How to Get to Bern: Direct Trains, Airports & the Bern Ticket

Positioned at the junction of Switzerland's main east-west Mittelland rail corridor and the north-south Lötschberg alpine axis, Bern is one of the easiest cities in Europe to reach without a car. Every InterCity train stops directly at the western edge of the UNESCO Old Town, allowing you to step off the platform and walk under the sandstone arcades of Spitalgasse in less than two minutes. Check our Bern travel guide and where to stay in Bern for station-adjacent accommodation options.

Because Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) operates Bern as a synchronized clock-face hub where long-distance InterCity trains meet regional S-Bahn lines on the hour and half-hour, transfers from international airport terminals and neighbouring cantons require minimal waiting on the platforms.

Arriving via Zurich, Basel, and Geneva Airports

Although the small regional airfield of Bern Airport (BRN) lies ten kilometres southeast in Belp (linked by bus 160 to Belp railway station and S-Bahn trains S3, S4, and S44), nearly all international travellers fly into one of Switzerland's three major hubs and board a direct train from the airport terminal:

• From Zurich Airport (ZRH): Direct SBB InterCity (IC1 and IC8) trains run every 30 minutes from the underground airport station straight to Bern in roughly 1 hour 15 minutes (or 56 minutes nonstop from Zurich HB over the high-speed Mattstetten-Rothrist line).
• From EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (BSL): Bus 50 links the terminal in under twenty minutes to Basel SBB station, where half-hourly InterCity and EuroCity trains reach Bern in about 55 to 60 minutes.
• From Geneva Airport (GVA): Direct IC1 trains depart every 30 minutes from Geneva Airport via Geneva Cornavin, Lausanne, and Fribourg, reaching Bern in roughly 1 hour 55 minutes.
• International High-Speed Rail: Direct ICE trains from Berlin, Frankfurt, and Karlsruhe, TGV Lyria services from Paris to Basel or Lausanne (with a change there), and EuroCity trains from Milan via the Lötschberg Base Tunnel and Brig call directly at Bern. Check the official site of SBB for current schedules.

Inside Bahnhof Bern: Main SBB Platforms, RBS, and the Welle von Bern

Rebuilt between 1957 and 1974 with twelve through tracks and an underground Christoffel shopping passage, and expanded in 2003 with the undulating steel-and-timber canopy of the Welle von Bern at the western Schanzenbrücke exit, Bahnhof Bern handles roughly 262,000 main-line passengers a day plus around 60,000 commuters on the narrow-gauge Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn (RBS) underground platforms (tracks 21 to 24), making it Switzerland's second-busiest railway station after Zurich. Directly outside the main Baldachin glass canopy on Bahnhofplatz stand the central tram and trolleybus stops and the Baroque sandstone Heiliggeistkirche (built 1726 to 1729 by Niklaus Schiltknecht).

Inside the underground concourse, luggage lockers, staffed rail counters, grocery shops, and step-free lifts connect all twelve main-line platforms directly to both Bahnhofplatz at the foot of the Old Town and the elevated park terrace of the Grosse Schanze above the station roof. If you are arriving on an early train before hotel check-in, you can store bags in the underground lockers and start walking the historic spine right away.

BERNMOBIL Trams, Funiculars, and the Free Bern Ticket

Within the city, BERNMOBIL operates five metre-gauge tram lines (lines 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9), three articulated trolleybus lines (11, 12, and 20), and urban bus routes within the Libero tariff union. Anyone staying at least one night in a hotel, hostel, or campsite within the City of Bern receives the digital or printed Bern Ticket (effective from your day of arrival through your departure afternoon), which covers unlimited rides in Libero zones 100 and 101, including tram 9 and the Gurtenbahn funicular, the Marzilibahn, the Mattelift, and bus 160 to Bern Airport.

On your arrival day, your hotel reservation confirmation itself serves as a valid ticket from the station or airport bus stop to your accommodation, where reception issues the full pass for the rest of your stay.

Walking the Spine and Using the Cliffside Lifts

Because the historic peninsula measures just 1.4 kilometres from Bahnhofplatz to the Nydeggbrücke and cars are largely restricted along the central spine, walking beneath the six kilometres of covered arcades is often the simplest way to explore, supplemented by the Marzilibahn, Mattelift, and BäreBähnli whenever you move between the riverbanks and the upper ridge; see our 3-day Bern itinerary for daily transit combinations.

Navigating Bahnhof Bern is straightforward once you understand its two-level layout. The main underground passage (the Christoffelunterführung) runs perpendicular beneath all the through tracks, linking the tram and bus hub on Bahnhofplatz at the eastern end with the sunken narrow-gauge commuter station and the escalators up to the university quarter on the Grosse Schanze. Clear overhead signs direct arriving passengers toward either the Old Town arcades or the western wave canopy exit.

When riding BERNMOBIL trams and trolleybuses across the city, remember that all doors open at stops when you press the green boarding button, and ticket inspectors check passes on board rather than at turnstiles. Keeping your digital or printed Bern Ticket alongside your passport or identity card ensures smooth travel across every tram line, bus route, and funicular in the municipal tariff zones.

For travellers continuing onward into the Bernese Oberland or across the Swiss Plateau, half-hourly InterCity trains depart from the main platforms toward Thun, Spiez, and Interlaken as well as toward Lucerne, Zurich, Basel, and Lake Geneva, making the federal capital an ideal rail hub for a wider Swiss journey.

Cyclists and walkers will also notice well-marked pedestrian and bike routes radiating out from the station across the high bridges and down along the Aare towpaths, offering traffic-calm links to every museum, riverside bath, and hillside park in the city.

If you are travelling with heavy suitcases between platforms or heading out to a hotel in the Old Town or Kirchenfeld, step-free ramps and wide elevators connect every track directly to the street-level low-floor trams on Bahnhofplatz, removing the need to carry bags up or down station stairs. Electronic departure boards at every tram shelter show real-time countdowns for the next approaching vehicle along the central spine, and night buses fan out from the station square on weekend evenings to serve the surrounding residential quarters.