Bern

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Bern (also Berne - the official english spelling), the capital of Switzerland, is a small- to medium-sized city with a population of about 130,000. It sits on peninsula formed by the meandering turns of the river Aare. The remarkable design coherence of the Berne's old town has earned it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It features 4 miles of arcaded walkways along streets decked out with fountains and clock-towers.

The main language spoken in Berne is Bernese-German, one of the many Swiss-German dialects which all vary greatly not only from what the Swiss call Hochdeutsch/High German, but also among each other. Because of these differences, even Germans are often not able to follow Swiss-German talking. Like all Swiss-German dialects, Bernese-German is only a spoken language. For writing, the standard German (Hochdeutsch/High German) is used.

By popular demand among the Swiss (especially the young), Swiss-German is more and more often used as a written language in advertisements and personal communications as well, though as no particular spelling for the words exist, one can write whatever seems appropriate. In schools and Universities, children and students are taught only using standard German, so most Swiss-Germans can understand their northern neighbors from Germany, if not the other way around.

English seems to be supplanting French as the favorite second language of the Bernese, but both are widely spoken, especially as the canton of Berne is a bilingual canton (German/French), and Berne itself is only about 12 kilometers from the nearest French-speaking village.

	berne Travel Guide : 1 Understand 2 Get in 2.1 By airplane 2.2 By train 2.3 By car 2.4 By bus 3 Get around 3.1 By foot 3.2 By transit 3.3 By car 4 See 5 Do 6 Learn 7 Work 8 Buy 9 Eat 9.1 Budget 9.2 Mid-range 9.3 Splurge 10 Drink 11 Sleep 11.1 Budget 11.2 Mid-range 11.3 Splurge 12 Contact 13 Stay safe 14 Cope 15 Get out 16 External links

Understand

Berne was founded in 1191 by Duke Berthold V von Zahringen and was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was made an free imperial city by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1218 after Berthold died without an heir.

In 1353 Berne joined the Swiss confederation. After several successful conquers, Berne became the largest independent city state north of the alps. It was occupied by French troops in 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars, and was stripped of most of its territories. The city became the Swiss capital in 1848.

Get in

Berne is located in the center of Switzerland and is very well connected with the rest of the country.

By airplane

Berne's small international airport (http://www.alpar.ch) with direct flights from Amsterdam, Berlin, Munich and Vienna lies just a few kilometers south of the city. If you don't exit the plane as one of the first, you may suddently end up without a taxi when exiting the terminal as the few available have already been taken. But new taxis arrive usually within a few minutes. A taxi ride into the city is approx. CHF 30. Alternatively, the airport shuttle bus takes you to the railway station in the center of Bern for 14 CHF.

• Routehunter.com (http://www.routehunter.com/airlines/europe/cheap-flights-from-Berne-to.html) Cheap flights to Berne

By train

Berne is on the main line of the Swiss Federal Railway between Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich and is served twice per hour by express (Inter-City) trains from the airports of each of these cities. Hourly express trains take you into all directions, including Basel, Fribourg, Brig and Interlaken.

For more information:

• Swiss Federal Railway (http://www.rail.ch/), telephone 0900-300-300 from within Switzerland or +41-900-300-300 from outside, provides a useful online travel planner which includes information about local bus and tram services as well as rail services and can plan your journey from any address to another.

By car

Berne is easily reachable with the national motorway network from all directions and has several exits from motorways A1, A12 and A6.

By bus

Get around

By foot

By transit

Berne has an excellent public transit system, with frequent local city services provided by trams, trolleybuses and buses, together with an S-Bahn rail system for longer journeys into the surrounding suburbs.

For more information:

• Bernmobil (http://www.bernmobil.ch/), telephone 031 321 88 88, operates the local tram and bus services, and provides timetables and other information on its web site or by telephone.

By car

As in most swiss cities free parking space is rare and the paying ones in the city center are quite expensive. As the center is quite small and all of the major attractions are within a mile walking distance it's a good choice to park in a "park and ride" and take public transport to the center of town.

See

Berne is chock full of history and thus museums. It also has quite a bit of public art, all of which is marked on a walking map which is available from the tourist office in the train station for 1 CHF.

• Bundeshaus (House of Parlaments), Bundesplatz 3 (Yes, really! Number 1 and 2 are banks...). Representive Building dominating the Square. Constructed by the end of 19th century. Guided tour (free) if no "session" (held 4 times a year). During session only access to the spectators ranks. Website of the parliament : Guided tours of the Federal Parliament Building (http://www.parlament.ch/e/homepage/in-pg-fuehrungen.htm)

• Einsteinhaus, Kramgasse 49, +41 31 312 00 91 (webmaster@einstein-bern.ch, fax: +41 31 312 00 41). 10am to 5pm (4pm Saturdays) March to October, 1pm to 5pm (Noon to 4pm Saturdays) March and February. Albert Einstein rented this small flat with his wife during his years working at the Swiss patent office. Their first child, Hans Albert, and the special and general theories of relativity were born here, where Einstein's writing desk overlooked the busy street and its lovely clock-tower. There are numerous photos and original documents from Einstein's life, work, and speeches. 3/1 CHF Adults/Students. http://www.einstein-bern.ch
• Invasion of Berne >> successful! As you explore, you may notice these small alien graffiti mosaics. GAME NOT OVER was declared by the anonymous Parisian artist "Invader" in 1998. Since then, space invaders have been reappearing on the walls, bridges and roofs of cities across the world, most famously on the Hollywood sign and in several locations in the Louvre. Two additional Swiss cities have been invaded: Geneva and Lausanne. Those with 10 EUR, a longer visit, and a weird sense of humor might consider ordering a map and doing the space invader tour. http://www.space-invaders.com

• The Clock Tower. Near the center of the old town. On the hour, every hour throughout the day. (Be five minutes early as it starts before the hour!) A stunning display of early animatronic technology and as the locals are proud to tell you "the longest running act in showbusiness". At a few minutes before the hour, it begins with a little song and some flapping from the cock then some drumming by the jester up top. At the hour the bears and the old bearded king get into the act. OK, it's probably a good thing to take kids to see. It tells time too! (And the month, day, sign of the zodiac and phase of the moon). Free. There are guided tours inside the tower that will let you have a look at the clockwork whilst the show is displayed outside. To be booked at the tourist office and defiently worth it if you love mechanics.

Do

• Gurten The Gurten (http://www.gurtenpark.ch/) is a lovely hill just outside the city. It features a park and great view over the city on one side and a nice panorama of the Bernese alps on the other. The park is visited heavily by locals to play ball, to barbecue or to just lie in the sun. Tourists are not an unusual sight, though this little attraction is missed by most of the many that visit the city. Hiking paths lead in all directions and you will almost certainly stumble across some cows when walking around. A wooden look-out tower allows an even better panorama than that you would already have. If you get hungry or thirsty, a good budget restaurant service and self-service provides you with all you need. Families with children should not miss the cool playground. The Gurten can be easily reached with tram number 9 from the railway station in Berne in direction Wabern. Exit the tram at station Gurtenbahn and walk a few steps up the hill. Then take the Gurtenbahn, a panorama train that will bring you on top in just 5 minutes (http://www.gurtenbahn.ch/, round-trip tickets are CHF 9 for adults or CHF 4.50 for children, departure usually every 20 minutes depending on daytime). A club called up-town features various cultural events on weekends and once a year in summer national, European and a few international music stars (among others Alanis Morisette, Skin, Moloko and Jimmy Cliff in 2003) visit it for the Gurtenfestival, an open-air music festival (http://www.gurtenfestival.ch/english.html). Gurten is a must see for everybody visiting the city for longer than a day. Except transportation and restaurant, everything is free.

• Bear Pits Berne is inseparably linked with bears. According to legend the city?s founder, Duke Berchtold V von Zahringen, named the city after the first animal to be caught here. The saga lives on in the form of the real-live bears in the Bear Pits and the heraldic bear in the Bernese coat of arms. Opening hours: Summertime: 08.00 - 17.30, Wintertime: 09.00 - 16.00, everything is free. Members of the RSPA might find the pits quite depressing. The good news are that they will be enlarged within the years to come. The bears will even have the possibility to go for a swim in the river.
  Just next to the bear pits you'll find the "Tramdepot", the old final station of Berne's first tramway. The building now houses the tourist office (free shows on the cities history in regular intervals) and the towns most popular brewpub.

• Rosengarten Little park with a splendid view over the old town. Situated close to the bear pits (follow the path that goes up the hill opposite the bear-pit-roundabout. Quite popular (and populated) during lunchtime.

• Swimming in the river Aare In hot summer days, let yourself drift for some kilometers in the river Aare. Good (and safe) stretches are between the Kornhausbridge and the public pool of the Lorraine (old fashioned swimming pool just next to the river) and between the Eichholz and the public pool of the Marzili. Other stretches such as swimming the bend around the old town (starting at the "Englische Garten" to the Lorraine) or the "Bremgartenschlaufe" are only to be done by good swimmers accompaigned by experienced locals.
  BTW: Entrance to public pools is free of charge. This makes it a good idea to choose a swim that ends at a public pool so you can have a shower afterwards.

• SC Bern - Professional hockey team. Excellent atmosphere at games. The Stadium is the second largest in Europe and regularly sold out

Learn

Work

Buy

As with most other cities in Switzerland, store opening and closing hours in Berne are strictly regulated. All stores, including grocers must close by 6:30 pm Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Thursdays they are allowed to stay open until 9:00pm, but on Saturdays everything must close by 4:00pm. The stores are closed on Sundays. Stores inside the railway station are allowed longer opening times. Both major supermarket chains Migros and Coop have a store inside the station so you'll be able to get relatively cheap grocerys even on sundays.

Rathausgasse and the streets parallel to it have any number of cute shops with an amazing range of artisanal goods. This is not the normal range of swiss souvenir stuff, but really interesting things. There are a couple of worthy examples below, but the real pleasure is in spending a few hours (or days) exploring the arcades and vitrines.

• Yamatuti, Rathausgasse 53. +41 31 318 26 56. Opens at 1:00pm on Mondays,

10:00am on Saturdays, and 11:00am during the rest of the week. Unique toys and kitch collectibles pack the walls of this cramped space.

• Krompholz Music, Spitalgasse 28 (Just around the corner from the main train station.), +41 31 311 3489 (info@krompholz.ch). Monday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm. The thing that makes this shop special is its HUGE collection of sheet music and English language music instruction materials. Pretty good CD section with lots of swiss artists (both pop and folclore). http://www.krompholz.ch

Eat

Budget

• Wabere, Gerechtigkeitsgasse 68, +41 31 311 42 58 (fax: +41 31 312 20 67). 11am to 11pm except Sunday. Excellent soups, a good rendering of Swiss standards, such as cheese fondue, and an decent number of veggie choices. 14-24 CHF (many items available in half portions).
• Pastamania, Kramgasse 49, +41 31 318 28 28 (fax: +41 31 318 28 29). Located in the same house as the Einsteinhaus, this very small restaurant serves some very good pasta dishes. 18-25CHF for the main dish. 8-14Chf for appetizers.
• Sous le Pont A nice restaurant in the Reitschule complex which serves excellent dishes at affordable prices.
• Manora, Bubenbergplatz 5A +41 31 311 37 55, closing at 10pm. It's probably the cheapest restaurant in town, of course self-serving. There's a Salad bar and most dishes will be prepared directly on your order. Students get a 10% reduction.

Mid-range

• Vatter, Barenplatz 2, grocery: 9am to 5pm, restaurant: 10am to 10pm daily. Vatter is the largest of the several organic groceries in the old town, and has its own restaurant upstairs as well if you don't feel like cooking, or lack the facilities. 8-20 Chf. http://www.vatter.ch It serves excellent Beer from the Locher Brewery in Appenzelland has a balcony overlooking Barenplatz.
• Kornhaus, Kornhausplatz 18, +41 31 327 72 70 (fax: +41 31 327 72 71). The room alone is worth a stop at this fabulously appointed mostly Italian restaurant. As one might guess from the name, the building was originally built for grain storage, but now features fresco paintings of traditional swiss scenes, events from local history, and related characters. 26-45Chf for the main dish. 9-14Chf for appetizers.
• Schmiedstube, Schmiedenplatz 5, tel: +41 (0)31 311 34 61. http://www.schmiedstube.com Open from Monday to Saturday 8.30 - 23.30. Sunday closed. German, French, Italian, English and Spanish spoken. This traditional Swiss restaurant is well known for its typical dishes, such as Roschti, Cordon Bleu, alplermakkaronen. Its location in the heart of Berne (300 ft from the clock tower "Zytglogge") makes it an ideal resting stop while you're enjoying the city of Berne.

Splurge

Drink

The Bernese will tell you that Nightlife in Berne is not exactly what you might call spectacular, but they're probably comparing it to Zurich or Paris. In truth, Berne beats most U.S. cities. There are quite a few good spots to hang out at.

For a drink or two, there's a wide choice of bars all over town. However, you might be disappointed with most central options as they tend to be annoyingly conventional, though there are an ample number of exceptions:

• Du Nord just across Lorraine Bridge from the city center.
• Café Cairo Another nice choice in the same area as Du Nord.
• Kornhaus Café Closer to the center is the posh but nice Kornhaus Cafe.
• Kornhausbar Located in the basement, one floor over the restaurant. It serves the best drinks in Berne, but is always crowded with overdressed people.
• Cuba with Latin-influenced Cuba Bar next door.

Most of the towns cooler bars are located around the main clubbing venues though. In the ancient Matte neighborhood, which is well worth a daytime visit too, you'll find nightlife options for almost every taste. The best of them is

• Wasserwerk Club (www.wasserwerk.ch) This is one of Berne's traditional clubbing and concert venues for urban music. It actually features two parts.
• Sportwerk The very welcoming, smaller "Sportwerk", which is open all week and free of charge, offers drinks, music, pool, snooker, darts, table soccer and flipper games as well as sport events on TV in a laid back, greenish atmosphere. The bigger part of the club, the actual "Wasserwerk" is open on weekends and features excellent djs and live concerts.
• Silo Bar Also in the Matte you'll find Silo Bar, a popular student hangout and disco. Admission is free and the place gets really packed on weekend nights. A nice place if you don't mind the sound (a mix of mainstream hits).
• Dampfzentrale Close to this area there's another good option, the Dampfzentrale. In this former electricity facility you'll find an excellent restaurant and bar, along with lots of cultural pearls. Dampfzentrale specializes in urban, jazzy, electronic music and dance performances. Definitely a gem!

• Reitschule Next to the central train station is Berne's most important center for alternative culture. The Reitschule. The huge brick building is visible from far, easy to recognize by its abundant graffiti art on the façade and roof. Reitschule has the status of an autonomous cultural center, which means in firm language that it's a no-police zone. This of course gives it a bit of an anarchist touch, a touch of "anything goes". And indeed, anything does go: Reitschule features a theater, a cinema, a women's room and two concert/dancing venues, all dedicated entirely to alternative culture. recent concerts included rjd2, metalheadz or dj babu. Reitschule as a whole is a unique experience and a must-see for anyone who has an interest in contemporary urban culture. check their program at www.reitschule.ch

Sleep

The main train station has a tourist office on the west side on the ground floor. They'll try to help you find a hotel room, if you arrive without booking. However, it is better to book ahead if you can, as Berne is a capital city; the budget hotels do tend to fill up on the weekends.

Budget

• Landhaus, Hotel-Restaurant Landhaus (near the bear pit), +41 31 331 41 66 (landhaus@spectraweb.ch, fax: +41 31 332 69 04). Reception is open until 10. A cute, friendly, and well-kept place with a good restaurant and bar downstairs. 90-160 Chf (If they are fully booked ask to crash in the TV room, 34 Chf). http://www.landhausbern.ch
• Bern backpackers - Hotel Glocke, 1 (http://www.bernbackpackers.com). Rathausgasse 75. +41 31 311 37 71, fax: +41 31 311 10 08, e-mail: infor@bernbackpackers.com. A member of Swiss Backpackers Association, and Located in the center of the old town this highly favored backpacker's hotel is only a 10 or 15 min. walk from the central train station they have Internet, games and laundry facilities, solid security and no more than six beds in a room. There are also kitchen facilities, a big common room with TV, a pool table, games, movies at night, and gift shop. Prices from Sfr 29.- per person, per night.
• Youth Hostel, www.jugendherberge.ch, Weihergasse 4. +41 31 311 63 16, 187 beds in all, consisting of two, four, five and six-bed rooms and two group rooms, one with eighteen and one with 20 beds. Shower and WC on each floor.

Mid-range

Splurge

• Bellevue Palace, Kochergasse 3 - 5. +41 31 320 45 45 Only a short walk from the Federal Council building, this five star hotel provides exquisite rooms and amazingly attentive service. The bathrooms alone make this place worth the price, if you can afford it. Doubles from 350 Chf per night. http://www.bellevue-palace.ch

• Hotel Bern, Zeughausgasse 9, +41 31 329 22 22, fax: +41 31 329 22 99. A good value nearing the upper end the Hotel Bern has a great location, near perfect service and impeccable rooms for somewhat less money than the five star options. The hotel mainly caters to business travelers, which means that they are more likely to be booked up during the week, and more likely to give you a deal on the weekend. Ask for room 508, not just because it's named for the only Swiss astronaut to date, but also because it has a lovely bay window with a view of the cathedral and of course of neighboring rooftops, offering an especially nice view when it snows. Doubles start at 180 Chf.

Contact

Stay safe

Berne is a very safe place with nearly no violent crime.

But as it is the capital of Switzerland, it features frequent political demonstrations on a variety of subjects every few weeks, seldom leading to some police intervention.

The central railway station often hosts some not terribly dangerous, but sometimes irritating drunks and homeless at night.

Cope

Get out

• Bienne
• Interlaken
• Thun

External links

• Berne, Switzerland (http://www.berne.ch/) - official site of the Berne Official Tourist and Convention Bureau. Available in English, German, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish.

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