48 Hours In: Berne
With the Paul Klee centre set to open and celebrations for Albert Einstein's centenary in full swing, the Swiss capital has never been more alive, says Anthony Lambert
Published: 11 June 2005 by Independent.co.uk
WHY GO NOW?
In nine days, the Paul Klee Centre (1) opens its doors after seven years in the making. Renzo Piano's stunning wave-like building will house almost half the Swiss artist's works. The city is also marking the centenary of Einstein's most productive year, which was while he was working in the Patent Office in Berne. It was while riding a tram away from Berne's Clock Tower (2) that Einstein made his discovery about the rate of time itself being affected by your motion. He realised that if the tram were moving away at the speed of light, the clock on the tower would appear to have stopped, while his own watch would go on running at the normal rate.
TOUCH DOWN
Darwin Airline (00800 177 177 77; www.darwinairline.ch) flies from London City to Berne from £160 return. A bus links the airport with Bahnhofplatz - location of the main station (3). It connects with flights and costs Sfr15 (£7) one-way. Many more airlines, such as Swiss (0845 601 0956; www.swiss.com/uk), serve Basel and Zürich airports; the latter has direct hourly trains to Berne, taking 74 minutes. By rail, Berne is under five hours from Paris, connecting with trains from London.
GET YOUR BEARINGS
The old city is built on a peninsula in the River Aare with the railway station (3) at its landward, western end - this is also the location for the tourist information centre (00 41 31 328 12 12; www.berninfo.com), which opens 9am-8.30pm daily between now and September. If you plan to visit museums, buy a BernCard; Sfr17 (£8) for 24 hours, Sfr27 (£13) for 48 hours and Sfr33 (£16) for 72 hours, it gives free admission to museums plus unlimited travel on trams and buses.
CHECK IN
Close to the station is the family-run National Hotel (4) at Hirschengraben 24 (00 41 31 381 19 88; www.nationalbern.ch). Doubles from Sfr100 (£48) including breakfast. At the opposite end of the city centre, close to the Rive Aare, is the Hotel Belle Epoque (5) at Gerechtigkeitgasse 18 (00 41 31 311 43 36; www.belle-epoque.ch). Doubles from Sfr 280 (£133) including breakfast. Fresh, white-painted rooms and modern art characterise Marthahaus Pension (6) at Wyttenbachstrasse 22a, outside the old city (00 41 31 332 41 35; www.marthahaus.ch). It offers free bikes and internet, and doubles cost from Sfr95 (£45) including breakfast. Take bus 20 (direction Wankdorf) from the station.
TAKE A VIEW
If you have the energy to climb 254 steps, and another 90 to a higher balcony, the view from beneath the spire of the cathedral (7) is unsurpassed. Admission Sfr4 (£1.90); open daily except Monday 10am-5pm. On a clear day the view encompasses a swathe of the Alps.
TAKE A HIKE
The entire old city is a Unesco World Heritage Site, and the cobbled streets of pale grey-green sandstone houses are a pleasure to explore. Each of the 11 Renaissance fountains represents an aspect of the city's past. Berne's oldest structure is the former western gate, built in 1191-1256 but adapted into a Clock Tower (Zytglogge) (2) in 1530 with an enormous astronomical clock and hourly sideshow of revolving bears.
More imagery can be found on the City Hall (8), on which two figures symbolise justice: truth is defended by the sword and the cross while falsehood is depicted by a woman concealing her face with a mask, sticking out her tongue and showing a lot of leg to try to influence the judge.
A century ago, at the Einstein House (9) at Kramgasse 49 (00 41 31 312 00 91; www.einstein-berne.ch), the Nobel Prize-winning scientist wrote the five papers that transformed our understanding of the universe. The museum that celebrates the brilliant year opens 10am-7pm daily, admission Sfr6 (£2). A more impressive Einstein exhibition can be seen at the Historical Museum (10) at Helvetiaplatz 5 (00 41 31 350 77 11; www.einstein-expo.ch). The two-part exhibition looks at his life in the context of his times and explains the meaning of his discoveries. The staircase entrance is breathtaking. You can ride a virtual bicycle at up to 99 per cent of the speed of light, and the grounds are full of large working models. The museum opens 10am-7pm daily, admission Sfr24 (£11.50); the exhibition runs until 17 April next year.
LUNCH ON THE RUN
Della Casa (11) at Schauplatzgasse 16 (00 41 31 311 21 42) has been a restaurant since 1892, but its opaque-glassed, wood-panelled, first-floor dining-room is much older. Seasonal dishes are added to traditional staples such as an entree of smoked salmon with horseradish sauce (Sfr28.50/£13.50) and oxtail stew (Sfr32/£15). For dessert, try the butterscotch-flavoured Grandmother's Cream (Sfr8.50/£4).
CULTURAL AFTERNOON
The latest of the 26 museums in and around Berne is the Paul Klee Centre (1), a remarkable building with three "hills" which emerges from a slope in an agricultural setting (00 41 31 359 01 01; www.zpk.org). The structure is likely to attract as much interest as its contents. It houses more than 4,000 of the 9,500 items Klee created during his lifetime, plus a concert hall and a children's museum. The centre will open 10am-5pm daily except Monday, and until 9pm on Thursday.
WINDOW SHOPPING
Berne has 6km of shopping arcades, arranged in blocks astutely misaligned by the 15th-century builders so that they did not become wind tunnels. Although locals complain of the increasing number of chain stores, most shops are still individual and of above-average quality.
AN APERITIF
Berne's only five-star hotel, the Bellevue Palace (12) at Kochergasse 9, is the most elegant setting, on the terrace in summer or the 1920s American bar in winter (00 41 31 320 45 45; www.bellevue-palace.ch).
DINING WITH THE LOCALS
In a glorious position beside an illuminated weir in the River Aare and overlooked by the floodlit cathedral, two restaurants under the same management offer a very different ambience and cuisine. Reached by a path from the southern end of Kirchenfeldbrücke (13), the old house of Schwellenmätteli Restaurants (14) at Dalmaziquai 11 (00 41 31 350 50 01; www.schwellenmaetteli.ch) offers Italian dishes such as gorgonzola and mushroom risotto (Sfr22/£10) while the glass-walled restaurant serves modern cuisine - a timbale of vegetables with a Roquefort mousse costs Sfr24 (£11); red snapper with lemon risotto and fennel is Sfr36 (£17).
SUNDAY MORNING: GO TO CHURCH
The cathedral (7) has some early 15th-century stained glass, but the glory of Switzerland's largest medieval church is the extraordinary carving above the main door with 294 figures depicting the Last Judgement. The mayor of Berne is shown going to heaven, the mayor of Zürich to hell.
A WALK IN THE PARK
Wander through the woods along the outer bank of the Aare between Kirchenfeldbrücke (13) and Kornhausbrücke (15). The ideal starting point is the Schwellenmätteli Restaurants (14). Sheep graze the steep banks above the path, which offers the best view of the jumble of old riverside houses that forms the former artisans' quarter known as the Matte. The walk can be cut short at the Untertorbrücke (16), with its customs' tower at the east end.
OUT TO BRUNCH
You could stop off for an excellent beer brewed on the premises and a great view over the city and river at the Altes Tramdepot (17) at the east end of the Nydeggbrücke on bus route 12, at Grosser Muristalden 6 (00 41 31 368 14 15; www.altestramdepot.ch). It has a great view over the city and river. If a Bernese plate of sausages, bacon, ham, sauerkraut and potatoes (Sfr31.50/£15) sounds too heavy, try stir-fried vegetables in a marscapone-curry sauce with rice (Sfr23.50/£11).
TAKE A RIDE
Take tram 9 towards Waberne, alight at Gurtenbahn (18) and walk up the street at the rear of the tram for the funicular up the Gurten, Berne's "mountain" at 864m (www.gurtenpark.ch). The return fare is Sfr9 (£4); 50 per cent discount with a Swiss Pass. There are two restaurants, an adventure playground and a miniature railway at the top, and you can walk down through woods and pasture to a chorus of birdsong and cow bells in 50 minutes, following yellow signs for Waberne, yellow arrows or diamonds and "Wanderweg" signs.
WRITE A POSTCARD
The garden on "Cathedral Platform" (19) along the south wall of the building has a cafe in one of its corner pavilions, serving customers at tables overlooking the Aare and the Kirchenfeldbrücke.
ICING ON THE CAKE
Take a bike ride along the Aare river or one of the many red-signed cycle routes, on a free cycle provided by the city authorities. Bern Rollt (20) at the west end of Zeughausgasse offers city bikes, electric bikes and skateboards in return for depositing ID and a refundable Sfr20 (£9.50). It opens 7.30am-9.30pm daily (00 41 79 277 28 57; www.bernrollt.ch).