21 Best Shopping in Bern, Switzerland

The self-styled prince of Bernese chocolatiers, Tschirren has been making its divine assortment of artfully rough-hewn truffles since 1919.

About 100 arts-and-crafts stands fill the Münsterplatz on the first Saturday of the month between March and December. In December, the market also happens on the first Sunday and the third Saturday and Sunday.

Münstergasse, between Zytglogge and Münster, offers meats, dairy products, bread, fish, fruit, veggies, and more every Tuesday and Saturday.

This unusual store stocks items such as iron Japanese teapots, colored grass baskets, camel-hair rugs, Turkish lamps, multicolored bottles, whimsical mobiles, and soulful carved-wood furniture from India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.

This shop sells fully stocked wooden kitchens, xylophones, beaded jewelry, drum kits, hand puppets, and wooden dollhouse furniture.

The specialty at Confiserie Beeler is the Caramelina, where truffle meets caramel in seven flavors, including mocha-cardamom and cassis. There's also plenty of seating for those who like to linger over tea and cake.

Find an assortment of pralines and truffles, as well as hazelnut gingerbread emblazoned with the iconic bear, at Eichenberger. There are five stores in Bern, three of which have cafés.

Clean, livable, often joyously colorful and affordable designs channel faraway locales at Depot, where the focus is on decorative items like candles and vases, plus necessities like towels, sheets, and dishes.

Good-quality, stylish, often vibrantly colorful home accessories and cooking gear fill the upper stories at Globus. On the lower levels, fashionable hats and scarves, cosmetics, and designer labels give way to foodstuffs—from specialty oils to cheese—in the upscale supermarket downstairs.

Colorful handmade wooden figures and candelabras, delicate shaved-wood trees, and lacy wooden cutouts adorn Holz Art.

Founded in 1881 by four Bern brothers, Loeb features clothing for adults and children along with toys, craft supplies, and housewares. At ground level you'll find accessories, stationery, and cosmetics.

At this German-language chain store, globes, dictionaries, multilingual travel guides, English-language fiction and biographies, a play area for kids, and a sizable selection of books about Switzerland are highlights.

The Bärenplatz is filled with fresh produce, herbs, and flowers every day except Sunday between May and October.

The owner of the Puppenklinik has a passion for restoration. The result is a huge collection of vintage dolls, toys, teddy bears, and puppets from around the world. The store is closed weekends.

It is easy to get lost in the sprawling multilingual Stauffacher (also owned by Orell Füssli), emporium of books, maps, and multimedia, but there are far worse fates. The substantial English Bookshop occupies the third floor of the west wing; regular readings (some in English) are held in the Café Littéraire.

This inviting concept store features a good range of products solely from young Swiss designers, including furniture, bed linens, jewelry, clothes, bags, housewares, and ceramics.  

This awning-covered warren is the place for handmade soaps, antique copper pots, silver jewelry, handmade hammocks, tie-dyed scarves, and toys, including helium-filled balloons. Open on Tuesday and Saturday year-round, the market also opens on Thursday between April and October.

There are few hard edges at U-Tiger, where cloud sofas, green-dragon bean bags, quilted soccer fields, and fuzzy sheep hot-water bottles headline the creative selection of room furnishings and other accoutrements for children.

Throughout December, hot mulled wine adds spice to the arts and crafts, colorful decorations, and seasonal produce lining the stalls set up around Old Town during the Weihnachtsmarkt, open daily from late November till December 24th. 

The Zibelemärit is a remnant of a 15th-century Autumn Market that lasted two weeks; 19th-century farmers' wives, notably from Fribourg, developed the habit of coming to Bern on the first day of the market to sell their excess produce, particularly onions. Today half the 200 stalls that line the City Center on the fourth Monday in November display a vast assortment of items made with onions—everything from wreaths to alarm clocks to soup. Some say the best time to browse the annual market is just after it opens at 4 am, when stalls are candlelit; you may be treated to a predawn dusting of snow, and confetti battles—a major part of the festivities—do not yet rage.