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Barrier-Free Bern
Sightseeing, delicious restaurants, or cultural institutions – this is a compilation of barrier-free activities in Bern, including a little detour to the water, and tested in collaboration with Claire & George.
Attractions
From well-known sights to cultural insider tips, from a trip into nature to a museum tour: the federal city has many attractions in store, most of which are also accessible with limited mobility. This is a list of the most important information as well as the most beautiful sights for a carefree stay in Bern:
- Zytglogge (Zeitglockenturm)
Not wheelchair accessible | Viewing from outside possible |
- Berner Münster
Barrier-free access | Entrance on the Münstergasse side (contact Münsteraufsicht by telephone) |
- Käfigturm
Not wheelchair accessible | Viewing from outside possible |
- Bundeshaus und Bundesplatz
Barrier-free access | Disabled car park (Bundesgasse 1b) | Brief description of the parliament building available in Braille
- Französische Kirche
Barrier-free access (entrance on the Nägeligasse side) | Supporting facility for the hearing impaired |
- Kornhaus
Barrier-free access | Car park nearby | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Rathaus
Limited barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet | Disabled parking (Rathausgasse 11) | Multi-storey car park nearby |
- Tierpark Bern, BärenPark
Barrier-free access via inclined lift | Wheelchair-accessible toilet in the Altes Tramdepot restaurant |
- Tierpark Bern, Dählhölzli
Barrier-free access | Disabled parking | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Rosengarten
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Botanical Garden
Limited barrier-free access | Many stairs or streets with a gradient of more than 10% | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Gurten
Barrier-free access | Car park | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
The accessible Tourist Information at Berns main station distributes tactile city maps, meaning all the most important attractions are marked and labelled in Braille. People in wheelchairs can also temporarily collect a Eurokey, which can be used for all Eurokey facilities in Bern, such as stair lifts and wheelchair-accessible WCs.
You can find more information about the sights here
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Barrier-Free Restaurants
- Più Ristorante
Supplier entrance wheelchair-accessible | Automatic doors |
- Restaurant zum Äusseren Stand
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Altes Tramdepot
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Restaurant Casino
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Restaurant Dählhölzli
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Restaurant Rosengarten
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet | Automatic doors
- Restaurant Schöngrün
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
More information about the restaurants
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Concerts and Theater
- Kursaal
Barrier-free access | Car park | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Bühnen Bern
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet | Reduced price for people with limited mobility | Hearing facilities available | Individual performances with translation into Swiss-German sign language | Guide dogs welcome | Individual performances as Relaxed Performances |
- Casino Bern
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet | Wheelchair parking spaces | Free admission for people with disabilities |
- Schlachthaus Theater
Wheelchair-accessible hall | Wheelchair-accessible toilet | Hearing facilities available |
- Theater Käfigturm
Theatre visit only possible with hand wheelchair | Reservation wheelchair seats: By telephone via the advance booking office | No wheelchair-accessible toilet |
- Theater Matte
Barrier-free access | Limited number of wheelchair spaces |
- Theater an der Effingerstrasse
Wheelchair space in the auditorium | The lift is not suitable for electrically operated wheelchairs |
- Vidmarhallen
Barrier-free access | Wheelchair-accessible toilet |
More information about the concert and theatre locations
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Museums
- The Bern Historical Museum
Partially barrier-free | Entrance for people with reduced mobility on the south side (via Bernastrasse) | Wheelchair-accessible restroom |
- The Alpine Museum
Barrier-free accessibility
- Museum of Fine Arts
Barrier-free accessibility | Wheelchair-accessible restroom | Reduction for visitors with a disability and their accompanying persons | Disabled parking space |
- Museum of Communication
Barrier-free accessibility | Wheelchair-accessible restroom |
- The Natural History Museum
Barrier-free accessibility | Wheelchair-accessible restroom | Disabled parking space |
- YB Museum in the Stade de Suisse
Barrier-free accessibility | Wheelchair-accessible restroom |
- Zentrum Paul Klee
Barrier-free accessibility | Wheelchair-accessible restroom | Assistive equipment for visually and hearing-impaired visitors |
More information about the museums
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Barrier-free tours through Bern
If all these great sights have whetted your appetite for exploring the federal city, our barrier-free routes through Bern offer the perfect mix of interesting cultural sites, culinary excursions and fresh air by the beautiful River Aare.
City Tour for the blind and visually impaired
This tour lets blind and visually impaired visitors experience the city of Bern. The tour is tailored to their needs: they can listen, touch, and smell the UNESCO World Heritage Site Bern. Visitors will be accompanied by a person trained by the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. In addition, they will distribute tactile city maps, with all the most important attractions marked and labelled in Braille.
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Barrier-free tour through Bern
With almost six kilometres of arcades (so-called Lauben), Bern is home to one of the longest covered shopping promenades in Europe. This is not only an advantage in rainy weather but also enables people with limited mobility to visit the UNESCO-listed old town whilst almost completely avoiding the bumpy cobblestones. The barrier-free city tour takes you past impressive sights, cultural sites and, of course, selected eateries, giving you the opportunity for a culinary stopover.
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Barrier-free tour around the river Aare
If you want to enjoy Bern’s beauty along the river Aare, you are on the right path with the barrier-free Aare tour. The Mattelift (elevator) next to the minster platform will take you down to the Matte neighbourhood. People with limited mobility and their caregivers ride for free. From there, an asphalt path leads you along the babbling Aare to the Marzili and then up to the Bern Animal Park. You can use the Schönausteg (bridge) to cross the river and use the path to comfortably get back to the Mattelift.
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Attention reconstruction: The Schönausteg will be renovated from October 2024 to spring 2025 and will be removed for this purpose. But don’t worry, there is a replacement bridge over the Aare 250 metres downstream.
On the go in Bern
Bern Ticket, busses and trams
From your very first overnight stay at a tourist accommodation in the city of Bern, you will receive a Bern Ticket for your entire stay, which lets you travel for free on public transport in zones 100/101 operated by the LIBERO Association.
The majority of the buses and streetcars operated by Bernmobil are low-floor vehicles. The upcoming stops are all communicated visually and orally.
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SBB
SBB trains and the entire main train station in Bern are also barrier-free. The SBB website provides all the information you need for travel planning, ticket purchases and autonomous travel.
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Looking for help planning an accessible vacation? Claire and George provides support from A to Z. From choosing a hotel to booking a multi-day trip.
Accommodations
From backpacker hostels to luxury hotels, you’ll be spoiled for choice if you want to stay overnight in Bern. These accommodations offer wheelchair-accessible rooms.
5 stars
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4 stars
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3 stars
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Our commitment
Together with our partners, we are working on making accessible services in Bern more visible and expanding them.
OK:GO
OK:GO: makes self-determined traveling with limited mobility easier. We support this initiative and encourage tourism providers in the city and region of Bern to declare accessibility information for their services. This enables guests to see at a glance, for example, how broad entrances are or whether wheelchair-accessible toilets are available. This simplifies travel planning for people with disabilities, families with small children, or senior citizens.
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Claire & George
Claire & George is collaborating with various hotels, tourism partners and service providers as well as Bern Welcome. The foundation supports people with limited mobility in planning barrier-free travels and holidays to ensure comfort, relaxation, and relief for those affected as well as their families and relatives. The aim is to ensure comfort, relaxation and relief for those affected and their relatives. We also support Claire & George as a city partner in the national project “Accessible Switzerland Tour” by Claire & Geroge in cooperation with Switzerland Tourism.
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Practical Information and Useful Links
City Map
A tactile city map is available from Tourist Information at the main train station for people with a visual impairment.
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