General Information.

Banks · BernCard · Bicycle hire · Carriages · Child care service · Churches · Dentalys - dental emergencies · Department Stores · Dialing codes · Electricity · Embassies · Emergency · Exchange rate· Facts · History · Holidays · Internet · Laundry service · Lost & found offices · Markets · Parking · Post office · Service Clubs · Shopping hours · Taxis · Telephone numbers (emergency) · Tips · Unesco

Banks (exchange)

BernCard

Your Ticket for a Bern Adventure. There is no less way to discover Bern.
You enjoy free unlimited travel on the public transportation system in the City of Bern
and the surrounding region (zones 10/11). You have free admission to the permanent exhibits at 27 museums, libraries, archives, gardens (excluding special exhibitions) and the BernShow at the Bear Pits.

You benefit from 25 % discount on all official city tours and reduced entry to the Vivarium in the Dählhölzli zoo. The BernCard is available at the Tourist Centers at the railway station and at the Bear Pits, the Libero Shop, all Bern Museums Association institutions and all hotels of Bern.

Bicycle hire

Bicycles can be hired at the SBB railway station. To book, call +41 (0)51 220 23 74.

Bicycles can also be hired and the Ski and Velocenter, Hirschengraben 7, 3011 Bern, Tel. +41 (0)31 312 00 31.

Carriages

A carriage trip around some of the sights of Bern is highly recommended. A comfortable carriage tour takes you back to a time when cars were still rare, and horses the most frequent form of travel. You'll find pick-up points on Bärenplatz, at the Clock Tower (Zeitglockenturm) and Bear Pit (Bärengraben). In summer, carriage tours are available from 9.30 a.m. until the evening. All ours are available by request: Tel. +41 (0)79 407 78 27 (cell phone). More information can be obtained online.

Child care service "Smallworld"

A child care center in the heart of Bern where babies and children from 0 – 8 years are supervised and looked after here for several hours a day. All babysitters are professionally trained. This is an ideal solution if you want to enjoy a few hours of uninterrupted sightseeing and shopping in Bern.

Churches

Dentalys - dental service

Department Stores

Dialing codes

The national dialing code for Switzerland is +41. The following 0 is omitted. Dialing codes from Switzerland are as follows:

Electricity

Current throughout Switzerland is supplied at 230 Volt.

Embassies

Use the following link to download a list of embassies in PDF format (75KB).

Medical Emergencies

For medical emergencies or advice, please contact one of the following medical centers, open 24 hours per day 365 days per year. o notification in advance necessary.

• Hirslanden-Klinik Beau-Site, Bern, specialized for heart diseases, Schänzlihalde 11, 3013 Bern, T +41 (0)31 335 35 35
  klinik-beausite@hirslanden.ch
  
  
• Hirslanden-Klinik Permanence, Bern, general emergencies, Bümplizstrasse 83, 3018 Bern, T +41 (0)31 335 35 35
  klinik-permanence@hirslanden.ch
  
  
• Hirslanden Salem-Spital, Bern, general emergencies, Schänzlistrasse 39, 3000 Bern 25, T +41 (0)31 335 35 35
  salem-spital@hirslanden.ch
  
  
• City Notfall AG, Bern, general emergencies, Bubenbergplatz 10, 3011 Bern, T +41 (0)31 326 20 00
  Opening hours: daily from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm
  

Exchange rate

The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF). Calculations are simplified by using the exchange rate, updated on a daily basis.

Facts

History of Bern

In 1191, the year in which the city of Bern was founded, Count Berchtold V of Zähringen commanded nobleman Cuno von Bubenberg to build a city on a peninsula covered by an oak forest. Von Bubenberg felled the forest and used the resulting timber to erect houses. The Clock Tower formed the city gate.

The bear featured on the present city coat of arms first appeared in 1224. According to legend, the city was named after the first animal killed by the Count whilst hunting during the construction of the city.

In the 13th century, Bern expanded towards the west, and the Prison Tower formed the new main gate. In the 14th century, the third and final expansion phase of the city took place up to the present main railway station. In 1353 Bern became the eighth member of the "Confederation" and was regarded in the late Middle Ages as the biggest and most powerful city-state north of the Alps. 

In 1405 Bern suffered a heavy loss when most of the city was burnt to the ground. Reconstruction in sandstone began immediately, and by the 16th and 17th centuries most houses had already been rebuilt in the new material.  This is why the original medieval cityscape has remained largely intact up to the present day. In 1528 followers of Zwingli introduced the reformation to Bern. In 1798 French troops marched in and triggered the decline of the old city. Bern became a university city in 1834, and in 1848 it was chosen to be the Federal Capital of Switzerland by the 1st National Swiss Parliament. Bern is both the capital of the Canton of Bern and the seat of Swiss government. Discover more information in the Bern Show.

Holidays

The following are treated as public holidays throughout Switzerland:

• Christmas, incl. 26 December
• New Year
• Berchtold's Day (2 January)
• Good Friday
• Easter incl. Easter Monday
• Ascension Day
• Whit Sunday and Monday
• 1st of August, National Day

Internet

Laundry service

Jet Wash
Dammweg 43
3013 Bern
Tel. +41 (0)31 330 26 38

Lost & found offices

Markets

• Traders' market: On Waisenhausplatz, all year round every Tuesday and Saturday. Also on Thursdays with late-night opening from the beginning of May to October.
• Vegetable, fruit and flower market: All year round on the Parliament squareand Bärenplatz and in the neighboring streets, every Tuesday and Saturday morning. Daily from May to October on Bärenplatz.
• Food and flower market: Tuesday und Saturday morning on Münstergasse.
• Crafts market: From March to December on every first Saturday of the month on the Minster platform.
• Flea market: On Mühleplatz in the Matte every third Saturday of the month from May to October.
  www.marktbern.ch

Parking

Much of the inner city of Bern is blocked off to through traffic, and it truly is a pedestrians' city. Anyone traveling by car is advised to use one of the parking garages or the "Blue Zones" (parking limited to a max. 1.5 hours with parking disc). Special parking permits for these zones are available at the railway station tourist centre, the city police or at ticket automats. (4 hours = CHF 8.00, 24 hours = CHF 15.00)

Post office

All branch post offices and their opening times are obtainable online. 

Service Clubs

• Rotary, Hotel Bellevue-Palace, Kochergasse 3 – 5, 3011 Bern
  Tel. +41 (0)31 320 45 45
• Lions, Äusseren Stand, Zeughausgasse 17 , 3011 Bern
  Tel. +41 (0)31 311 32 05
• Kiwanis, Hotel Kursaal-Allegro, Kornhausstrasse 3, 3013 Bern
  Tel. +41 (0)31 339 55 00

Shopping hours

Bern's shops are open 6 days a week. The following opening hours generally apply:

Taxis

There are two kinds of taxi in Bern: those with and those without a "Q". The "Q" stands for the seal of quality, a quality promotion programme run in Switzerland.

Bären-Taxi: +41 (0)31 371 11 11 Nova-Taxi: +41 (0)31 331 33 13 Transport for the disabled BETAX: 0800 90 30 90

Telephone numbers / emergencies

Tips

Tips are generally included in the price for all services. However, in restaurants it is usual to round the bill up by a reasonable amount.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Thanks to its virtually intact medieval cityscape, Bern was included in the list of UNESCO world cultural centres in 1993. With its time-honoured sandstone buildings, historic towers and 11 unique fountains, Bern is one of the finest examples of medieval civic architecture in Europe. Thanks to the honour of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this city, with its much visited bear pits, is on a par with Rome, the Egyptian pyramids and the Taj Mahal. More information.