Freiburg/Fribourg, Switzerland

Freiburg is the most beautiful medieval city you’ve never heard of In Switzerland. Does the name sound familiar? That’s because there are two cities of the same name in Germany. Perched high on a hill top, Freiburg (or Fribourg in French) features original urban fortifications surrounding the well-preserved old town.

Located right on the border that separates the French-speaking part of Switzerland from its German-speaking areas, it’s one of the few cities in Switzerland that use both German and French as a municipal language. While the people speak French, official notices and signs on the street are bilingual. I never really felt like I was in Switzerland until I saw multilingual signs.

The one big mistake I made was going about everything the wrong way around. So instead of taking the bus uphill and walking the whole way downhill, I took the bus downhill and walked up its 30 degree hills. That said, the walk up the Chapelle de la Lorette was totally worth it, the yard in front of the church gives you a commanding view of the houses in the valley below and the Cathédrale St. Nicholas on the hilltop opposite.

In the valley below, the Pont de Berne is an ancient bridge that is still used by vehicular traffic today. Just up the hill from the bridge is the Eglise St. Maurice and the three towers on the other side of the Sarine River. These are the Bern Tower, the Red Tower, and the Gottéron Tower. Of course, everybody’s favourite church in Freiburg is the Cathédrale St. Nicholas, which is the city’s main cathedral.

In terms of culture, there’s a museum on the Gutenberg Press as well as a Museum of Art and History housed inside a former palace. After you’re done with the museums, walk down the Route des Alpes towards the train station to take a round trip on the cogwheel railway. It looks very old and it is very old, the railway is manually operated and the operators chat to each other when the trains pass because it’s half open. The views of the valley are magnificent, so be sure to sit on the eastern-facing side.