Guide · Day trips

Day trip from Bern: castles, cheese and high peaks

Bern sits in the middle of Switzerland's rail network, so a day out can mean a medieval village, a lake castle, a cheese dairy or a summit station. Here is how the main options compare.

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Editorial team, walkingtourbern.comUpdated October 21, 20267-minute read31 sources

The tour that goes with it Gruyères Village, Cheese & Chocolate Day Tour from Bern 4.2 (7 reviews) 8.5 hours from$340per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

In short

01Easy by train: Zurich, Basel, Lucerne and Interlaken are all within an hour of Bern by direct train.¹
02Cheese and chocolate: A small-group day to Gruyères and Maison Cailler lasts 8.5 hours, from $340.
03Lake and castle: Thun Castle is about 10 minutes on foot from Thun station; adults pay CHF 10.² ³
04The Matterhorn: A 10-hour small-group tour goes by train to Zermatt and the Gornergrat.
05Highest station: The Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 m, has the highest railway station in Europe.⁴

Why Bern works so well as a base

Choosing a day trip from Bern starts with the station, which sits right in the city center with most sights, restaurants and shops within walking distance.⁵ Bern Welcome points out that Zurich, Basel, Lucerne and the resort of Interlaken can all be reached within an hour by direct train.¹ That short radius means you can spend the morning somewhere new and still be back for dinner under the arcades.

Rail passes change the arithmetic. The Swiss Travel Pass gives unlimited travel on trains, buses and boats across the country and includes free entry to over 500 museums.⁶ The Half Fare Card cuts almost all train, bus, boat and mountain railway fares by 50% and is valid for one month, which suits travelers who plan a handful of shorter trips.⁷ Work out your days first, then price the pass against single tickets before you buy.

Guided days have their own appeal. Several small-group tours leave from the Tourist Information office at Bern station, travel by public train and handle the connections, entry lines and timing for you. They cost more than a ticket of your own but remove the planning, and they are the simplest choice for anyone who wants the mountains or a cheese dairy without studying timetables the night before.

The Gruyères day

How the cheese and chocolate tour unfolds

Start

Bern station

Meet the guide in front of the Tourist Information, ground floor.
By train

West to Gruyères

The tour travels on public trains.
First stop

Gruyères

The village below a castle built in the 13th century.⁸
Next

La Maison du Gruyère

The cheese dairy, named on the listing.
Then

Maison Cailler

The chocolate house beside Broc-Chocolaterie station.⁹
Finish

Back in Bern

8.5 hours after the start.

Gruyères: a castle above a cheese village

Gruyères is the classic choice for a first day out. Its castle is first mentioned in the archives in 1244, was built in the 13th century and served as the main home of the counts of Gruyère.⁸ The Canton of Fribourg bought it back and opened it to the public in 1939.¹⁰ Today it opens every day, from 9 am to 6 pm between April and October and from 10 am to 5 pm from November to March.¹¹

Adults pay CHF 13 for the castle, while seniors and students pay CHF 9.¹² A combined ticket for the castle and La Maison du Gruyère, the show dairy, costs CHF 17.¹³ The village itself is closed to traffic, and if you arrive by public transport you should allow a 20-minute walk from Gruyères-Gare station up to the castle.¹⁴ The climb passes the main street with its fountains and tea rooms, so take your time on the way up.

The day tour this page recommends bundles all of it. It meets in front of the Tourist Information at Bern station, travels by train, stops in Gruyères, at La Maison du Gruyère and at Maison Cailler, and lasts 8.5 hours with no more than 12 people. It costs from $340 and is rated 4.16 from 7 reviews. A private car with a driver to Gruyères and Fribourg takes 6 hours, spends two hours in Gruyères and starts from $500.

Time out of town

How long each guided day lasts, in hours

hrs

Durations as each listing gives them, from the private car days to Neuchâtel and Gruyères to the train tours into the mountains.

At a glance

Where to go from the capital, side by side

Destination	Known for	Key figure	With a tour
Gruyères	Castle and cheese	Castle CHF 13	8.5-hour group day
Broc	Maison Cailler	Adults CHF 17	Same group day
Thun	Lake castle	Castle CHF 10	On your own
Murten	Ramparts	12 towers	On your own
Zermatt	Gornergrat	10-hour group day	Up to 15 people
Jungfraujoch	Top of Europe	3,454 m	10-hour private day

Entry prices and figures from the castles, Maison Cailler, Switzerland Tourism and Jungfraubahnen; tour details from each listing.¹² ¹⁵ ³ ¹⁶ ⁴

Three guided days

Cheese country, the Matterhorn or the high glacier

Recommended

Gruyères day

Cheese, castle, chocolate

Time: 8.5 hours
Group: Up to 12
Price: from $340

See the day

Zermatt, Matterhorn & Gornergrat Small Group Tour from Bern

Matterhorn views

Zermatt day

Train to the Gornergrat

Time: 10 hours
Group: Up to 15
Price: from $731

See the day

Jungfraujoch Top of Europe Private Day Trip from Bern

Highest station

Jungfraujoch day

Private, with pickup

Time: 10 hours
Minimum: 2 people
Price: from $1,009

See the day

Decision helper

Which day out suits your trip

Pick the wish that sounds most like yours

I want cheese and chocolate I want a castle without a tour I want the Matterhorn I want snow in summer I want a short, quiet day

Gruyères day tour

Gruyères, La Maison du Gruyère and Maison Cailler in 8.5 hours.

Thun

A museum castle with four towers, 10 minutes up from the station.¹⁷ ²

Zermatt day

By train to Zermatt and the Gornergrat in 10 hours.

Jungfraujoch

Up to 3,454 m and Europe's highest railway station.⁴

Murten

Walk ramparts with 12 fortress towers, then the lake shore.¹⁶

Mentioned in the archives for the first time in 1244, the castle was the principal home of one of the leading noble families in western Switzerland during the Middle Ages: the counts of Gruyère.

Château de GruyèresSource 8

Chocolate in Broc, bridges in Fribourg, walls in Murten

Maison Cailler in Broc is the stop that turns a cheese day into a sweet one. Its train station is called Broc-Chocolaterie, and the house opens daily from 10am to 6pm, with the last ticket sold at 5 pm.⁹ ¹⁸ Expect queues on busy days, when waiting times can reach 3 hours, so an early slot or a guided tour saves real time.¹⁹ Combined with Gruyères, which lies close by, it makes a full and satisfying day of cheese and chocolate.

Fribourg straddles a language border. Switzerland Tourism places it in the west of the country, right on the border between German- and French-speaking Switzerland.²⁰ Its bridges are the draw, from an old covered timber crossing to the Poya Bridge, the longest cable-stayed bridge in Switzerland.²¹ It suits travelers who like steep lanes, churches and a slower pace than the capital.

If you are looking for places to visit near Bern that feel like a step back in time, Murten is hard to beat. Its walkable ramparts with 12 fortress towers wrap around the upper part of the old town.¹⁶ You enter through the Berntor gate, a fitting name for a visit from the federal city.²² Walk the wall first for the views over the roofs, then drop down to the lake shore for a slow lunch.

Checklist

Before a day out from the capital

Plan

Compare a rail pass with single tickets
Book Maison Cailler early on busy days
Check the mountain view before going high

Bring

A warm layer for the summits
Good shoes for castle stairs and ramparts
A card for entry tickets on the way

Cost calculator

What a guided day costs your group

Set the number of travelers to compare the guided days from Bern.

Gruyères day8.5 hoursfrom $340 Zermatt day10 hoursfrom $731 Schilthorn day10 hoursfrom $578 Jungfraujoch day10 hoursfrom $1,009

People 2

Total from$679

per head from $340

Check availabilityfree cancellation

Each total takes the lowest adult price GetYourGuide shows for a Bern listing, times your group size, at the European Central Bank's rate of the day; checkout shows what you actually pay.

Video

Best Day Trips from Bern, Switzerland | Travel Tips + Reflections

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Thun, the Emmental and Burgdorf

Thun lies on Lake Thun at the gateway to the Bernese Oberland, and its castle crowns the town.²³ Thun Castle is a medieval museum castle with four towers, one of the oldest castle complexes in Europe and a museum since 1888.¹⁷ Inside, its exhibitions cover 800 years of Thun, Bernese and Swiss history.²⁴ From the station, the path climbs through the Obere Hauptgasse and takes about 10 minutes.²

Opening hours change with the seasons: daily from 10 am to 5 pm between April and June, from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm in July and August, and only on Sundays from 1 pm to 4 pm between November and January.²⁵ Adults pay CHF 10.³ Pair the castle with a walk along the river and a look at the lake, and Thun fills a relaxed day without any guided tour at all. A boat on the lake or a picnic by the water rounds it off on a warm afternoon.

East of Bern, the Emmental offers cheese of a different kind. The Emmentaler Show Dairy in Affoltern has been open 365 days a year since 1989 and shows four cheese dairies from different eras.²⁶ Its Stöckli, dating from 1741, is one of the last places where cheese is still made over an open fire.²⁷ Nearby Burgdorf, the largest town in the valley, is one of the twelve Zähringer cities, and its Upper and Lower Towns are linked by 81 steps.²⁸ ²⁹

Zermatt and the Matterhorn in one long day

A Bern to Matterhorn day trip is the most ambitious outing on this list, and it is best left to a guided group. The small-group tour that covers it meets in front of the Tourist Information office at Bern station and travels by train to Zermatt and on to the Gornergrat. It lasts 10 hours and takes no more than 15 people, with guides speaking German or English.

The price reflects the distance: it starts from $731 and is rated 4.63 from 9 reviews, and cancelling stays free until 24 hours ahead. For that you get the rail journey south across the country, time in the village and the ride up to a viewpoint facing the famous peak. Bring warm layers even in summer, because the air at the top is far colder than in Bern.

Doing it alone is possible but tiring, since every connection has to work and the return comes late. If the Matterhorn is a must, choose a clear day and check the mountain forecast the evening before; a cloudy summit makes a long journey feel wasted. If it is only a nice-to-have, a closer lake or castle gives you more time on the ground and less on the train. There is no shame in saving the big mountain for a separate trip.

Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn and the valley below

For a day trip from Bern to Jungfraujoch, the private option leaves room for your own pace. It lasts 10 hours, rides the Eiger Express up to the Jungfraujoch and returns via Kleine Scheidegg and Lauterbrunnen, with pickup included and guides in English, French or German. It needs at least 2 people per booking and confirms within 48 hours. Prices start from $1,009, and it is rated 4.94 from 5 reviews.

The goal is worth the effort: the Jungfraujoch stands at 3,454 m and has the highest railway station in Europe.⁴ Bern Welcome points to an all-in-one Jungfraujoch ticket that takes you up through the Alpine scenery to the Top of Europe building and back to your starting point.³⁰ Weather decides everything up there, so keep the day flexible if you can. Warm clothes, sunglasses and sun cream belong in your bag in every season.

The Schilthorn is the other summit within reach. Its aerial cableway reaches the top at 2970 m in 32 minutes.³¹ A small-group day from Bern goes there by train and cable car via Stechelberg and finishes in Mürren; it lasts 10 hours, takes up to 15 people, starts from $578 and has no reviews yet. A gentler valley day to Lauterbrunnen and Mürren runs 8 hours from $405.

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