Bern City Tour

Switzerland's capital is very nearly an island. The Aare loops around three sides of the old town, which is why Bern has barely changed shape since Berchtold V von Zahringen founded it in 1191 - there was nowhere left to expand. What survives is six kilometres of covered arcades, the longest sheltered promenade in Europe, and a UNESCO World Heritage old town still running on its medieval street plan. The walk starts at the Zytglogge, the clock tower that was the city's western gate before Bern outgrew it twice over. Arrive four minutes before the hour and the astronomical clock, built by Kaspar Brunner in 1530, sets its jester, its bears and its crowing cock in motion. Three minutes south, Bundesplatz opens in front of the Federal Palace, where 26 fountain jets play across the square, one for each canton. The terrace behind looks over the Aare to the Bernese Alps. Along Kramgasse you pass number 49, the second-floor flat where Albert Einstein lived on a patent clerk's salary and published the special theory of relativity in 1905. Bern Minster follows, carrying the tallest spire in Switzerland at just over 100 metres, and behind it the Munsterplattform terrace hangs out above the river. Cross the water to the bear park, then climb to the Rosengarten, a cemetery turned rose garden in 1913, for the view that frames the whole loop of the Aare and the red roofs inside it. Around three kilometres, with one moderate climb at the end.