In the new Lower Town, the works of Switzerland’s foremost photo-realist painter steal the show at the Franz Gertsch Museum.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
10.37 MILES
Bern’s answer to the Guggenheim, Renzo Piano’s architecturally bold, 150m-long wave-like edifice houses an exhibition space that showcases rotating works…
11.35 MILES
Bern’s flag-bedecked medieval centre has 6km of covered arcades and cellar shops and bars descending from the streets. After a devastating fire in 1405,…
Cathédrale St Nicolas de Fribourg
27.9 MILES
Before entering this brooding 13th-century Gothic cathedral, contemplate the main portal with its 15th-century sculptured portrayal of the Last Judgment…
11.31 MILES
Bern’s most famous Old Town sight, this ornate clock tower once formed part of the city’s western gate (1191–1256). Crowds congregate to watch its…
20.63 MILES
Sitting on a hilltop and looking proudly back on 900 years of history, Schloss Thun is the castle of your wildest fairy-tale dreams, crowned by a riot of…
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11.52 MILES
Fresh from extensive renovation and expansion, Bern's Museum of Communication reopened its doors in August 2017. Occupying almost 2000 sq metres of…
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11.07 MILES
Architect Gaetano Matteo Pisoni restrained himself with the classical Italianate facade of Solothurn’s monolithic 18th-century cathedral, but went wild…
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Espace Jean Tinguely – Niki de Saint Phalle
27.95 MILES
Jump on the button to watch the Retable de l’Abondance Occidentale et du Mercantilisme Totalitaire (1989–90) make its allegorical comment on Western…
Nearby attractions
0.09 MILES
The works of Switzerland’s foremost photo-realist painter steal the show at the Franz Gertsch Museum.
0.35 MILES
Burgdorf (literally ‘castle village’) is split into the Upper and Lower towns. The natural highlight of the Oberstadt is the 12th-century Schloss Burgdorf.
0.37 MILES
This robust 12th-century castle could be straight out of a book with its drawbridge, thick stone walls and trio of museums focusing on castle history,…
5.24 MILES
Watch Emmental cheese being made into 95kg wheels and taste it at the Emmental Open Cheese Dairy in Affoltern. Short videos explain the modern production…
10.34 MILES
Inside the Zentrum Paul Klee, the fun-packed Kindermuseum Creaviva lets kids experiment with hands-on art exhibits or create original artwork with the…
10.37 MILES
Bern’s answer to the Guggenheim, Renzo Piano’s architecturally bold, 150m-long wave-like edifice houses an exhibition space that showcases rotating works…
10.9 MILES
A popular etymological theory is that Bern got its name from the bear (Bär in German), when the city’s founder, Berthold V, duke of Zähringen, snagged one…
11.06 MILES
The unprepossessing facade of this church (1680–89) disguises an interior of baroque embellishments and stucco work. All the ‘marble’ in here is fake –…