The old-town arcades & fountains
Six kilometres of covered lanes and a string of medieval fountains — a perfect sheltered wander.
Bern
Medieval arcades and a river bend
Best time
May – September; December for markets
Gentle pace
2–3 slow days
Ideal for
City-break families · First-time Switzerland · History lovers
Bern is the quiet, handsome capital — a medieval old town on a loop of the turquoise Aare, its six kilometres of arcaded lanes a UNESCO world heritage site. It is small, calm and wonderfully walkable, with bears in a riverside park, fountains on every corner, and a river so clean that in summer the locals swim to work.
With children, wander the arcades, visit the bear park, ride the funicular up the Gurten for a view, and — in summer — float down the Aare in a rented dry bag. It is the most relaxed city in Switzerland.
Worth lingering over
The bear park
A riverside enclosure where Bern’s famous bears live — free, and a children’s favourite.
The Gurten & the Aare float
A funicular up Bern’s local mountain for the view, and a summer float down the river in a dry bag.
Hidden gem
The Rosengarten and the Matte quarter
Above the bear park, the Rosengarten — a rose garden with 200 varieties and a terrace looking over the old town and the river bend — offers the classic Bern view, yet most visitors never climb to it. Better still, descend the other side into the Matte, the old riverside quarter of weavers’ houses, hidden below the arcades, with a swimming spot in the Aare, a microbrewery, and a village calm a minute from the capital’s main street.