Bern Travel Guide

Bern Travel Guide

Bern is the charming capitol of Switzerland. This small city is often overlooked in favor of cities like Zurich or Geneva, but Bern is worth a day trip if you have time to fit it into your Switzerland itinerary.

It’s also very centrally located, making it an easy to stop to add to most travel plans.

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*Backpacks & Bubbly – Top Picks for Drinks With A View*
What to do in Bern
Getting to Bern
How Long to Spend in Bern
Safety for Solo Female Travel in Bern

Disclaimer: This article contains some links where I earn commission through booking. There is no extra cost to you, and I only recommend things I’ve used and love or places I’ve stayed and enjoyed!

Backpacks & Bubbly – Top Pick for Drinks With A View

Restaurants Terrasse

For drinks or dinner with a view over the Aare river and the charming city of Bern, try Restaurants Terrasse. They have a large terrace with lots of seating!

What to do in Bern

Explore Old Town

Bern’s Old Town consists of four main streets lined with a series of shops and restaurants. It’s easily explored on foot and you’ll pass many of the main sites mentioned below on your way!

Climb the Bern Cathedral

For some of the best views in Bern head to the Bern Cathedral (located right in the Old Town) and climb the 344 steps to the top for panoramic views of the city.

More details on opening hours can be found here. Entrance to the cathedral is free, but there is a small fee to climb the tower.

See the Clock Tower

Also located in the heart of Old Town, the Zytglogge Clock Tower with its astronomical clock is one of the most famous landmarks in Bern!

Find the best Viewpoints

Bern has some amazing viewpoints for viewing the city, the Aare river and the Bernese Oberlands. Some of my favorites:

Rosengarten
Bern Cathedral Tower (see above)
Nydeggbrücke Bridge
Untertorbrücke Bridge

Float Down the Aare River

On a nice day you’ll see hundreds of locals body surfing and floating down the Aare river that winds through Bern. The water is an absolutely stunning blue.

Make sure you’re a strong swimmer though, the current can be quite fast and you’ll need to be able to pull yourself out of the water when you want to get out! Entry and exit points are marked with a red pole and steps for climbing in and out.

This site outlines the different routes you can take down the river!

Also, fair warning, even on really hot days the water is CHILLY! I found it refrreshing, but not for the faint of heart

Visit the Bears

Bears are the symbol of Bern and Bern is home to its every own bear pit right outside the city center. The large bear pit is currently home to 4 bears! It’s free to vist

Einstein House

Bern is famous for being one of the places Einstein lived in his life. The Einstein house is located right in the city center and you can either just walk by and see or pay to visit. It’s small and you won’t need more than a half an hour to visit.

Getting to Bern

By Train

Bern is easily accessible by train from all major cities in Switzerland. It’s very centrally located making it easy to reach from almost anywhere in the country.

Zurich –> Bern 1 hour
Geneva –> Bern 2 hours
Interlaken –> Bern 50 minutes

By Car

I recommend taking the train in Switzerland when you can, but if you’re arriving by car you’ll want to park in one of the parking garages on the outskirts of the city and explore by foot. Most of the main downtown area is car free

How Long to Spend in Bern

Half a day – 1 day

Bern can easily be explored in a half day, but you’re welcome to spend longer there if you like. I prefer to usually visit as a day trip from a nearby city vs. staying in Bern.