BERN - GETTING AROUND
The city center of Bern is easily accessible by foot, which
is actually the most practical means of exploring the Old Town and its many
attractions. You can probably tour the old town and its attractions in about
2.5 hours on foot.
There are
also some great walks in Greater Bern, including Bern`s own mountain, Gurten, a popular day-trip
destination reached in 25 minutes by tram no. 9 and rack railway. Once here,
you`ll find walks in many directions and can enjoy a panorama over the Alps.
Bern
has an excellent public transportation system, with frequent local city
services provided by trams, trolleybuses and buses, together with an S-Bahn
rail system for longer journeys into the surrounding suburbs. Tickets are valid
for all modes of transport within a given zone and time. The suburbs of Bern,
Biel and Solothurn form a common public transport network named `Libero-Tarifverbund`.
Tickets can be purchased as single ticket, saver ticket with six rides, day
pass as well as weekly, monthly or yearly passes.
Tickets
can be bought at vending machines at most stops, or with a smartphone using
the SBB mobile app. They are valid for all
modes of public transport within the zones they encompass. A ticket valid in
the central urban zones (101, 102) for 60 minutes costs CHF.
If
you are staying in a hotel in Bern you will receive a `Bern-Ticket`, which allows the free use of public transport within the city
(zones 100 and 101) for the duration of the stay, including the Gurten
funicular and transfer from and to the airport.
The bus and tram lines operated by Bernmobil are complemented with yellow Postauto bus lines connecting to the suburbs. Almost all lines are linked together at the main train station, and operate at intervals between 5 to 30 minutes. Bernmobil, (Tel. +41 31 321 88 88) operate the local tram and bus services, and provides timetables and other information on its web site or by telephone. Bern`s S-Bahn rail system will take you to many places in the suburbs and to nearby cities like Biel, Thun, Fribourg or Solothurn. S-Bahn (Tel. +41 31 327 27 27).
By Car
Bern is connected with all major cities in Switzerland and neighboring
countries by a dense network of well-developed highways and main roads.
There are around 3,500 short-term parking spaces in
multistory parking garages in Bern. As you approach the city from the motorway,
you will see signs indicating which parking garages still have spaces
available.
Once you`ve arrived in Bern, we recommend leaving your car
in one of the multistory parking garages and exploring the city center on foot. The old town
is a car-free zone.
In addition to the multistory
parking garages, there are also signed parking zones in Bern where you are
required to display a parking disc. Parking tickets for 4 or 24 hours can be
bought at Bernmobil ticket machines, as well as at other locations. The time
starts as soon as the ticket is bought. You can buy additional parking tickets,
which start from a certain time, from the city police.
Bern
is a bike-friendly city, and most thoroughfares include dedicated bike lanes.
There are a few challenging spots where bike traffic interweaves with motor
traffic, but motorists are used to sharing the road with bikers and will
normally pay attention. Because of the city`s hilly landscape, some stamina may
be required, or an electric bike.
The
local branch of the Swiss-wide bike sharing Publibike charges around 3CHF
for the first 30 minutes.
Several taxi companies operate in Bern, including Nova Taxi (+41 31 331 33 13), Bären Taxi (+41 31 371 11 11) and Taxi Bern (+41 31 333 88 88). Taxis can be booked by phone, or at the main train station.