Parks in Bern

The Botanical Garden of the University of Bern sits along the Aar river bank north of the Old Town. It houses over 5,500 plant species across outdoor collections and a series of tropical and subtropical greenhouses, all free to enter.

The Gurten is Bern's local mountain, a broad, grass-covered summit at 858 metres offering panoramic views of the city, the Mittelland, and the Bernese Alps from the Eiger to the Jungfrau. It's easily accessible by funicular and is a year-round playground for families and hikers.

The Rosengarten (Rose Garden) is a beautifully landscaped public park on a hillside northeast of the Old Town. Originally Bern's cemetery until 1877, it was converted into a rose garden in 1913 and is now home to over 220 rose varieties, 200 iris varieties, and the city's most famous viewpoint.

Tierpark Dählhölzli is Bern's municipal zoo, stretching along the west bank of the Aar south of the Old Town. It combines open-air enclosures for European and local wildlife with a vivarium housing reptiles, amphibians, and fish.

Kleine Schanze is a small, elevated park directly beside the Bundeshaus and the main railway station. Perched on what remains of the old city fortifications, it offers a quiet green space with benches, mature trees, and views south toward the Aar valley and the distant Alps.