Getting around Bern

Public transport

Bern's city centre 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: +41 31 321 8844; www.bernmobil.ch) runs the city's tram, bus and trolley lines. In addition, Moonliner (tel: +41 31 321 8812; www.moonliner.ch) provides a night bus service, operating 24 lines from the station square on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

If you're staying overnight in Bern, you'll receive a Bern Ticket from your hotel. This allows free travel on public transport in zones 100/101, which covers the city centre. It also includes the Gurten funicular, Marzilibahn funicular and the lift to the Minster terrace, as well as travel to and from Bern Airport.

Taxis

Taxi companies include Bären-Taxi (tel: +41 31 371 1111; www.baerentaxi.ch) and Nova-Taxi (tel: +41 31 331 3313; www.novataxi.ch). BETAX (tel: +41 800 903 090; www.betax.ch) provides transport services for disabled people. Public taxi ranks are on Casinoplatz, Waisenhausplatz and at the railway station.

Driving

It's easy to explore Bern without a car. If you are driving however, you can check live availability of car park spaces online (www.parking-bern.ch). The website also lists current parking rates; it's cheaper to park at night and on Sundays.

Car hire

Car hire is offered by Avis (tel: +41 848 81 18 18; www.avis.ch), Europcar (tel: +41 848 8080 99; www.europcar.ch), Hertz (tel: +41 31 310 1550; www.hertz.ch) and Sixt (tel: +41 848 884 444; www.sixt.ch). The minimum age for hiring a car is 19, but this varies according to the vehicle model and car hire company and there is sometimes a surcharge for drivers under 25.

Bicycle hire

PubliBike (tel: +41 58 453 5050; www.publibike.ch/en/) is a bicycle and e-bike hire service with over 70 stations all around town, All you need to do is download the app and search for stations and available bikes. You can also hire bicycles at the railway station and at Bern-Eymatt – TCS Camping, Wohlenstrasse 62C (tel: +41 31 901 1007; www.rentabike.ch). Bikes are also available at the Ski Velo Center, Hirschengraben 7 (tel: +41 31 312 0031; www.ski-velo-center.ch).