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Bern Switzerland
Complete Visitor's Guide to the Swiss Capital
Bern has historic buildings and a river clean enough in which to swim.
The city symbol is a bear, which brings to mind a menacing creature that digs its claws into people and growls. Hustle. Bustle. Tussle.
Only the strong survive, which would make it pretty much like any country's capital city. It's the nature of the beast.
But Bern, Switzerland is more like a newborn cub, safe enough to pet, cute enough to cuddle and so easy to love one is tempted to say "I want one of those!"
ALL ABOUT BERN
A bird's eye view of Bern, as seen from the top of the Clock Tower
A drink in the platz, strolling and shopping the walkways, dinner at a cool cafe and cocktails deep into the night. This is Bern.
While there is certainly more to Bern than meets the eye – a new soccer stadium and hockey arena that is hosting the 2009 IIHF World Championships, April 24-May 10, is outside of the main area – much of the city is centered around its compact Old Town.
Bern's slow-down scene can be seen by the bikes and street cafes.
Not much bigger than a Swiss Alps ski village, Old Town can be casually walked in a little more than an hour. The centrally-located Barenplatz, with its outdoor tables by cafes, oversized chess board and fountain in front of the capitol building, is the center of the city's attention. And it's only a few blocks from the popular Clock Tower and dozens of cafes, restaurants, shops and bars.
The roof of a train station gives the old city a modern appeal.
As a result, Bern is alive with activity, with its residents and tourists shopping along the amazing and seemingly endless archway-covered "passages," enjoying one of the weekly markets along Krangasse or simply strolling by the Clock Tower.
There's a reason the city's unofficial slogan is "slow down" because it only take a few minutes to walk from one place to another and there's no reason to be in a hurry.
BERN GENERAL INFORMATION
Another view of Bern from the top of the Clock Tower
Bern became the capital of Switzerland for the most basic of reasons – it's location. It's practically in the middle of the country, an hour from the Alps, Geneva and Zurich. The wonderfully efficient Swiss Travel System makes getting here a breeze and the train station is only a couple of minutes from Barenplatz.
A very convenient place to stay is the Best Western Hotel Bristol, just around the corner from the train station, two blocks down Schauplazgasse.
The Aare river wraps its "arms" all around the city of Bern.
Old Town, which contains most of the city's attractions, is like a peninsula, with the Aare River wrapping around it, hugging the city like a grandpa giving a gentle bear hug to the grandkids. In the summer, the river is a recreation center, as it is clean enough in which to swim. The Marzili pool, right below the House of Parliament, is the gathering spot. Yes, bring the bathing suit to Bern.
There are three main east-west streets, all eventually leading to the Nydeggbruke Bridge; cross it and BearPark is on the right. The main shopping area is on the middle street, which changes names several times between the bridge and the train station; it's Kramgasse when it meets the Clock Tower.
People keep the Kronhausplatz busy with activity.
Kornhausplatz runs north/south and is always alive with action. In addition to the Clock Tower, many of the city's cafes, bars and restaurants are located either along the street or just off of it. A good photo viewing spot is to walk across the bridge toward the Kursaal Grand Casino. The bridges of Bern are high above the river, making for great vantage points.
The Bundesplataz may be a dog's life by day but Parliament shines at night.
Parliament is located at the Bundesplatz, a fountain plaza next to the cafe-lined Barenplatz.
Old Town is a traffic-free area. The only vehicles allowed are cabs or those for delivery to businesses.
The helpful Bern Tourist Office in the main train station has information on Bern, maps and can even provide guided or iPod-assisted tours.
BERN'S HISTORY
There's a long-standing American joke about Southern people who have been around for quite a few years to say they are "as old as the hills."
The same could be said about Bern, which has a history that dates back to the year 1011. That's when Duke Berchold V. von Zahrigen commissioned a nobleman, Cuno von Bubenberg, to build a city on a peninsula that would be protected on three sides. The land surrounding the Aare river fit this idea perfectly, and Bern was born.
The statue of the Duke, Bern's founding father.
Local legend has it that the Duke announced the first animal he killed would become the city's symbol. It just so happened he encountered a bear, and instead of high-tailing it to the hills (as most reasonable likely would have done), he captured it. Apparently the Duke was a man of his word because the bear became Bern's permanent symbol.
Like anything that's been around for a while, Burn has had its bumps and bruises throughout its history. A fire destroyed the city in 1405, but reconstruction in sandstone instead of wood led to the creation of the Laubengange, the tree-lined walks and covered arcades, the latter of which today comprise much of the city's shopping area. In fact, Bern is pretty much today as it was then and has been named a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site.
THE BEAR PARK
Visitor's line up to see Bern's enduring symbol, the bear.
Some places have statues saluting city symbols. Not Bern. It has an actual bear, and the BearPark is one of its top visitor attractions.
The current BearPark is an open circle in a small plaza where people can peer in at the bear's activities. Those activities, of course, all depend on the bear's mood. Some people try and spark reactions by tossing down bits of food, but the bear's reaction is hardly the stuff of catching salmon in a stream. Still, it's makes for a worthy destination at the end of a good walk through town, by the river and just over the Nydeggbruke Bridge.
An enhanced BearPark is currently under construction. When completed in October of 2009, it will extend down to the Aare river and will enable people to witness bears climb, play and even fish. More bears, two to three, will then be added to the exhibit.
ACTIVITIES & SIGHTSEEING
Bern's Clock Tower is the city's version of Munich's Glockenspiel.
Since BearPark hardly takes all day, there's plenty of time to see many of Bern's other cultural attributes.
It begins at the Zytglogge, or Clock Tower, Bern's version of the Glockenspiel in Munich. Created in 1530 as the literal gateway to the city, it announces each hour with multiple moving parts in an entertaining show. From May thru October, a tour to the top with outstanding views above the city is available through the tourist office (12 CHF).
The House of Parliament is the seat of the Swiss government (Federal Council) and the parliament (National Council and Council of States). Free guided tours of the city's dominant building on the Aare are available, but not when Parliament is in session (this occurs four times a year for three weeks at a time).
This park just down from Parliament is a place to picnic and relax.
Just down from Parliament, a short stroll high along the river, is one of the city's many parks. People sit and relax here, read books (or this PubClub.com artice) and even play ping-pong. Other parks in town include the Rose Garden (just up from BearPark) and the Botanic Gardens across the Lorianebrucke bridge.
While walking about town, notice the detailed sculptures on the fountains. Bern has more than 100 fountains and the water is clean enough to quench a quick thirst (drink out of the pipe, not the pool).
 Bern has several museums, including the Kunstmuseum (Swiss and international art), the Swiss Alpine Museum, the Swiss Rifle Museum and the Museum of Communication.
Most museums are convienently located in the same area across the Kirchenfedbruke bridge. One exception is the Einstein Haus, which is on Kramgasse just down from the Clock Tower. The genius lived here from 1903-1905 when he formulated his Theory of Relativity. He lived in the third floor of the building (6 CHF).
SHOPPING IN BERN
Passages to (shopping) paradise: Stores here number in the hundreds.
It may only take an hour or so to walk from one end of Old Town to the other, but that doesn't take into account stopping for shopping.
And for gentlemen who are visiting Bern with their lady, allow PubClub.com to suggest that you pull up a seat at a cafe's table in the Barenplatz and have a few cold Swiss beers. Because your lady is going to be a while.
Bern's main east-west street is lined with small shops, They range from high end to low end and have clothes, trinkets, watches, electronics and just about everything else one can imagine. Most shops are under the covered archway, called the "passage," but several more are almost hidden down alleys revealing a sort of mini-mall. Still more are below the street in cellars, their wooden doors open to the street like welcoming arms.
Shoppers can discover hidden treasures beneath Bern's streets.
While no one has ever bothered to count the number of shops in this 6-kilometer area, it must number close to 1,000. The shops close at 2100 hours each night. Just in time for dinner, ladies and gentlemen.
EVENTS IN BERN
As the capital city, Bern naturally attracts and hosts several events throughout the year.
One might think they woke up in Chicago, New Orleans or St. Louis when B.B. King, Fats Domino, Dizzy Gillespie or Ella Fitzgerald are in town. But they have all been part of the annual International JazzFestival, which takes place during a 10-day period in the Spring (March 14-May 22 in 2009).
In addition to the IIHG Hockey World Championships, there is the Bern Grand Prix (April 18 in 2009 and May 15 in 2010). This cycling event features 20,000 competitors taking part in a race along the "10 most beautiful miles in the world."
More than 35,000 people turn out for the Gurten Festival on Bern's The Gurten mountain. The 2009 event is July 16-19.
For kids, the Buskers Festival (Aug. 6-8 in '09) features 300 musical shows of Swiss folk, jazz, hip-hop and more, mixed in with street performances, puppet theater, comedy and food and drink. It occurs at 30 sites throughout Bern. On Saturday (Aug. 8), food and drinks are served until 3 a.m., which makes it much more than a festival for the kids.
Carnival in Bern is an annual celebration that starts on Thursday when the bear imprisoned in the Prison Tower is woken from his winter sleep by the "Ychüblete" (drumming) and released. Masked revelers swarm through the streets and restaurants of the Old Town and "Guggenmusik-Cliques" (carnival bands) march down the promenade. On Saturday, a parade rolls through town attracting 50,000 spectators, followed by a concert. The next Bern Carnival is Feb. 18-20, 2010.
Naturally, the city celebrates the winter holiday season. In Bern, it's the annual Christmas markets will be held at the Waisenhausplatz form Nov. 28-Dec.. 29 and at the Münsterplatz from Nov. 28-Dec 24.
Bern also has flower, vegetable and meat markets every Tuesday and Saturday on Bundesplatz and Munsterplatz.
 Related Article: Bern's Bars and Nightlife
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