Bern Is Built for Bad Weather
Bern copes with rain better than most cities. The Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, is lined with stone arcades, known locally as Lauben, that stretch for around 6 km. You can walk much of the centre under cover, browsing shops and cellar entrances along the way. Add a cluster of good museums within walking distance or a short bus ride, and a wet day here is easy to fill.
Zentrum Paul Klee
The Zentrum Paul Klee on the eastern edge of the city holds the world's largest collection of works by Paul Klee, who grew up in Bern, with around 4,000 pieces. The building, designed by Renzo Piano and opened in 2005, is a three-wave structure set into the landscape. The collection is shown in rotating exhibitions rather than all at once, and there is a children's museum with hands-on activities. Bus 12 runs from the station area to the stop of the same name.
Einstein in Bern
Albert Einstein lived in Bern while working at the Federal Patent Office, and the city has two places to explore that period:
- Einsteinhaus at Kramgasse 49 in the Old Town is the apartment where he lived in the early 1900s, around the time he published his most important early papers in 1905. It is small and takes under an hour.
- The Einstein Museum inside the Bern Historical Museum is much larger, covering his life and work with original documents, films and models.
The Kirchenfeld Museum Quarter
Just across the Kirchenfeld bridge from the Old Town, several museums sit close together around Helvetiaplatz, which makes them ideal for a day of hopping between buildings:
- Bern Historical Museum, housed in a castle-style building, with collections from prehistory to the present as well as the Einstein Museum
- Museum für Kommunikation, an interactive museum about communication, from letters and stamps to computers and social media
- Swiss Alpine Museum, on the relationship between people and the Alps
- Kunsthalle Bern, a venue for contemporary art exhibitions
The Natural History Museum is nearby on Bernastrasse. Its best-known exhibit is Barry, the famous St Bernard rescue dog from the Great St Bernard Pass, alongside large dioramas of Alpine and African animals.
Kunstmuseum Bern
In the city centre near the station, the Kunstmuseum Bern was founded in 1879 and is one of the oldest art museums in Switzerland with a permanent collection. It covers several centuries of European art, including Swiss painters such as Ferdinand Hodler alongside international modern works. It pairs well with the Zentrum Paul Klee for a day focused on art.
Both art museums run changing temporary exhibitions, which can occupy a large part of the building. If there is a particular artist you want to see, check which works are on display before you go, since only part of each collection is shown at any one time.
Federal Palace and Zytglogge
The Federal Palace, home of the Swiss parliament, offers free guided tours on many days when parliament is not in session. Tours need to be booked in advance and require photo ID. When parliament is sitting, visitors can watch debates from the public gallery.
The Zytglogge, the medieval clock tower in the Old Town, can be visited on guided tours that show the clock mechanism from inside. Tours are run by Bern Welcome, the city tourist office, and should be booked in advance.
Planning Your Day
A practical wet-day plan:
- Morning at the Zentrum Paul Klee, reached by bus 12.
- Return to the centre and walk through the arcades of Marktgasse and Kramgasse to the Einsteinhaus.
- Cross to the Kirchenfeld quarter in the afternoon for the Historical Museum and Einstein Museum, or the Natural History Museum if you have children.
Check opening days before you go, since several Bern museums close on Mondays. If you plan to visit many museums over several days, compare individual tickets with any combined museum offers available at the time, and note that the Swiss Travel Pass includes free entry to a large number of Swiss museums.
Between museums, the arcades are also where you will find many of Bern's cafés and bakeries, so a long lunch under the Lauben is part of the plan rather than a compromise. Several cellar entrances along Kramgasse and Gerechtigkeitsgasse lead to small shops, bars and theatres below street level, which stay dry whatever the weather does above.
