Bern

Bern has no sea, but summer life does revolve around the river. On warm afternoons locals walk upstream along the Aare from the Marzili baths, jump in and let the fast, glacier-green current carry them back past the Federal Palace. The water reaches about 18-22°C in July and August. It is cold and powerful, so this suits confident swimmers and it is not a place for small children. The Marzili, Lorraine and Eichholz riverside lidos have lawns, pools and showers.

For calmer water, Lake Thun is about twenty minutes away by train and has lakeside bathing spots under the Alps. The season runs roughly from June to early September, and outside it swimming is not part of a visit.

Eating in Bern is solid and traditional, not adventurous. The local signature is the Berner Platte, a heavy board of smoked meats and sausages served with sauerkraut and beans. Old guildhall dining rooms and vaulted cellar restaurants under the arcades serve rösti, fondue and veal in cream sauce. The weekly markets on Bundesplatz and around the old town sell cheese from the Emmental, bread and seasonal produce. In late November the Zibelemärit onion market fills the centre with onion tarts and braids.

Chocolate is a real local strength. There is a reasonable spread of Italian, Asian and modern Swiss kitchens, but the range is that of a small city, and eating out costs a lot.

The old town is the main sight. It sits on a tight loop of the Aare and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site: sandstone houses, about 6km of covered arcades, painted Renaissance fountains and the Zytglogge clock tower with its moving figures. The late-Gothic Minster has a richly carved main portal and a tall tower with views over the rooftops to the Alps. The domed Federal Palace overlooks the river.

The museums are better than the city's size suggests. The Zentrum Paul Klee, a wave-shaped building on the eastern edge, holds the largest collection of the painter's work. The Kunstmuseum is Switzerland's oldest art museum, and the Historical Museum includes an Einstein Museum, with the flat where he worked out special relativity a short walk away on Kramgasse. Two days covers the essentials.

Evenings in Bern are low-key. Most going out happens in the vaulted cellar bars beneath the old town arcades and along Aarbergergasse and the streets near the station, where the bars stay busy at weekends. The Reitschule, a former riding school run as an alternative cultural centre, is the place for late, rough-edged parties. In summer, riverside bars and terraces along the Aare are where people gather. During the week the city goes quiet early, and there is little for anyone looking for a big club scene.

On a clear day the snow peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau line the horizon from the old town, and they are close. Interlaken and the Jungfrau region are about an hour by train, with high-mountain hiking, cable cars and winter skiing. Lake Thun is nearer, with lakeside paths and boats.

Closer to the city, a funicular climbs the Gurten, the local hill, for walks and views. Riverside paths follow the Aare through woods in both directions, and cycling routes cross the green farmland around the city. The rolling Emmental to the east and the Jura ridges to the north-west are good for gentler walking and cycling. Winters are grey in the city, though often sunny higher up.

Bern sits at the centre of the Swiss rail network, which makes it one of the easiest day-trip bases in the country. Lucerne, Basel and Zurich are each about an hour away by train. Lausanne and the Lavaux vineyard terraces above Lake Geneva are a little further. On the language border, medieval Fribourg is about twenty minutes away, and from there it is a short trip on to the castle town of Gruyères and its cheese dairies.

Nearer still are the walled lakeside town of Murten, Thun with its castle and old town, baroque Solothurn and Neuchâtel on its lake. You can see a different town each day for a week without planning around connections.

Bern is calm, clean and safe, and easy with children. The bear park on the riverbank below the old town is a favourite, and the Dählhölzli zoo along the Aare keeps European animals in wooded enclosures, with free paths through parts of it. The Natural History Museum has fine animal dioramas. The funicular up the Gurten leads to a big playground and open meadows.

The Marzili lido has shallow pools for children, but the river itself runs fast and is for strong swimmers only. Trams and buses are easy with pushchairs, though some streets leading up from the river are steep. There is no theme park or major aquarium, so families often spend some days in the mountains.

The historic centre is small enough to walk end to end in about twenty minutes, from the station to the bear park, and the arcades keep you dry in the rain. Trams and buses cover the rest of the city on one integrated fare system, and run with typical Swiss punctuality. Short funiculars and a public lift link the old town with the riverside quarter below. Some streets climbing up from the Aare are steep. The main station is right at the top of the old town, so arriving and leaving on day trips is simple. A car is unnecessary and parking in the centre is limited.

Shopping in Bern is pleasant rather than extensive. Spitalgasse, Marktgasse and Kramgasse run in a line under the arcades with Swiss chains, watch and chocolate shops and a long-established department store near the station. Further down, Gerechtigkeitsgasse and the cellar shops reached by steep steps from the pavement sell antiques, design, books and crafts. The weekly markets add cheese and local produce, and the Zibelemärit in late November sells woven onion braids. A large shopping centre on the western edge of the city covers mainstream brands. There is little in the way of luxury or fashion range.

Bern is very expensive. Hotel rooms, restaurant meals and drinks cost far more than in most of Europe. Even simple guesthouses and plain business hotels are pricey. A sit-down dinner with wine is a real expense, and a beer on a terrace costs more than most visitors expect.

Some things help. Hotels usually give guests a pass for local trams and buses, and many of the main pleasures are free: the bear park, the river paths, guided tours of the Federal Palace and walks through the old town and its arcades. Visitors on a budget usually eat lunch from supermarket takeaway counters and market stalls, and save restaurants for the evening.

Bern has the cultural institutions of a small capital. The Stadttheater stages opera, ballet and drama in German, and the Bern Symphony Orchestra plays in the Casino concert hall above the Aare. The Dampfzentrale, a former power station by the river, hosts contemporary dance and new music, while the Reitschule puts on alternative concerts. The International Jazz Festival brings well-known players each spring, and the Gurtenfestival fills the local hill with rock and pop in July. There is plenty to see on a given evening, but there is no reason to plan a trip around it.

Bern feels unhurried. Nobody rushes under the arcades, Sundays are quiet, and long lunches on the riverside terraces are normal. For actual spa time, a large thermal bath and wellness complex on the western edge of the city has warm pools, saunas and steam rooms, and the old town has a hammam-style spa and several hotel spas. There is no historic bathing tradition. Visitors who want serious spa time usually look for mountain spa hotels in the Bernese Oberland. As a quiet place to slow down for a few days, Bern works well.