The old town of Bern, wrapped by the Aare.

Where to stay in Bern

Stay in Bern for a UNESCO old town you can walk end to end under six kilometres of arcades, with free access to Parliament and bears living by the river. For lake boats and two mountain railways instead of a capital’s politics, stay in Lucerne.

6kilometres of covered arcades through the UNESCO old town1983the year Bern’s old town joined the UNESCO World Heritage list5000square metres, the size of the BearPark, open every day of the year

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Bern at a glance

Why Bern

Because the old town, the arcades and the Bundeshaus all sit within walking distance of one another, so a stay here needs no transport plan: you leave the hotel on foot and reach the Parliament, the bears or the next fountain in the same walk.

Where to sleep

First stay or want to be close to the trains: around Bahnhofplatz and Zeughausgasse, in the upper old town. After the arcades and the BearPark: along Gerechtigkeitsgasse, close to the Nydeggbrücke. Looking for quiet by the river: down in the Marzili on the Aare, or out at the Engehalbinsel.

Watch out

Parliament tours stop entirely while the chambers are sitting, and may be restricted during ceiling lighting work from January to February 2027, so check the calendar before planning a visit around them.

Bern, before you book

Bern’s old town rises to 542 metres on a hill that the Aare wraps in a loop, and it has stood on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1983. The city sits on the main Swiss rail spine that links Zurich, Basel, Geneva, Lausanne and Interlaken, so the train is the natural way in. From the station, the sandstone arcades take over almost immediately, about six kilometres of covered walkway lined with fountains, shops and vaulted cellars.

Three stretches of that hill decide where to sleep. Around Bahnhofplatz and Zeughausgasse, the old town is closest to the trains. Follow Gerechtigkeitsgasse downhill and the same sandstone arcades lead towards the Nydeggbrücke and the BearPark on the far bank. Below the old town again, the Marzili quarter sits directly on the Aare, and the Engehalbinsel, further out, sits in its own grounds away from the centre.

The hotel list runs from the Bellevue Palace, which describes itself as the official guesthouse of the Swiss government, to a youth hostel on the Aare in the Marzili quarter. Between them stand old-town houses on Zeughausgasse and Hirschengraben, and a hotel with its own jazz club on the Engehalbinsel. Our dated price samples put the youth hostel as the least expensive address in this selection, with the historic grand hotels well above it.

Bern is not a single-season city: the BearPark stays open 365 days a year, and the arcades work regardless of weather. What changes is what plays inside them. Marians Jazzroom, at the Innere Enge, runs from September to May, with two concerts a night from Tuesday to Saturday, while Restaurant Rosengarten opens its veranda for fondue only from mid-October to the end of February. Free guided tours of the Parliament Building run Tuesday to Saturday too, except while the chambers are sitting.

Summer or winter?

Pick a season, or set your dates above: prices and advice follow.

Summer in Bern

Where to stay this season

Summer in Bern centres on the Aare, which Switzerland Tourism describes as turquoise-blue and used for swimming and rafting, so a base in the Marzili quarter, directly below the old town, puts the river within steps of the hotel. Marians Jazzroom is closed for the season, so book evenings around the Rosengarten or the old town instead.

Bahnhofplatz, station square · 5 stars

From

CHF 495/ night

Summer average CHF 495

On Bahnhofplatz itself, the Schweizerhof Bern puts you on the station square with a Sky Terrace rooftop bar over the roofs of the city and a spa to end the day. It suits a stay built around the trains, with the old town’s arcades starting just beyond the square.

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Prices: lowest and average nightly rate seen on Booking.com for 2 adults and 1 room, on 2 winter dates and 1 summer dates, collected on September 16, 2026. They are indicative, the real price depends on your dates. Hotel facts come from each hotel’s own website. Some hotel links are affiliate links.

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Where to stay, area by area

The old town between the station and the Zytglogge

Bahnhofplatz, Zeughausgasse, Hirschengraben

This half of the old town is the closest to the trains: Hotel Schweizerhof Bern stands right on Bahnhofplatz, and Hotel National is two minutes away on Hirschengraben, by its own count. It suits a first stay or heavy luggage, since you barely leave the arcades to reach a restaurant or a shop. In exchange, the BearPark and the Nydeggbrücke lie at the far end of the old town, a longer walk from these upper streets.

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The lower old town towards the BearPark

Gerechtigkeitsgasse and the Nydeggbrücke

Walk down Gerechtigkeitsgasse and the same sandstone arcades lead towards the Nydeggbrücke, with the Boutique Hotel Belle Époque three minutes on foot from the BearPark. This side suits a stay built around the bears and the view from the Rosengarten rather than the station. The trade-off is distance: it sits further from the trains than the upper old town, down a street that keeps sloping towards the river.

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Below the old town on the Aare

Marzili and the Engehalbinsel

Below the old town, the Marzili sits directly on the Aare, with the youth hostel at Weihergasse 4 looking up at the Federal Palace, and further out the Engehalbinsel holds Innere Enge in its own grounds, with Marians Jazzroom in the basement. Choose this side for quiet and for the river rather than for arcades on the doorstep. The Bellevue Palace, on the terrace above the Aare next to the Bundeshaus, sits at the edge of this same stretch, closer to the centre than the Marzili or the Engehalbinsel.

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What to do in Bern

This is not a trail guide. Every place named here comes from Switzerland Tourism, the Federal Assembly, Tierpark Bern, Zentrum Paul Klee or a restaurant’s own site, and we checked each one on its own page before writing it down.

On foot

Arcades to the bears

The arcades of the old townabout six kilometres · UNESCO old town
Sandstone houses, historic fountains and vaulted cellars holding shops, studios and bars line the roughly six kilometres of covered arcades that run through the whole old town, so you can walk the whole route without once stepping into the weather. Start from either end and there is no route to plan: the arcades themselves are the walk.
Across the Nydeggbrücke to the BearParkabout 5000 m2 · 3 minutes on foot from Gerechtigkeitsgasse · open 365 days a year
The park runs from the former bear pit down to the bank of the Aare, and staying open around the clock every day of the year means there is no wrong time to cross the bridge. Restaurant Rosengarten, a few steps further up, looks back over the old town, so pair the two if you want a view to end the walk.

Typical here

Parliament and a painter

The Parliament Buildingfree · about 60 minutes · Tuesday to Saturday, outside sessions
Guided tours run in German, French, Italian and, on Saturdays, English, and cost nothing to join. Anyone aged 16 or over needs an ID document at security, and since there are no tours while Parliament is sitting, check the chamber’s calendar before you plan a visit around one.
Zentrum Paul KleeMonument im Fruchtland 3 · Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:00
It holds the world’s largest collection of works by Paul Klee, founded by Maurice E. and Martha Müller together with the heirs of the painter, and stays open Tuesday to Sunday, so plan around a Monday closure if that is the day you have free.

Where to eat

Altes TramdepotGrosser Muristalden 6 · daily 11:00 to 00:30, kitchen to 23:00
A brewery restaurant by the BearPark that brews its own Tram beers on site, open daily from 11:00 to 00:30 with the kitchen running until 23:00, so it works as a late stop after the bears close for the night. An ice cream workshop and the Zollhaus hotel share the same roof.
Restaurant RosengartenAlter Aargauerstalden 31b · daily 09:00 to 23:30
A terrace and veranda over the old town, serving traditional and Mediterranean dishes daily from 09:00 to 23:30, with its own beer, WIRTBIER, brewed together with other local houses. Book the veranda between mid-October and the end of February if fondue with that view is the point of the visit.

Times and figures come from Switzerland Tourism, the Federal Assembly, Tierpark Bern, Zentrum Paul Klee, Altes Tramdepot and Restaurant Rosengarten, checked on 16 September 2026. Bern Welcome’s own site could not be reached for this guide, so some commonly cited facts, such as the Zytglogge tour and the Bern Ticket, are not published here. We publish no ratings and no route descriptions: check conditions on the spot before you set off.

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Prices and availability change daily in the Alps, especially in July, August and over Christmas.

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What runs, month by month

	J	F	M	A	M	J	J	A	S	O	N	D
Marians Jazzroom	Open	Open	Open	Open	Open	Closed	Closed	Closed	Open	Open	Open	Open
Rosengarten veranda, fondue	Open	Partly closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Partly closed	Open	Open

Open

Partly closed

Closed

2026/27. Marians Jazzroom: season September to May, closed June to August. Restaurant Rosengarten: fondue on the veranda from mid-October to the end of February. Sources: innere-enge.ch, rosengarten.be, checked 16 September 2026.

The old town, in practice

City transport

Trams and buses are run by BERNMOBIL, with tickets sold through the Libero network rather than at the vehicle. Since no zone map or price was published on the pages checked for this guide, buy or check your ticket before you board rather than counting on doing it on the tram.

Close to the station

Several hotels sit within a few minutes of the main station: Hotel Schweizerhof Bern is on Bahnhofplatz itself, Hotel National two minutes away by its own count, and Hotel Bern five minutes away, so heavy luggage need never travel far before you reach a room.

Parking

Unlike several of the car-free villages covered on this site, Bern allows cars into the city. The sources checked for this guide describe no dedicated visitor parking scheme, so arrange parking directly with your hotel before you arrive rather than expect to find a sign on the street.

Driving on from Bern? Compare rental prices and check the vignette, the winter rules and the passes before you book.

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Frequently asked questions

Why is Bern’s old town a World Heritage site?

It has been on the UNESCO list since 1983, for its sandstone houses, its fountains and its roughly six kilometres of covered arcades. In practice, that means you can explore most of the centre on foot, under cover, whatever the weather does.

Can you visit the Swiss parliament?

Yes, and the guided tour is free. It lasts about an hour and runs Tuesday to Saturday when Parliament is not sitting, in English on Saturdays, so book around the chamber’s calendar rather than around your own. Anyone aged 16 or over needs an ID document at security.

Where are the bears?

In the BearPark across the Nydeggbrücke, about 5000 m2 running from the old bear pit down to the bank of the Aare. It is open 365 days a year, around the clock, with staff on site from 08:00 to 17:00, so there is no opening time to plan around, only staffed hours if you need help.

What is at the Zentrum Paul Klee?

The world’s largest collection of works by Paul Klee, at Monument im Fruchtland 3, open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00 and closed on Mondays. Plan a Monday for the old town instead and save the museum for another day of the week.

How old is the cathedral?

The cornerstone of Bern Minster was laid in 1421. Tower height, opening hours and an entry price are not published on the parish’s own site, so check them locally rather than relying on a figure here.