Bern

The capital of Switzerland, one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage site, built on a high sandstone spur almost encircled by the River Aare. Founded by the dukes of Zaehringen at the end of the twelfth century and rebuilt in green local sandstone after a great fire, the old town keeps its signature kilometres of covered arcades, its painted Renaissance fountains and the Zytglogge clock tower with its moving figures, all running to the great Minster whose spire is the tallest in the country. Above the Aare the domed Federal Palace houses the parliament of the Confederation, the bears that gave the city its name live in a riverside park, and from the Rose Garden the whole sandstone town can be seen curled inside its river. Read the Federal City at your own pace.