Bern with Your Own Minibus: the Capital's Sights and Lake Days

Bern's UNESCO old town sits in a loop of the Aare, small enough to walk in a morning. The minibus earns its place around it: a short hop to the bear park, an afternoon in Thun or Murten, and full days in the Bernese Oberland.

Stopping in the old town

Bern currently has 19 coach sites with 46 spaces, free of charge and without booking, with stays from 30 minutes to three hours. Some line the northern edge of the old town; others are by the BärenPark and the Rosengarten, where groups get out for the view over the rooftops.

Change is planned. The city intends to charge a daily rate and introduce online booking for parking from 2027, with set-down staying free for 30 minutes, and a referendum is possible. The operator will know which rules apply on your dates.

Inside the Federal Palace

Guided tours of the Bundeshaus run Tuesday to Saturday outside the parliamentary sessions. Groups of 10 to 30 book online up to 180 days ahead, and anyone 16 or older brings an official photo ID for the security check. The group leader arrives with everyone half an hour early at the south entrance, on the Bundesterrasse.

While parliament is sitting there are no tours, but groups can book seats in the public galleries instead, so check the session calendar first.

Flying in to Bern

Favourite stops around Bern

Bernisches Historisches Museum and Einstein Museum — Helvetiaplatz 5, 3005 Bern, in the Kirchenfeld museum quarter south of the Aare; open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 17:00, closed on Mondays. Groups from 10 people pay the group rate; groups that want to eat their own food must reserve a room through the visitor service. Guided tours are offered for groups and schools.
Zentrum Paul Klee — Monument im Fruchtland 3, 3006 Bern, on the eastern edge of the city; closed on Mondays, otherwise 10:00 to 17:00. By road: A6, exit Bern-Ostring (navigation address Schosshaldenstrasse 92c); about 150 car spaces, and the museum states that bus (coach) parking spaces are available in the immediate vicinity. Bus 12 from Bern station ends at the north entrance (about 20 minutes).
Einsteinhaus — Kramgasse 49, second-floor flat where Albert Einstein lived from 1903 to 1905, with an exhibition on the third floor; a narrow original spiral staircase. Open 4 February to 18 December 2026, daily 10:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:45), closed from 19 December 2026; in 2027 open 1 February to 17 December.
Rosengarten — Public rose garden above the old town with a view over the Aare bend and the old town; the city reports that the coach spaces at Rosengarten are used mainly for setting passengers down and picking them up. The park is being renovated in stages over the next years; in 2026 the area below the restaurant was redesigned and the path from the BärenPark widened.
BärenPark (Bear Park) — Grosser Muristalden 4, at the lower (east) end of the old town; open around the clock all year, free of charge. The bears are usually in winter rest from November to mid-March and rarely visible. Guided tours (about 60 minutes, German, French or English, maximum 20 people per guide, parallel tours for larger groups) run only from May to September and must be booked with the Tierpark Bern. The coach set-down area is on Aargauerstalden, just above the park (see coach notes).
Berner Münster (Bern Minster) — Reservation is not required for groups climbing the tower: buy tickets at the information desk (group rate from 10 people). At least 254 steps to the first platform and 344 to the top, with no lift. Winter hours from 12 October 2026: church Monday to Friday 12:00 to 16:00, Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday 11:30 to 16:00; tower last ascent Monday to Friday 15:30, Saturday 16:30, Sunday 15:30. Guided tours for groups are booked through the Minster office.
Zytglogge (Clock Tower) — One-hour guided tours by Bern Welcome inside the medieval clock tower, ending on the viewing platform after about 130 steps; maximum 19 people per group, so larger groups are split. Private group tours can be booked in many languages.
Bundeshaus (Federal Palace) — Free guided tours of about 60 minutes are offered only outside the parliamentary sessions, Tuesday to Saturday. Groups of 10 or more book online up to 180 days ahead (minimum 10 people, otherwise the tour does not take place; up to 30 places per tour); all four national languages and English are possible for groups. Every visitor aged 16 or over must show an official photo ID (passport, identity card, driving licence or Swiss residence permit), and there are metal-detector and X-ray checks. The group leader reports with the ticket and the whole group 30 minutes before the start at the south entrance on the Bundesterrasse. Session dates (no tours): 2026 winter session 30 November to 18 December; 2027 spring 1 to 19 March, special session 19 to 23 April, summer 31 May to 18 June, autumn 13 September to 1 October, winter 6 to 23 December. During sessions, groups of 10 to 40 people can book the public galleries online; every member leaves an official ID at the security check.

Good pickup points

Belp (Bern Airport)
Ostring / Schosshalde (Zentrum Paul Klee)
Mattenhof / Monbijou
Länggasse (university district)
Wankdorf / BERNEXPO / Stadion Wankdorf
Breitenrain / Kursaal / Viktoriaplatz
Kirchenfeld (museum quarter, Helvetiaplatz)
Bundesplatz / Bundeshaus area
Bahnhof Bern / Bubenbergplatz / Hirschengraben
Altstadt (UNESCO old town: Marktgasse, Kramgasse, Gerechtigkeitsgasse)

Clock tower, Minster and bears

Bern Welcome's tour inside the Zytglogge takes at most 19 people, so a minibus group goes up together. It lasts an hour and ends on the viewing platform after about 130 steps.

The Minster tower needs no group reservation and has 344 steps to the top. Between November and mid-March the BärenPark bears are mostly in their winter rest and hard to spot; guided tours there run from May to September.

Lakes, cheese and the Oberland

Thun and Murten are each about 35 minutes away, Fribourg about 40. The Emmentaler show dairy at Affoltern is about 55 minutes and Gruyères about an hour, so a cheese day is easy to put together.

Interlaken is about an hour; Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Kandersteg for the Oeschinensee, and the Ballenberg open-air museum are all about 1.25 hours.

Questions travellers ask

Can we fly into Bern?

Bern Airport at Belp is about 17 km from the Zytglogge, roughly 30 minutes, but it mostly has seasonal holiday flights. Zurich Airport is the usual choice, about 1 h 45 min by road; from Geneva allow about 2 h 15 min.

Is there a day to avoid in November?

The Zibelemärit, Bern's onion market, takes over the whole inner city on the fourth Monday of every November. Traffic is kept out of the old town and the city police run a special plan for coaches, so be ready for a longer walk.

Can the minibus park at the Kursaal or BERNEXPO?

The Kursaal's car park entrance is only 2.05 m high, too low for a high-roof minibus. BERNEXPO has a set-down zone opposite its main entrance; anything bigger than a car needs written permission from the parking office to use the outdoor car parks.

Other trips we arrange

Other vehicles with a driver

Full-size coach (Reisecar) — Seats: 45-57
Midi-coach (Midibus / Midicar) — Seats: 25-35
Minibus (Kleinbus) — Seats: 9-16 passengers plus the driver
Executive Sprinter-style minibus — Seats: 8-16 passengers plus the driver
Executive car with driver (limousine service) — Seats: 1-3 (up to 8 passengers in a van-type car)
Wheelchair-accessible minibus — Seats: Varies by layout; wheelchair positions replace seats

Plan a few days in Bern

Give us your dates, the number of travellers, your hotel and the sights or lakes you want to see. A licensed partner operator supplies the minibus with its driver.

Request a quote or call 35227647770