than vegetable oil for a richer, crispier result, and the Berner Platte piles cured meats, sausages, pork belly and smoked pork onto one plate, often with sauerkraut or beans. The city's biggest food event is the Zibelemarit (onion market), held every year on the fourth Monday of November since a market first recorded in the 15th century - farmers bring around 50 tonnes of braided onions and garlic into the Old Town, and stalls sell onion soup, onion tart and Bernese sausage alongside them.
How long to stay
If you only have one day
With a single day, start at the Zytglogge and walk the arcaded length of Kramgasse and Gerechtigkeitsgasse, detouring to the Einstein House; continue to the Bundeshaus and Bundesplatz, then down to the Barenpark along the Aare before climbing back to the Munster for the view from the tower if time and a booked tour slot allow.
If you have two or more
A second day opens up Kirchenfeld's museums (the Bernisches Historisches Museum and its Einstein Museum, or the Zentrum Paul Klee a short tram ride further out), the Rosengarten viewpoint over the Old Town, and - in warm months - joining locals for a float down the Aare from the Marzilibad or Lorrainebad pools; a third day suits a day trip into the surrounding Emmental countryside or onward into the Bernese Oberland.
Getting around
Bern Hauptbahnhof, where trains from Interlaken and elsewhere in Switzerland arrive, sits right on the western edge of the Old Town - most sights, from the Zytglogge to the Bundeshaus, are within a 10-15 minute walk straight out the station's main exit, so the Bernmobil tram and bus network is mostly needed only for Kirchenfeld's museums or a faster trip to the Barenpark.
Practical tips
- Overnight guests at officially registered accommodation in Bern receive a Bern Ticket, giving free travel on trams, buses and trains within city zones 100/101 for the length of their stay, activated online via the Bern Welcome website.
- The Zytglogge's interior is only accessible on a guided tour, capped at 19 people and known to sell out - book ahead rather than turning up on the day.
- Most shops in Bern close on Sundays; the exception is the Bern Hauptbahnhof's own shopping concourse, which stays open every day of the year with extended hours.
- The Bern Museum Card covers admission to every museum in the city, including the Bernisches Historisches Museum and Einstein Museum, and is sold at the Bern Welcome tourist office in the main station.
- Aare swimming is a genuine local tradition, but the current is strong and often underestimated - stick to the marked entry and exit points near the Marzilibad or Lorrainebad and consider a waterproof floating 'Aare bag' for your belongings.
- If visiting for the Zibelemarit onion market (the fourth Monday of November), book accommodation well ahead - it's Bern's single biggest annual event and draws large crowds into the Old Town from early morning.