A European city has long served as a thoroughfare for tourists looking to travel onwards to some of one country’s more famous metropolitan centres.
Bern is a stunning medieval city in Switzerland founded more than 800 years ago that is so celebrated, its old quarter is now a UNESCO heritage site.
Approximately 400,000 people visited every year before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Bern – which became the Swiss capital in 1848 – becoming increasingly popular with tourists thanks to its glittering reputation.
But, shockingly, it is often skirted by people on the way to Switzerland’s other notable cities like Zurich and Geneva.
The two cities take on the vast majority of Swiss tourism, with Bern seen as less accessible than its larger neighbours.
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Writing for the Daily Telegraph, travel writer William Cook said that when he went to visit “magical” Bern in 2022, it was a “picturesque metropolis”.
He praised local landmark the Zytglogge and other works of local architecture, museums, and the walkability of nearby hiking trails.
But he discovered the city only had a “manageable trickle of tourists”, adding that larger tour groups appeared to “stay away”.
He explained the Swiss capital is tricky to access for foreigners, especially Britons, despite connections to nearby airports.
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He wrote: “Bern’s airport is tiny, with only a handful of connections – none to Britain.”
People wishing to travel to Bern must arrive via Zurich Airport, from where they can catch an 80-minute train, but this “extra time and trouble” keeps tourists away.
The city would “probably be swamped with sightseers” if it was any easier to access, the writer added.
He added: “As it is, most folk in the bars and cafes are locals rather than visitors, so you still feel like a traveller here, rather than just another tourist passing through.”
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“Despite its architectural beauty, Bern will never become a touristic theme park, and it’s all the better for it.
“It’s a place where people live and work, rather than somewhere for taking selfies.”
Zurich and Geneva are much more popular cities, with the former seeing 3.4 million overnight stays a year and the latter 1.6 million.
Even Lausanne, one of Switzerland’s lesser-known cities, sees more visitors, with its tourist board estimating that one million foreigners stay overnight annually on average.
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