Bern Audio guided walking tour 1h50 and 23 audio commentary

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Here is the cathedral of Bern! Or more precisely the collegiate church of St. Vincent in Bern. It is the largest religious building of the late Middle Ages in Switzerland. In the 15th century, Bern was the most important city north of the Alps and had no cathedral.

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2. You will soon realize that water is everywhere in Bern and that the city is dotted with beautiful fountains. Already in the 13th century, the city had many water points. The supply was via the underground creek which supplied wells and cisterns.

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3. Here is one of the most famous fountains in Bern, known in French as the Ogre Fountain. I can't tell you his full name in German, but his translation literally means the fountain of the devour of little children. Lovely.

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4. Right next to the Grain Hall, you have the Municipal Theater of the City of Bern. This neo-Baroque opera house opened in 1903, built by architect René Von Wurstemberger and financed by a private company.

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5. The imposing building, which you see in front of you, is the old Grain Hall, built in the 1710s. Grains were stored there to have a reserve in case of war or famine.

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6. Here it is, the magnificent clock tower of Bern! The Zytglogge, in Bernese patois. Every full hour, the tower gives us a wonderful spectacle, that of the carousel of its figurines of the Middle Ages. 3 minutes before time, the chime starts, thanks to a hand-activated 16th century mechanism!

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7. There are a lot of fountains in Bern. This one is that of Zähringen, named after the man of the same name who founded the city of Bern in 1191. It was built in 1535. The original basin was octagonal.

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8. The new fountain you see here is Samson and the Lion. It was built in 1544 by Hans Gieng and represents the biblical story of Samson killing a lion. This story comes from the Book of Judges, one of the books of the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament for Christians.

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9. Once again we pass a fountain bearing a colorful statue. This time it is Moses. It was built in 1544, but was damaged by a storm.

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10. The terraces of the Collegiate Church, formerly the church cemetery, are now very popular with locals and tourists alike. It is a real intergenerational meeting place between pétanque and table tennis.

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11. You guessed it, the new statue before you is none other than the fountain of Justice. Moreover, for those who did not take German LV2, know that the street on which you walk also translates into the street of justice.

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12. As you know, Bern is a bear town. And this iconic animal is closely linked to the history of the city. Legend has it that in 1191, Duke Berthold V of Zähringen decided to create a city to house the peasants of the surrounding area.

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Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 2 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Bern

• Its from-price is 98% below the median of the 130 experiences we list in Bern.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 44 of 130.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Bern

Bern, the Swiss federal city, is a medieval old town on a bend of the Aare River, with arcaded streets, a clock tower and a park of bears.

Bern's old town sits on a narrow peninsula in a tight loop of the Aare River, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of sandstone houses with long covered arcades that shelter shops and cafés along the main streets. The Zytglogge, a medieval clock tower with an astronomical clock, puts on a show of moving figures before the hour. The Gothic Minster has the tallest spire of any church in Switzerland, and the city is the seat of the federal government.

Top-ranked sights in Bern: Kleine Scheidegg, Bern Clock Tower (Zytglogge), Bern Cathedral (Bern Minster).

See all 130 experiences in Bern