Bern, Switzerland

Bern is the capital of Switzerland and is a little bit of a special potato. It feels like a city, looks like a city, and has the infrastructure of a city, but is not the largest city in the country. The trams run for just 20 minutes before reaching the end of the line and buses take you to the edge of the city in just 10 minutes.

Being the capital city, there are plenty of museums to see and beautiful buildings to admire. The first point of interest would probably be the Swiss national parliament building which is massive on the outside but actually quite small on the inside. It is open to the public four times a year, so catch their calendar dates if you’re interested in going!

The Marzilibahn and the Gurtenbahn are the two mountain railways in the city. While the Marzilibahn serves as a local elevator between upper and lower regions of the city, Gurtenbahn takes you to the top of Gurten hill at over 800m above sea level to give you a spectacular view of the city.

Down at Helvetiaplatz, you’ll find the Museum of Communications, Alpines Museum, the Bern National Museum, and the Natural History Museum. Apart from the Natural History Museum, the other three are quite unique and a visit is recommended. Another large museum to consider is the Klee Museum with over 4,000 works of the famous Bernese artist. A rather obscure museum in the city is the Salvation Army Museum just opposite the train station.

In the old town area where the River Aare meanders around the area you can visit the Zytglogge, an old clock tower. There is also the Heiliggeistkirche, the Berner Münster, and the Church of St. Peter and Paul for religious sites. On Saturdays, there is a small street market in the park behind the Berner Münster.