Welcome to beautiful Bern, Switzerland! Justin and I quickly fell in love with this pretty city as there are so many wonderful things to do in Bern. Throughout our week in Switzerland, we had quite a few stops planned along the way. Even though we made Bern our home base for a couple of nights, we only had time to see Bern in one day. But, even with only one day in Bern, we felt an amazing connection wiht this alluring city and covered a lot of ground.
I know Switzerland can be an expensive country to visit. Thankfully, these are among the best free things to do in Bern: most are free and some are low cost. This Bern Switzerland itinerary for the day will help you stay within your travel budget. Looking to save even more money as you travel? Check out our favorite travel price comparison websites to help you travel more and farther. Anyway, here’s a quick introduction and a list of spectacular things to do in Bern in one day.
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A Little More About the City of Bern, Switzerland
Did you know that Bern is the capital of Switzerland? It’s the gateway to the Alps and a stunning city to explore in its own right. Bern consistently ranks in the top cities for the best quality of life, and that’s really no surprise. Bern is a clean and beautiful city with a fantastic public transportation system.
There are intriguing historical sites, brilliant parks and greenery, thought-provoking museums, and numerous festivals throughout the year. The Aare River flows through the city; on a warm and sunny day, the locals will go tubing and rafting down the river (make sure you’re an experienced swimmer if you decide to attempt this!).
While it isn’t exactly clear how Bern got its name, there’s a local legend that the founder named the city after the first animal that he found on the hunt, which was a bear. There are references to bears all over Bern, and it’s the official animal on the seal and coat of arms dating back to the 1200s. There are bears that live in a park in town, though I can’t personally recommend the activity as I’m against animals forced into captivity for our enjoyment.
Public Transportation in Bern (How to Get Around)
As I mentioned previously, the public transportation system in Bern is fantastic and easy to use. When we stayed at our hotel, the Hotel Allegro Bern, the front desk staff provided us both with complimentary public transportation cards for the duration of our stay. This meant that we could hop on and off the buses as we pleased. There’s a bus stop right outside of the hotel and numerous buses appeared every few moments or so.
Using Google Maps, we quickly navigated our way through town, whether we were traveling to the train station, the Gurten, the Rose Garden, or towards Old Town. You could easily tell how close you were to your stop by looking at the TV screens on the bus. We highly recommend using the city buses no matter where you’re going in Bern. Alternatively, Justin and I walked around quite a bit as Bern is a very walkable place in general.
When traveling around Switzerland from Bern, we purchased Swiss travel passes in advance. It was so easy to take the train all over Switzerland for an unlimited amount of rides. From Bern, we visited Thun and Spiez for one day. Then, we went up to the Swiss Alps and took numerous trains and cable cars. Eventually, Justin and I took one of the most glorious train rides from the Alps to Zurich. We can’t say enough good things about the Swiss Travel Pass. Traveling around the country was a snap, and we didn’t need to purchase all of the train tickets individually (saving a lot of money, too!).
Best Things to Do in Bern: The Rose Garden
Out of all the places to visit in Bern, I highly recommend that you visit the Rose Garden (Rosengarten). You will certainly find beautiful roses of many varieties and colors. There are also fountains, peaceful walkways, and sculptured hedges. What sets Bern’s Rose Garden apart from other ordinary gardens is the view.
The Rosengarten is perched right on the edge of the hill with panoramic scenery overlooking the River Aare, Old Town, and beyond. It’s clear that this is one of the best views of Bern, making it one of the top things to do in Bern. Even if you only have one day in Bern, set some time apart to visit the Rose Garden.
The Rosengarten wasn’t always a public park. In fact, it used to be a cemetary from 1765 to 1877. Nowadays, it’s home to 223 rose bushes, 200 iris plants, and 28 rhododendron varieties. When we visited in June, there were so many roses in full bloom. I recommend starting your day out at the Rose Garden when it isn’t quite as crowded.
Places to Visit in Bern: Old Town
The Old Town of Bern is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its “exceptionally coherent planning concept.” There are six kilometres of arcades that the locals refer to as “Lauben” dating back to the 15th century. You’ll find all sorts of cafes, boutiques, restaurants, and bars hiding beneath the arcades, making it the perfect place to spend a rainy day, always with a roof overhead.
There are also impressive fountains scattered all over this medieval old town. To learn more about Bern from a local guide and become acquainted with the city, we suggest taking a walking tour of Old Town Bern. Even if you only have 1 day in Bern, don’t miss the historic old town.
Zytglogge (Clock Tower)
The Zytglogge is an important medieval tower in Bern, dating back to the early 13th century. Over the years, the Zytglogge has served Bern as a clock tower, guard tower, prison, and civic memorial. There is a functioning astronomical clock from the 15th century in the tower that is one of the major tourist attractions of Bern.
Although we didn’t personally partake in this experience, there is a very interesting tour through the clock tower that allows you to see its inner workings. When we return to Bern, we’ll definitely be checking out this tour!
Visit the Gurten, Bern’s Mountain
Topping the list of my favorite things to do in Bern, I adored traveling to the top of the Gurten. It’s just south of Bern and considered to be Bern’s local mountain. From the top, you can soak up spectacular views of Bern and the Alps. The Gurten is easy to access and I highly encourage you to add it to your list of places to visit in Bern. By spending a couple of hours at the top, you can easily visit this remarkable space, even if you only have one day in Bern. Allow me to show you how stunning the views are from the top of the Gurten!
Getting there is easy. We took the bus to Waben where there is a funicular station. Our public transportation card from the hotel even covered the cost of the funicular ride to the top of the mountain. From there, we climbed the 858 metre mountain on the Gurtenbahn (in operation since 1899!) and relaxed as we approached the top.
We recommend going for a hike if the weather permits. If you’re interested in hiking, here are more places to go hiking in Switzerland. If you visit in the winter, there’s a toboggan run when there’s enough snow. When you visit the Gurten, you must climb the tower for even more impressive 360 degree views.
Scenery at Sunset
There are many places to visit in Bern where the sunset is spectacular. I highly recommend that you view and photograph the sunset from any of the bridges in Bern, as well as the Rose Garden. We happened to be walking back to our hotel across the Kornhausbrücke when we observed the sunset at dusk.
As night approached, we didn’t quite get rewarded with pink and purple colours in the sky as the clouds rolled in, but the gentle glow of dusk looked so pretty against the historic buildings with the mountains in the distance. Head to higher ground for brilliant sunset scenery.
Eat Delicious Vegan Food
I swear that half of the time I’m travelling, I’m filling the day with activities around my eating schedule. One of the things I most look forward to while visiting a new place is the local cuisine, and I’m always intrigued to explore the local vegan food scene. Thankfully, the vegan lifestyle is alive and well in Bern and there are plenty of places to dine as a vegan (and veganism in Switzerland is on the rise!). Here’s our vegan guide to Bern, and here are a few of our favorite spots:
Lunch at Tibits
Tibits is a vegetarian buffet with two locations in Bern. The vegan items are clearly marked and you pay by weight. There are hot and cold dishes, as well as desserts. We loved the variety and how quickly we could dine and continue on with our day. The food was fresh, healthy, and delicious. We highly recommend Tibits!
Dinner at Mishio
Mishio is an Asian fusion restaurant with the vegan items clearly marked on the menu. We dined on the patio with an awesome view overlooking the Bundesplatz. We ordered veggie spring rolls, vegetable tempura, and a seitan sweet and sour dish with rice. There was great service and the food was super yummy. We couldn’t have been more pleased with our choice to dine at Mishio.
Pizza at 5 Stagioni
Looking for a late night snack (that can also turn into breakfast the next morning)? 5 Stagioni is a local pizza place that will deliver all over town. We ordered pizza online and they delivered it right to our hotel room.
They have several vegan pizza options with seitan, Violife vegan cheese, and vegetables. This also makes a great lazy option if you don’t feel like dining out.
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How to Spend a Week in Switzerland
Justin and I traveled to Switzerland for a week. While you could easily spend weeks seeing the whole country, we had to narrow it down to a few places. Here’s our suggested 1 week Switzerland itinerary.
We recommend spending two nights in Bern, exploring Bern in one day and both Thun & Spiez the second day. Then, we spent there days in the Bernese Alps staying up in the mountains. Spend one day in Wengen, another day in Lauterbrunnen/Murren/Schilthorn, and a third day at Brienz for the Brienzer Rothorn mountain. Next, we spent two nights in Zurich, spending one day in Lucerne from Zurich.
Where To Stay in Bern
We chose to spend two nights in Bern. Justin and I followed the Bern itinerary listed above for one day, and then we took a day trip to the towns of Thun and Spiez by train. Here’s why the Hotel Allegro Bern is the ideal place to rest your head at night.
Book Your Stay | Our Full Review | Reviews by Fellow Travelers
The Hotel Allegro Bern is our choice for places to stay in Bern. We stayed in one of their panorama rooms on the fourth floor. I’ll never forget the moment I opened the curtains and discovered the majestic view from our balcony. I was in awe!
Our hotel room was comfortable and luxurious, from the spacious bathroom to the Nespresso machine in the room. We loved every moment of our stay at the Hotel Allegro Bern and felt right at home.
Book Your Stay | Our Full Review | Reviews by Fellow Travelers
Map for One Day in Bern
Do you want to see all of these Bern activities and attractions visually represented on a map? Here’s a map to accompany this Bern travel guide.
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Have you ever visited Bern or any other cities in Switzerland?
Lauren is the full-time travel blogger and content creator behind Justin Plus Lauren. She started Justin Plus Lauren in 2013 and has travelled to 50+ countries around the world. Lauren is an expert on vegan travel as one of the very first vegan travel bloggers. She also focuses on outdoor adventure travel, eco and sustainable travel, and creating amazing travel itineraries for cities and small towns.
Venkat . V . Rao
Tuesday 18th of December 2018
Thank you for your ideas and thoughts,,,we will follow them well ..this is our first trip to Bern,,,and me and my wife will be staying at interlaken and visit Bern for a day and return back to interlaken..