Half Day in Bern

If half day in Bern is all you have, you can pretty much see all the major Bern tourist attractions including some fascinating fountains, Century Clock Tower, Bern Cathedral, Federal Palace, Prison Tower, Bear Plaza and Einstein House. You can do this enroute Geneva to Zurich or from Zurich/ Lucerne to Geneva. With kids, we did not want to spend a full day and 3-4 hours will be more than enough to enjoy all that Bern has to offer.
If you’re looking for things to see in Bern in one day, you could extend this list and visit a few more of their famous fountains and spend more time in their cafes.
Since we visited Bern on a Sunday, the roads in old town of Bern (which is itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site) were empty as the shops were closed. There was very limited tourist hustle bustle and it was a delight to walk on Kramgasse with most of Bern tourist attractions within walking distance.
Make sure to check out some of the 16th century fountains in Bern during the your half day in Bern. Bern boasts of over 100 fountains in its old city, which are still functional and will help quench your thirst on sunny days.

Reaching Bern and Parking
Since we were driving across all of Switzerland, Bern was no exception. We were visiting Bern on a Sunday so we got parking in Casino Parking (closest parking to the Old town of Bern) easily and it was an amazing walk in the old town.

What to see and do?
We were interested in seeing the key Bern tourist attractions like the old town, many of their interesting fountains and the Einstein house. These would continue to feature in the things to see in Bern in one day.
Our route map was as follows:

Berner Munster (Bern Cathedral)
Located in the old city of Bern, this cathedral was completed in 1893, more than 400yrs after the construction first started. It’s a cathedral built in lacy Gothic style with large stained glass windows.
Most beautiful part of the cathedral is the main portal with its depiction of the last judgement using over 40 large free standing statues and around 170 small figures, depicting separation of righteous and the wicked. Claimed to be the best depiction of Last Judgement in all of Europe.
Bern was amongst the last stops for us on the trip and our kids had seen enough and more cathedrals so we did not bother going inside the cathedral. Anyways, the best part was the main portal Last Judgement depiction, which was clearly visible from the outside.
You can however, at an extra charge, climb the steeple for some good views of Bern and the Alps. You’ll also get to see and stand next to the ten-ton bell (largest in Switzerland).

Einstein house
This features amongst the top 10 things in things to see in Bern in one day or half a day.
Einsteinhaus (Einstein House) is a museum and a former residence of Albert Einstein. The Annus Mirabilis papers which presented the theory of relativity were written here, There is a nearly accurate depiction of Einstein and his family’s living conditions, with furniture from that time.
Be sure to watch the 20min video upstairs as it supplements the other exhibits.
Don’t expect huge interactive displays. Its a tiny, less crowded and relatively cheaper museum. This place, however, is not stroller or disabled friendly. There are narrow spiral staircases to move between floors.
The small coffee shop next to the museum is very convenient for a short break.

Zahringerbrunnen – Fountain 1
Built as a memorial to the founder of Bern, Berchtold von Zahringer. The statue is that of a Bear in full armour with a bear cub at his feet. This represents the bear that Berchtold shot on the Aare peninsula, to build this city, according to the legend.

Zytglogge
It’s one of the oldest astronomical clock also called the Century Clock Tower. Since we also did Prague on this trip, the kids had already seen an astronomical clock and they recognized it when they saw it again in Bern.
If you can, I recommend reaching here at 11:45am as the 12noon show of the clock (moving apostles, turning of the sand clock, cuckoo going coo koo, and the chimes etc are the longest for 12noon. Since it starts 10-15mins before noon, reaching a bit early is recommended
This road in front of Zytglogge is called Kramgasse and is a lovely one to walk on even if you don’t want to indulge in sightseeing.
Kindlifresserbrunnen – Fountain 2
Translating to a child eating ogre/ monster, it is one of the very interesting and unique statues. Most likely this represents a figure from folklore that scares disobedient children.
Kafigturm or Prison Tower
This medieval prison tower is a cultural property of national significance. Originally built in early 13th century, as a main gate of the second city wall and used as a prison tower. To reach Barenplatz and Bundezplatz, you will anyways pass this tower. We just took pictures of it from outside and walked on.
Barenplatz
Roughly translating to the bear plaza, its a nice open area (like a public square) to wine (well in this case beer) and dine. Beer at the Bear plaza!
Bundenhaus (Federal Palace) and Bundesplatz
Home of the Swiss parliament since 1902. If you’re interested you can book a guided tour inside the building to know more about Swiss federation’s history. Best part about Bundezplatz was the water fountain for children. In the entire walking tour, this was the highlight for them.
Pfeiferbrunnen – Fountain 3
Since we had only half day in Bern, amongst the 100 odd fountains I chose the fountains to see based on the free self guided tour by an app called GPSmyCity. I recommend downloading it and using it for the following cities (based on where I used it) – Bern, Zurich, Lucerne and Munich .

You will pass through many more fountains on your walks, like Vennerbrunnen, Simsonbrunnen, Anna-Seiler-brunnen and Schutzenbrunnen. These 7 fountains are part of the 11 allegorical figure fountains which are dedicated to heroes, historical events or social ideals.

Tickets and Booking
Half day in Bern will mostly be a walking tour with occassional stops at the cathedral, Einstein Haus etc. The tickets to these can be directly taken at the venue and other than that there is no city pass I recommend as there is no need for a public transport.
We do see a lot of trams passing on this road and if you intend to stay longer or for a couple of days, anyways your travel on public transport will be free with the Bern Ticket. From your very first overnight stay in a tourist accommodation in the city of Bern, you will receive a Bern Ticket for your whole stay, which lets you travel for free on public transport.

Where to eat?
Einstein house cafe and Spaghetti Factory are 2 places you can grab a bite at. There are a lot of small restaurants and cafes you’ll find near Barenplatz.