Bern

Capital of Switzerland: population, location, elevation, climate and landmarks.

Overview

Bern is the capital of Switzerland. About 121,631 people live in the city proper, making it the 5th largest city of Switzerland in our atlas.

It lies at 46.95° N, 7.45° E, about 549 m (1,801 ft) above sea level, and keeps time on the Europe/Zurich time zone.

Location

Red dot: Bern. Green dots: other major cities of Switzerland. Map data: Natural Earth.

Climate

Bern has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). The warmest month is usually Jul, with average highs near 23°C (73°F); the coolest nights come in Jan at about -4°C (25°F). Around 1,142 mm (45 in) of rain and snow falls in a typical year, spread fairly evenly through the year.

2°-4°Jan774°-4°Feb628°-1°Mar8013°3°Apr8317°7°May13021°12°Jun11723°14°Jul12122°13°Aug12618°9°Sep8314°5°Oct948°0°Nov823°-3°Dec87mm

Bars: average daily high and low (°C) for each month; blue columns and figures: average precipitation (mm). Gridded 2001-2025 averages from NASA POWER, so mountain and coastal spots can differ from local station records.

Landmarks and places to see

Stadion Wankdorf
Stadion WankdorfAssociation football stadium in Bern, Switzerland
Old City of Bern
Old City of BernOld town of Bern, Switzerland and UNESCO World Heritage Site
Zytglogge
ZytgloggeMedieval clock tower with astronomical clock and carillon in the city of Bern, Switzerland
Gurten
GurtenMountain in the Canton of Bern, Switzerland
Einsteinhaus
EinsteinhausMuseum and a former residence of Albert Einstein in the city of Bern, Switzerland
ALPS
ALPSSwiss Alpine Museum
Bundesplatz
BundesplatzPublic square in front of the Bundeshaus in city of Bern, Switzerland
Bear Pit
Bear PitSince 2009 unused trench for keeping bears in the city of Bern, Switzerland

Popular sights within a few kilometres of the city centre, ranked by how widely they are documented on Wikipedia.

What to eat in SwitzerlandNational dishes, street food, desserts and drinks on Intercontinental Chef.

Nearby major cities

← SwitzerlandAll cities

Sources

Text written by Geographical Effect from these sources.

Photo credits
  • Stadedesuiss2: M.A., Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Bern luftaufnahme-2num: de:Benutzer:Amstuzmarco, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Zytglogge 01: Mike Lehmann, Mike Switzerland 13:37, 2 July 2006 (UTC), CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Gurten Berg: Adrian Michael, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Albert einstein house bern: Dsmntl, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • ALPS - Alpines Museum der Schweiz: Uto, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Bundesplatz Bern im Sommer: Swiss Federal Assembly, Attribution (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Bärengraben Bern: Sandro Senn, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)