20 Best Sights in Bern, Switzerland

Bern almost certainly gets its name from the local contraction of the German word Bären because of the bear that Berchtold V supposedly first hunted in the area. The image of a bear is never far away, from the official coat of arms to chocolate morsels. The city has kept live bears since 1513, when victorious Bernese soldiers brought one back from the Battle of Novara and installed it in a hut on what is now Bärenplatz. Brown bears Björk, Finn, and their daughter, Ursina, seem to feel at home in this open-air enclosed area just off the Aare River, complete with quasi forest, shrubs, and cave, where they can play, swim, climb, and sleep all day. Photos and plaques in English describe the bears and their lifestyle. The park is open all hours, every day.

Master builder Matthäus Ensinger already had Strasbourg's cathedral under his belt when he drew up plans for what became the largest and most artistically important church in Switzerland. The city broke ground in 1421 on the site of a smaller church that was dismantled once the cathedral's choir could accommodate Sunday worshippers, and work continued, with minor interruptions, for about 180 years. The finishing touch, the tip of the open, octagonal, 328-foot steeple, was added almost 200 years after that, in 1893. Today Switzerland's highest church tower houses a tower keeper (in an apartment below the spire) and presents wraparound views of Bern and the surrounding mountains.

The Reformers dismantled much of the Catholic Münster's interior decoration and paintings (dumping them in the Münsterplattform, next door), but the exterior 15th-century representation of the Last Judgment above the main portal was deemed worthy and spared. The archangel Michael stands between ivory-skinned angels with gilt hair (heaven) on the left and green demons with gaping red maws (hell) on the right; painted images of the Annunciation and the Fall of Man flank the carved figures as you pass through the doors. Elaborately carved pews and choir stalls within are crowned by 15th-century stained-glass windows that show an easy mix of local heraldry and Christian iconography. The organ, above the main entrance, is often used for concerts.

A completely different animal from the Kunstmuseum across town, this groundbreaking contemporary art venue built in 1918 by and for artists (among them Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Klee, and Alberto Giacometti) seeks to confront, provoke, and engage viewers with the artistic phenomena of today. This translates each year to several exhibits of work by living artists; they become part of a history that includes Wassily Kandinsky, Henry Moore, Jasper Johns, Sol LeWitt, Bruce Nauman, Christo, and Grandma Moses.

The permanent collection here, one of the largest and most diverse in Switzerland, begins with the Italian Trecento (notably Duccio and Fra Angelico), then follows Swiss art from Niklaus Manuel in the 15th century through Albert Anker and Ferdinand Hodler in the 19th and on to Giovanni Giacometti and Cuno Amiet in the 20th. The impressionists are covered, from Manet through Monet; the Nabis, by Bonnard. Picasso bridges the gap between Toulouse-Lautrec and Braque; Kirchner, Kandinsky, and Klee represent German expressionism through Blue Rider to Bauhaus. Mondrian and Meret Oppenheim round out the 20th century. Temporary exhibits often take it from there.

This resolutely interactive museum keeps its focus on the act of communication rather than the means. Exhibits use video, audio, and games to examine body language across cultures, the views of Switzerland's minority populations, the history of the Swiss postal service, and the evolution of telecommunication through to the Internet. All signage is in English.

Engaged creativity are the watchwords in this undulating, light-filled complex inspired by the life and art of Paul Klee and designed by Renzo Piano. The permanent collection is the world's largest of works by Klee (about 200 are on display at any given time); temporary exhibits focus on his artistic environment and legacy. The Ensemble Paul Klee performs regular, varied, and colorful short concerts in the auditorium; guest artists from the worlds of theater and dance present productions, readings, and workshops (mainly in German) with a pictorial slant. The Kindermuseum Creaviva, a sunny, paint-spattered area visible from the Restaurant Schöngrün on the north end of the interior Museum Street, is open to children over four and anyone else who would like to make art. A sculpture garden and multilingual audio tours of the permanent collection round out the possibilities. Basic signage is in English.

The second floor of the Bern History Museum is devoted to the Einstein Museum, where about 550 objects and 70 films chronicle the famous physicist's life. Indonesian shadow puppets, Japanese swords, Polynesian masks, Indian figurines, and Celtic jewelry fill the museum's ground floor, and the Islamic collection is exquisite, but head to the basement for exhibits about Bern and its place in Swiss history. Armor and arms, lavish church treasure (including sculptures from the Berner Münster), magnificent silver, tapestries "acquired" in 1476–77 when the Bernese pushed Charles the Bold back into France, and several of Hans Gieng's original fountain statues lead the charge. Major signage is in English, and there are audio guides in nine languages.

Conceived as a national monument and the beating heart of the Swiss Confederation (the seven-member Federal Council, the 46-member Council of States, and the 200-member National Council all meet here), this massive, majestic domed complex built between 1852 and 1902 takes its symbolism seriously. The 26 fountains out front represent the Swiss cantons; solemn statues inside depict the swearing of the oath on which the union is founded; and two huge murals, one in each chamber, represent the Vierwaldstättersee (Lake Luzern) and a Landsgemeinde (outdoor cantonal assembly) scene, respectively the place where Swiss democracy was founded and the means by which it flourished. One-hour guided tours are available in English on Saturday at 4 pm; book online up to three days in advance.

The 14th-century maps, 19th-century photographs, and St. Christopher's huge limewood head give context to the thick stone foundations of Bern's third city gate. The tower was built between 1344 and 1366 and destroyed in 1865 after a tight vote in favor of the train station. Its ruins have been incorporated into the underground shopping mall of the train station.

This genteel little apartment has been lovingly re-created to evoke the world of 1905, the miracle year in which then-tenant Albert Einstein, a badly paid, newly married young clerk in Bern's Patent Office, developed and published his Special Theory of Relativity. All signage is in German and English. Downstairs, the Einstein café & bel étage serves drinks, lunch, snacks, and desserts.

All of the slot machines and gaming tables at the Kursaal's Grand Casino Bern function until 4 am on Thursday, 5 am Friday and Saturday, and 2 am the rest of the week.

Bern's very own hill rises 1,000 feet above the city and presents a delightful alternative to the city on clear afternoons. The view moves from the Jura Mountains in the west to the Alps in the east by way of Bern itself; multiple lawns, terraces, and restaurants allow for picnics, cafeteria service, or formal dining as you gaze. The funicular to the top takes three minutes; head left to the east for a diagram labeling more than 200 distant peaks or right for a 360-degree view from the top of the Gurtenturm. The playground---the largest in Bern---includes bumper cars and a kiddie train; there's also a toboggan run open from March to October. You can also walk up from Wabern, or in winter, whiz down on a rented sled.

Built in the shadow of the huge Christoffelturm on the site of a disused monastery hospital, this baroque church, laid out like a Huguenot temple, turned out to be a survivor as town walls, houses, gates, and fountains crashed down around it to create today's busy transportation hub. Serenity does still reign within, where natural light floods the green sandstone supporting a magnificent vaulted stucco ceiling.

This tower, completed in 1643, served as the city's prison until 1897. Reconfigured as the Confederation's Political Forum in 1999, it now hosts political events and exhibitions.

Wine stocked the cellar and grain filled the top three floors of this granary for 100 years during Bern's golden age. Then the 1814 Vienna Congress separated the city from its territories, and this monumental baroque storage depot lost its function overnight. The cellar was renovated in 1893 and painted four years later; today it houses a restaurant and bar. The Kornhausforum (Media and Design Center) upstairs organizes contemporary design, architecture, video, photography, and applied art exhibits.

The biggest draw here is the stuffed body of Barry, a St. Bernard who saved more than 40 people in the Alps between 1800 and 1812. But start with the Alpine minerals, diamonds, and fossils in the basement, working up to wild animals in the city. Birds' nests, skeletons large and small, interactive temporary exhibits, and more than 200 wildlife dioramas round out the highlights. Basic signage is in English, though some special exhibitions are only in German and French.

A plaque on the outside wall of the church indicates where vestiges of Duke Berchtold's 12th-century Nydegg Castle (destroyed around 1270) still poke through the landscape; the church itself was begun in 1341, and its wooden pulpit dates from 1566.

The lower Altstadt's hilltop cemetery was converted into a public park in 1913, and today, its lawns, arbors, playground, and formal gardens draw leisurely couples and families with young children. The gardens are planted with azaleas, irises, rhododendron, and rose varieties such as Ingrid Bergman (deep velvet red), Maria Callas (bright magenta), Christopher Columbus (peach), Cleopatra (red tips, orange interior), and Lady Di (small and pink).

This is the place for an in-depth look at the world of mountaineering and its passionate participants and followers. Regularly changing exhibitions focus on topics like climbers in the Himalayas and their media presence, surveying techniques in the Andes, and humble but nourishing Alpine cuisine. All signage is in English.

Though its exterior dates from 1771, the internal walls of Bern's first western gate reach back to the 12th century and represent the city's core. The calendar clock on the Kramgasse side began keeping Bern's official time in 1530; the gilded rooster to the left of the mechanical figures crows four minutes before every hour to begin the sequence of marching bears, fools, and gilded knights who strike the bells. The astronomical clock to the rooster's right keeps track of the day, the month, the zodiac, and the moon. Tours of the horological masterpiece behind it all are conducted in English, German, and French.