Bern Highlights: Arcades, Fountains & the Aare Bend

What's the walk about?

Welcome to Bern, the Swiss capital wrapped in a hairpin bend of the emerald Aare. This walk threads the heart of a UNESCO old town that has kept its medieval bones intact: nearly six kilometres of sandstone arcades that let you stroll shop-lined lanes rain or shine, and a scatter of painted Renaissance fountains that turn ordinary street corners into open-air storybooks. Starting from the old western gate at the Käfigturm, you'll follow the arrow-straight main streets past the seat of Swiss government, beneath the astronomical Zytglogge clock, along Kramgasse to the apartment where a young patent clerk named Einstein reshaped physics, and up to the Minster's soaring spire. From there the lanes tumble downhill to the river, crossing the Nydegg bridge to meet Bern's living mascots, the bears, before climbing to the Rosengarten for the postcard view over rooftops cradled in the water's loop. It is compact, walkable, and unhurried, exactly the way this quietly confident city likes to reveal itself.

What you'll see

1. 1

   Käfigturm

   tower

2. 2

   Bundeshaus & Bundesplatz

   Landmark

3. 3

   Zytglogge

   tower

4. 4

   Kramgasse & Zähringer Fountain

   Street

5. 5

   Einstein House

   Museum

6. 6

   Bern Minster (Münster)

   church

7. 7

   Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Justice Fountain)

   Fountain

8. 8

   Nydegg Church & Nydegg Bridge

   church

9. 9

   Bear Park (BärenPark)

   Park

10. 10

    Rosengarten

    Viewpoint