After a glorious week-and-a-half in France, we hopped on the train and headed to the land of the Swiss! From Toulouse, we took a six hour train ride to Geneva, and then we switched trains for another 2.5 hour journey to Bern! Bern was a special stop on our trip because we celebrated two occasions two days in a row – Daniel’s birthday and then Valentine’s Day!
On the train crossing the border into Switzerland!
Bern ended up being our favorite city in Switzerland. It felt like a small Swiss town with all of the big city amenities. It has amazing public transportation and has beautiful winding streets to wander in. We also had an overall more fun experience here than in other Swiss cities, primarily because we splurged on our special occasion dinners. For the rest of our time in Switzerland we made ourselves stick as close to our budget as we could, which meant eating some McDonalds meals and finding all the free activities possible.
We had four days in this wonderful city. We spent a lot of time wandering and taking everything in, but we did make it to a few great attractions and restaurants that I recommend, and we took an incredible day trip that I highly recommend if you have more than a couple of days in Bern. We were lucky enough to have picked a weekend during Carnival, their version of Mardi Gras. The big Carnival parade happened on Daniel’s birthday, so we had fun people-watching and pretending they were all celebrating his birthday. 🙂 Here are a few photos of the festival:
So that definitely added a fun element to the trip. But, Bern can be a great place to visit any time of the year, so without further ado, here is my guide for things to do and places to eat in Bern at any time of the year. I’ve also included our Airbnb as a suggestion for a place to stay in the city because we loved it!
Places to Eat
Einstein Kaffee
Einstein Kaffee is a very cute and cozy restaurant and coffee house in the heart of Bern. We actually tried to eat here several times before succeeding. It was always packed when we went, which was a bit stressful, but we were finally able to grab a table the morning of Daniel’s birthday. The food and coffee were great. Even though this place may seem a bit touristy, we felt like we were surrounded by locals and the quality of the food and coffee did not disappoint!
Lötschberg
One thing most people think of eating in Switzerland is fondue, so we knew we had to go to a fondue restaurant to celebrate one of our special occasions. We picked out Lötschberg, and it did not disappoint! We had the traditional Swiss fondue – 1/2 Gruyere, 1/2 Emmental – with potatoes and bread for dipping. Delicious! Just writing this and looking at these pictures makes me want to go back for another meal right this minute! [Note from Daniel – make your fondue meal is as close to laundry day as possible, because your clothes will smell like you took a swim in fondue cheese!]
On our way out of the restaurant we noticed these cute dining cars outside that you can reserve!
Restaurant Rosengarten
For Valentine’s Day dinner, we picked a restaurant with a view! The food was good, but the best part was the view of Bern’s Old Town. Even if you don’t want to splurge on a nice dinner, you should find your way up to the Rosengarten to get some photos. I wish we had had time to go back up during the daytime for a different experience and higher quality photos, but the view at night was stunning!
Things to Do
Einsteinhaus
The Einsteinhaus was the home of Albert Einstein from 1903 to 1905. Today the second-floor flat is restored to the style of that time period, and the third floor above the flat is full of information on Einstein’s life and accomplishments. The entrance fee is about $6 per person. They are closed from Christmas to the end of January but are open for most of the rest of the year.
Zytglogge
Perhaps the most iconic symbol in Bern is the Zytglogge, the giant beautiful clock tower in the middle of town. The ornate clock was put in place on the tower in 1530, but the tower itself was one of the first city gates of the city (built around the year 1200). Throughout the day, four minutes before each hour, figures come out and dance around.
Barenpark
Another iconic part of Bern is the bear pit in the middle of the city. The name Bern supposedly came from the word “bear”, because the founder of Bern hunted a bear in the general location of today’s city. The picture below shows the old bear pit where you can now go and read a little about the history of the bears. Since it was winter, the bears were hibernating, but we were able to see them through a camera in their hibernation rooms (see second picture below). They are so cute! Thankfully, today, they can roam free in a 65,000 square foot open air park whenever they are out of hibernation. I’d love to go back and see them out in the park!
Gurtenbahn Funicular
Before going to Europe, I had never seen a funicular before, but we rode several during our time there. In Bern, we took the Gurtenbahn Funicular up to the top of the Gurten mountain. The ride itself is fun, but the best part is when you get to the top. At the summit of Gurten mountain, you get a fantastic view of both the city center of Bern and the gorgeous surrounding mountain range, and we really enjoyed taking a wintry walk through some of the trails they have there.
Bern Historical Museum
The Bern Historical Museum is a great place to spend an afternoon learning about the history of the city. There are exhibits about Bern from prehistoric times to modern days. Just be sure you don’t go on an empty stomach! We made that mistake, and the museum is too large and full of information to be able to fully enjoy it while hungry. We ended up having to leave earlier than we wanted to because we weren’t willing to pay the exorbitant Swiss museum cafe prices for mediocre food. There are different admission prices based on how many of the exhibits you want to see, ranging from about $13 to $24 per person.
Wandering the City
Bern is a fairytale city. Just look at the pictures below! Just like so many cities in Europe, you must build in time to wander the winding roads and pop into unplanned places (parks, coffee shops, bookstores, museums, etc.).
Cable Car to Swiss Villages
For our day trip from Bern, we took a cable car ride from village to village in the Swiss Bernese Oberland. I’m going to share about that day trip in another post because this post is already long and picture-heavy enough!
Where to Stay
We stayed in one of our favorite Airbnbs of the entire Europe trip in Bern. Click here to see pictures and view the listing. The space is small, but it is right in the city center near public transportation, the room is clean and organized (and very well-decorated!), and the owners are right next door and very friendly and helpful. We would stay there again if we get the chance to return to Bern in the future.
This article is now available as a mobile app. Go to GPSmyCity to download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to the attractions featured in this article.
Our time in Switzerland was part of a 2.5 month trip across Western Europe. Click here to check out all of my posts from this adventure!
{Thanks for reading! Want to know a little more about me? I’m a CPA learning how to balance a career with frequent travel while planting roots at home in Austin, TX. When I’m not exploring my home city with my husband Daniel or cuddling with our chubby orange cat Banana, I’m probably planning, packing, traveling to, or daydreaming about our next adventure. After all, my travel mug collection is never complete. If you have wanderlust too, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat (emilya89), or subscribe to my blog!}
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