Guide · Sights

Things to do in Bern, from the clock tower to the roses

Things to do in Bern fit inside one loop of the Aare: a clock tower that performs every hour, Switzerland's highest church spire, free bears, a rose garden with a view and museums for a wet afternoon.

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Editorial team, walkingtourbern.comUpdated October 21, 20268-minute read88 sources

The tour that goes with it Bern Old Town walk, 90 minutes 4.4 (713 reviews) 1.5 hoursFrom the Tourist Information at the stationGuides in 4 languages from$33per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hrs before

Quick answer

01Start here: Walk the arcaded Old Town, a UNESCO site since 1983 with six kilometers of arcades.¹
02Put first: The Bern attractions to plan around: the Zytglogge figures every hour on the hour and the 100.6 m Minster spire.² ³
03Free: The BärenPark is open around the clock at no charge; the Rosengarten grows about 250 rose varieties.⁴ ⁵
04With a guide: Bern Welcome's 90-minute Old Town walk starts at the Tourist Information in the station, from $33.
05Indoors: Einstein's flat at Kramgasse 49 and the Zentrum Paul Klee with around 4,000 works.⁶ ⁷

Start inside the loop of the Aare

Nearly every sight worth your time stands on a narrow ridge that the Aare wraps around. Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen founded the town in 1191 on a peninsula in a bend of the river, and that site still decides how you move: long parallel streets running down toward the water, with green banks falling away below.⁸ The whole Old City has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1983.⁹

Getting around needs no planning at all. Bern main station stands right in the city center, and most sights, restaurants and shops can be reached from it on foot.¹⁰ From the station the main streets lead toward the river under the arcades, which Bern Welcome measures at six kilometers in total.¹ Those covered walkways are why a shower rarely ruins a day here: you keep under the arches.

Think of Bern in clusters. The clock tower, the Minster and most of the fountains sit in the middle of the ridge; the Federal Palace stands near the station end, and the bear park waits across the river at the far tip. The History Museum lies across the Kirchenfeld bridge, and the parks sit on the slopes above. The map below joins them in a walking order that starts at the station and ends among the roses.

A day in order

Station to sunset, sight by sight

Morning

Tourist Information

Pick up a map at the station; the desk opens at 09:00 every day.¹¹
Before the hour

Zytglogge figures

The rooster crows, the bears dance and Cronos turns his hourglass.¹²
Late morning

Minster tower

Climb 344 steps to the octagonal gallery at 64 meters.³
Midday

Federal Palace

Free tours of up to 60 minutes when Parliament is not sitting.¹³ ¹⁴
Afternoon

BärenPark

Free and open around the clock, home to Björk, Finn and Ursina.⁴ ¹⁵
Sunset

Rosengarten wall

One of the best places to watch the sun go down over Bern.¹⁶

The clock tower, the Minster and the fountains

Begin with the Zytglogge, a tower that has served as a fortification, a prison, a watch tower and a fire lookout before becoming the city's clock.¹⁷ Every hour on the hour its puppet show runs, with bears, a jester, a golden rooster and Cronos, the god of time.² The astronomical clock and the mechanism behind the figures date from 1530.¹⁸ Watch from the eastern side, where the astronomical dial hangs above the arch.¹⁹

A few streets away the Minster lifts its spire to 100.6 meters, the highest church spire in Switzerland.³ ²⁰ Building began in 1421 and the church was finished only in 1893.²¹ ²² Before you go in, stop at the main portal, where Erhart Küng's Last Judgement crowds 294 sculptures above the doors.²³ Entering the church itself costs nothing, so even a short look at the nave fits into a busy morning.²⁴

Climbing the tower costs CHF 6.00 for adults and CHF 3.00 for children aged 7 to 16.²⁵ It is 254 steps to the square gallery at 46 meters and 344 to the octagonal gallery at 64 meters, and there is no lift.³ ²⁶ Back on the street, keep an eye on the fountains as you go: the Old City has over 100 historic ones, and the water in all of them is drinkable, so a refillable bottle is all you need.²⁷ ²⁸

Stairs to the views

Steps to Bern's two towers with a view

steps

Step counts as Bern Welcome gives them for the Zytglogge and as the Minster's foundation gives them for its two galleries.²⁹ ³

Prices and hours

Entry and opening times at a glance

Sight	Entry	Open
BärenPark	Free	Around the clock
Minster tower	CHF 6.00 adults	Daily
Einstein House	CHF 8 adults	Daily 10:00-17:00, Feb to Dec
Zentrum Paul Klee	CHF 20.00	Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00
Bern History Museum	Ticket	Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00
Botanical Garden	Free	Daily, from 08:00

Adult prices and hours as each venue or Bern Welcome publishes them; the Einstein House dates are its 2026 season.⁴ ²⁵ ³⁰ ³¹ ³² ³³ ³⁴ ³⁵ ³⁶

See it with a guide

Three guided walks through the Old Town

Bern: 90-Minute Stroll Through the Old Town

This site's tour

Old Town walk

Tourist Information, station

Time: 90 minutes
Guides: 4 languages
Price: from $33

See this walk

Local guide

Must-see walk

Bear park to Parliament

Time: 135 minutes
Guides: English, Spanish
Price: from $41

See this walk

Lowest price of three

Discover Bern

From the Bernabrunnen

Time: 135 minutes
Guides: English, Spanish
Price: from $31

See this walk

Decision helper

Pick your Bern by what you enjoy

Match a wish to the sight that answers it

The 90-minute walk

Bern Welcome's guide leads you through the Old Town from the station.

The Minster tower

344 steps to the upper gallery, CHF 6.00 for adults.³ ²⁵

Bears and the zoo

The bear park is free, and about half the Dählhölzli site is free to wander.⁴ ³⁷

Zentrum Paul Klee

Around 4,000 Klee works in Renzo Piano's building.⁷ ³⁸

Only as a strong swimmer

Bern Welcome keeps the Aare for experienced swimmers; beginners should use a pool.³⁹

Every hour on the hour, people gather in front of the Zytglogge (Clock Tower) to watch this unique spectacle.

Bern WelcomeSource 2

Parliament, the bears and the roses

The domed Federal Palace closes off the Bundesplatz, the square of gneiss slabs in front of it.⁴⁰ Its guided tours are free, last up to 60 minutes and take 30 visitors each.¹³ They are not offered while Parliament is in session, so check the session calendar before you build a morning around a visit.¹⁴ On the square in front, a fountain with 26 jets of water stands for the 26 cantons of Switzerland.⁴¹

At the opposite tip of the Old Town, across the Nydegg bridge, the BärenPark slopes down to the river. It is open to everyone around the clock and charges nothing.⁴ Three bears live there: mother Björk, father Finn and their daughter Ursina.¹⁵ They usually hibernate from November to mid-March, so a winter visit can be a quiet one.⁴² Rangers answer questions every day, 9.00 to 17.00 in summer and 11.00 to 15.00 in winter.⁴³

Walk uphill from the bear park and you reach the Rosengarten, a park high above the Old Town with a view across its landmarks and, on clear days, to the Gurten and the Alps.⁴⁴ Around 250 rose varieties bloom there in summer, and the Japanese cherry trees flower around the end of March and the beginning of April.⁵ ⁴⁵ From 1765 to 1877 the ground served as the cemetery of the Lower Old Town; it has been a public park since 1913.⁴⁶

Map

Bern's Old Town on foot, from the station to the roses

A walking line through the Old Town past its towers, fountains and the Minster to the bear park and the Rosengarten, then the wider city with the river, the Gurten and the museums.

Street map of Bern's Old Town with a red walking line from the station past the Käfigturm, the Federal Palace, the Zytglogge and the Minster to the Nydegg bridge, the bear park and the Rosengarten — The Old Town walk

Map of Bern with the Old Town in the loop of the Aare, the Marzili, the Gurten to the south and the Zentrum Paul Klee to the east — Bern around the Old Town

1
Tourist Information at the station
Bern Welcome's desk at Bahnhofplatz 10a, by the station's eastern exit, opens 09:00-18:00 on weekdays and 09:00-17:00 at weekends.¹¹ ⁴⁷
In Google Maps ↗
2
Käfigturm
Raised in 1256 as a defence tower and gate, it held prisoners after the fire of 1405.⁴⁸
In Google Maps ↗
3
Federal Palace
Inaugurated on 1 April 1902; free tours of up to 60 minutes run when Parliament is not sitting.⁴⁹ ¹³ ¹⁴
In Google Maps ↗
4
Kindlifresser fountain
Stands by the Kornhaus; one of the city's 11 historical fountain figures.⁵⁰ ⁵¹
In Google Maps ↗
5
Zytglogge
The figures move every hour on the hour; the astronomical clock and its mechanism date from 1530.² ¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
6
Einstein House
The second-floor flat at Kramgasse 49 that Einstein rented from 1903 to 1905, open to visitors.⁶
In Google Maps ↗
7
Bern Minster
The spire reaches 100.6 m; 344 steps climb to the octagonal gallery at 64 m.³
In Google Maps ↗
8
Justice fountain
A blindfolded Lady Justice above a pope, an emperor, a king and a sultan.⁵²
In Google Maps ↗
9
Nydegg bridge
The crossing at the foot of the Old Town, over the Aare towards the bear park.
In Google Maps ↗
10
BärenPark
Free and open around the clock, home to Björk, Finn and Ursina.⁴ ¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
11
Rosengarten
About 250 rose varieties on a hill above the Old Town, with a view across its roofs.⁵ ⁴⁴
In Google Maps ↗
12
Marzili
A free riverside pool on the Aare that draws over 10,000 people on peak days.⁵³ ⁵⁴
In Google Maps ↗
13
Gurten
Bern's local mountain at 858 m, 5 minutes up by funicular from Wabern.⁵⁵ ⁵⁶
In Google Maps ↗
14
Zentrum Paul Klee
Renzo Piano's building of 2005, holding around 4,000 works by Klee.³⁸ ⁷
In Google Maps ↗
15
Bern History Museum
Half a million objects, with the Einstein Museum inside.⁵⁷ ⁵⁸
In Google Maps ↗

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Ready for a day of sights

Before you set out

Overnight guests ride trams and buses free with the Bern-Ticket
Note that the History Museum and Paul Klee close on Mondays
A Museum Card for 24 or 48 hours of entry⁵⁹

On the day

A bottle for the drinkable fountain water
Shoes for cobbles and tower stairs
Sunset at the Rosengarten wall

Cost calculator

What a guided start costs your group

Choose how many of you are coming to compare three ways in.

Old Town walk90 minutesfrom $33 Must-see walk135 minutesfrom $41 Inside the Zytglogge1 hourfrom $31

People 2

Total from$65

per head from $33

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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.

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EVERYTHING TO DO IN BERN, SWITZERLAND: Your travel guide for the Swiss capital in 2023!

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Days out with children

Bears make an easy opening for a family day, and the list of things to do in Bern with kids goes well beyond them. The free BäreBähnli inclined lift links the riverside path with the upper part of the bear park from 08.00 to 17.00, which saves small legs and strollers the steep slope.⁶⁰ Since 2015 a free, wheelchair-friendly panorama lift has also joined the riverbank to the upper park.⁶¹

South along the Aare, Bern Animal Park Dählhölzli keeps 200 animal species, opens 365 days a year and lets you wander about half of its grounds freely.³⁷ The enclosures of native animals along the riverbank and the children's zoo cost nothing at any hour.⁶² A day ticket for the rest is CHF 11 for adults and CHF 7 for children aged 6 to 15, while children up to 6 go free.⁶³ Pack a picnic and make a long morning of it.

On a cooler afternoon the Creaviva children's exhibition at the Zentrum Paul Klee is free to enter, and it gives young hands something to make rather than only look at.⁶⁴ For room to run, take tram 9 for around 15 minutes to the Gurtenbahn and then the funicular for 5 minutes up to meadows at 858 meters.⁶⁵ ⁵⁶ ⁵⁵ Children under 6 travel free on public transport throughout Switzerland, so the hop up the hill is easy on a family budget.⁶⁶

Museums for a grey afternoon

Albert Einstein lived in Bern from 1903 to 1905 and developed his theory of relativity here.⁶⁷ His second-floor flat at Kramgasse 49 is restored in period style and open to visitors.⁶ In 2026 it opens daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until 18 December, with last entry at 4.45 p.m., and adults pay CHF 8.³¹ ³² A 20-minute film inside walks you through his life, his thinking and his work, a good primer before you look around the rooms.⁶⁸

Across the Kirchenfeld bridge, the Bern History Museum keeps half a million objects in history, archaeology and ethnography.⁵⁷ It includes the Einstein Museum, which places his life and work in a wider historical setting, so the flat and the museum pair well.⁵⁸ The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 and stays closed on Mondays, which matters if your visit falls early in the week.³⁵

The Zentrum Paul Klee opened in 2005 in a wave-shaped building of steel and glass by Renzo Piano.³⁸ Its collection holds around 4,000 paintings, watercolors and drawings, and exhibition entry costs CHF 20.00.⁷ ³⁴ It also closes on Mondays.³³ If you plan several museums back to back, the Museum Card opens the collections and special exhibitions of various Bern institutions for 24 or 48 hours.⁵⁹

The river and the local mountain

Swimming in the Aare is, in Bern Welcome's words, the city's favorite popular sport, yet the tourist office is blunt about it: the river is only for experienced swimmers, the current is strong and often underestimated, and beginners belong in a pool.⁶⁹ ³⁹ There are no lifeguards on the river, not even at Eichholz or the Marzili, and every swim is at your own risk. Watching from the bank is a fine way to share the habit.⁷⁰

If you do go in, use the marked exits, many of them stairs with red handrails, and leave the water well before weirs.⁷¹ ⁷² Never swim at high water or after heavy rain.⁷³ The city lists 144 for an ambulance and 117 or 112 for the police.⁷⁴ Everyone else can stay on dry land: the city pools charge no admission, and the Marzili riverside pool draws over 10,000 people on peak days, so arrive early on hot weekends.⁷⁵ ⁵⁴

South of the city rises the Gurten, Bern's local mountain at 858 meters, with views of the snowy Bernese Oberland.⁵⁵ Tram 9 reaches the valley station in about 15 minutes, the S1 or S31 train in about 10.⁶⁵ The funicular leaves every 15 minutes, or you can hike up in about an hour.⁷⁶ Hotel guests ride it with the Bern-Ticket, which makes it an easy late-afternoon escape from the streets.⁷⁷

Markets, evenings and the free transit pass

Good things to do in Bern at night begin with the light. Bern Welcome names the wall in front of the Rosengarten one of the best places to watch the sun set over the city.¹⁶ Walk up before dusk, then come back down through the lit arcades. From 19 November to 27 December 2026, the Sternenmarkt on the Kleine Schanze stays open until 10 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and a fondue chalet stands among its huts.⁷⁸ ⁷⁹

By day, a farmers' market fills the Bundesplatz on Tuesdays and Saturdays, a good way to see what Bern buys and eats.⁸⁰ In late autumn the Zibelemärit takes over the streets on the fourth Monday of November, which in 2026 is 23 November, and more than 200 stalls sell braided onion strings, wreaths and figures.⁸¹ ⁸² The festivities officially open at 6:00 a.m. in the Upper Old Town, so set an alarm rather than a late dinner.⁸³

If you sleep in Bern, the Bern-Ticket comes free from your first night: trams, buses and trains in Libero zones 100 and 101 for the whole stay, for up to 30 days.⁸⁴ ⁸⁵ It also covers the Gurten and Marzili funiculars and the Mattelift down to the Matte.⁸⁶ It does not include the Minster tower, so keep a few francs for the stairs. Ask for the ticket at check-in if your hotel does not hand it over unasked.⁸⁷

Your Old Town hour

The clock tower and the Minster are waiting

Choose a start time, meet your guide at the station and cancel free up to 24 hours before.

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You ask,we answer.

Which sight should come first?

The Zytglogge. Its figures perform every hour on the hour, so time the rest of your walk around the next show.²

Does the bear park charge entry?

No, and it never closes. The BärenPark is open around the clock and free of charge.⁴

What works when it pours?

The arcades and the museums. Among things to do in Bern on a rainy day, six kilometers of arcades keep you dry, and the History Museum opens Tuesday to Sunday.⁸⁸ ³⁵

Can I go inside the Federal Palace?

Yes, on a free guided tour. Tours last up to 60 minutes and are not offered while Parliament is in session.¹³ ¹⁴

How tall is the Minster spire?

100.6 meters. It is the highest church spire in Switzerland; 344 steps lead to the octagonal gallery.³ ²⁰

Do I need a car in the city?

No. The main station sits in the city center, and most sights can be reached on foot from there.¹⁰

Is there one pass for the museums?

The Museum Card. It opens collections and special exhibitions of various Bern institutions for 24 or 48 hours.⁵⁹

Sources