Bern, Switzerland — Travel Tips
Getting There By Air
Bern-Belp International Airport (BRN)
Tel: (031) 960 2111 or 2127.
Website: www.alpar.ch
Bern-Belp International Airport is located just 6km (3.7 miles) southeast of the city center. In the terminal building there is a small shop, coffee bar and VIP lounge. Internet access is also available.
Regular buses run between the airport and Bern's central railway station. There are also bus services to Belp railway station. Blaser & Co (tel: 079 651 7070) provides taxis from the airport.
Getting There By Road
With its central location in Switzerland, Bern is easily accessible by car. The city is directly connected to the national motorway network as well as to the European E4 highway. The A12 leads to Lausanne, and the A1 runs via Bern between Geneva in the southwest and Zurich in the northeast. From Bern, access to southern Switzerland and Italy is via the Lötschberg Tunnel/Simplon Pass or the St Bernard road tunnel.
There are two motoring associations in Switzerland. These are Touring Club Suisse (TCS) (tel: 0844 888 111; www.tcs.ch) and Automobil Club der Schweiz (ACS) (tel: (031) 328 3111; www.acs.ch).
Emergency breakdown services
TCS/ACS (tel: 140).
Getting There By Rail
Hauptbahnhof Bern, the city's main railway station, is located at the heart of the city, with extensive facilities, including shops, bank, tourist office, cafés and restaurants. Switzerland has the densest railway network in the world, and since the Swiss use their railways a great deal, the standard of services is excellent.
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) (tel: 0900 300 300; www.sbb.ch) is the national rail provider. Bern is well connected to the national and the international railway network. Basel and Zürich are just under an hour away by train, while the journeys to Lausanne and Lucerne take slightly more than an hour.
Getting Around in Bern, Switzerland
Public Transport
Bern's city center is compact, and sightseeing tourists are likely to move around on foot most of the time. The public transport network in the city is excellent, however, providing convenient and frequent services.
Bernmobil (tel: (031) 321 8844; www.bernmobil.ch) runs three tram lines with 17km (11 miles) of rail and 19 bus or trolley lines, making a total network of 120km (75 miles). In addition, there are Moonliner (tel: (031) 321 8812; www.moonliner.ch) night buses, operating 18 lines from the station square on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
Taxis
Taxi companies include Bären-Taxi (tel: (031) 371 1111) and Nova-Taxi (tel: (031) 331 3313). BETAX (tel: 0800 903 090) provides transport services for disabled people. Public taxi ranks are on Casinoplatz and at the railway station (tel: (031) 311 1818).
Car Hire
Car hire is offered by Avis (tel: (031) 378 1515; www.avis.ch), Europcar (tel: (031) 381 7555; www.europcar.ch), Hertz (tel: (031) 318 2160; www.hertz.ch) and Sixt (tel: (031) 371 7100; www.sixt.ch).
Bicycle Hire
Bern Rollt (tel: 079 277 2857; www.bernrollt.ch) is a free bicycle hire service (from April to October) on Bahnhofplatz, the main station square, and at various points around town. All you need to pay is a deposit. You can also hire bicycles for a fee at the railway station (tel: 079 277 2857) and at the Ski and Velocenter, Hirschengraben 7 (tel: (031) 312 0031; www.ski-velo-center.ch).
