gregs317

Hi, I'm trying to decide which of these 2 towns to visit. I'll be coming from Italy, and going on to Austria afterward. Bern seems like it has a lot to offer for tourists, and would be a nice place to visit. However, friends who've been to Thun, say that it's very picturesque, and I'd love to visit the castle there. I'm only planning to be in Switzerland for 3 days, nights. Thanks, Greg

gregs317

Oops, that should read 3 days, 2 nights.

PalenQ

I would never stay 3 nights in either unless using it as a base but if i had to chose it would be Berne handsdown -just my subjective take -lots more to see and do and stroll in Berne, IMO one of Europe's most underrated towns.

EastBayer

You could stay in Bern and easily take the train to Thun for a day trip.

Jean

Another vote for Berne, especially if you're likely to have colder/wetter weather. When is your trip?

gregs317

Ok, Bern sounds good with a day-trip to Thun to visit the castle, and stroll around a little. My trip will probably be mid-June 2011. I was thinking of going in October originally, but in June I can have a longer trip - 2 weeks.

Is mid-June a good time for cable-car rides into the Alps? Hopefully by that time, there won't be a problem of melting snow and making trails muddy. Greg

swandav2000

Hi gregs317,

And here's one for Thun.

Bern is a lovely city, but Thun sits on its own lake with Lake Brienz also nearby -- I'm a sucker for Alpine lakes. In addition to the castle in Thun, there is one at Spiez and one at Oberhofen. Thun is also wonderfully sited for trips to Gstaad and Montreux.

Thun is also marginally closer to the peaks and the villages --

Have fun!

s

MLF611

Another vote for Bern. I spent a week-end in Thun and I just didn't find it that interesting. Yes, the scenery is beautiful, but you're certainly not limited to Thun for that.

From Bern, there are plenty of day trip options available - including Thun (or Gstaad), Fribourg and Murten.

StuDudley

Another vote for Bern. We visited Thun in the morning, and Bern in the afternoon, stayed overnight there, and visited the next day too. Agree, however, that won't occupy 3 days - 1 day at most.

Stu Dudley

DalaiLlama

But it's not just about Bern or Thun.

Whoever said they wouldn't stay three nights in either place hasn't done their homework.

Bern is so very central in its location - roughly 1 hour to Basel, to Lucerne, to Lausanne - and closer are Murten, Avenches (Roman excavation remnants at Aventicum), La Chaux-de-Fonds (watch factories), and many more worthwhile targets - you could be based in Berne for a week and not exhaust the options it offers while making for an excellent homebase.

Thun itself is small, and aside from being a nice place with not too much to offer, it is the gateway to the Lake Thun with the big public boats plying the entire lake from there, zig-zagging all the way to Interlaken at the other end. So staying there also has a lot of potential for many days of excursions etc.

From Thun (or from Bern via the quick ride to Thun) you easily reach the Niesen (www.niesen.ch), a mountaintop that provides some of the best views of the classic big snowy peaks. On the other side of the lake, also easily reached from Berne via Thun, is the Niederhorn (www.niederhorn.ch) above the village of Beatenberg - there is a cograil contraption and then a gondola to take you up, the top rivals the views you get from the Niesen. Spiez is a stop of the trains and ships and has a castle (more like a luxury villa).
Hiking in all these locations is a pleasure.

There is more - so dismiss neither Bern nor Thun as good places to base yourself. But when it comes to the number of restaurants, shops, hotels, etc., Bern wins hands-down because it is very much larger - it is the capital of the Swiss Federation, a real city with a university, a bunch of museums, a splendid public transport system - while Thun is just a (nice) town.

ira

Hi Greg,

INTERLAKEN