Pedestrian zone Obere Hauptgasse in Thun, Switzerland.

© Juergen Wackenhut/Shutterstock

Thun Altstadt

Bernese Oberland


It’s a pleasure to wander Thun’s attractive riverfront Old Town, where plazas and lanes are punctuated by 15th- and 16th-century townhouses. A stroll takes in the 300-year-old Untere Schleusenbrücke, a covered wooden bridge that is a mass of pink and purple flowers in summer. Nearby is the split-level, flag-bedecked Obere Hauptgasse, with its arcades concealing boutiques and galleries. At the street’s northern tip is cobblestone Rathausplatz, centred on a fountain and framed by arcaded buildings.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Bernese Oberland attractions

1. Schloss Thun

0.08 MILES

Sitting on a hilltop and looking proudly back on 900 years of history, Schloss Thun is the castle of your wildest fairy-tale dreams, crowned by a riot of…

2. Kirche Scherzlingen

0.94 MILES

First mentioned in 762, this wonderfully atmospheric church on the banks of the Aare has a sensitively restored Carolingian tower and Romanesque nave. The…

3. Thun Panorama

1.04 MILES

Swiss artist Marquard Wocher sketched out this panoramic painting – the world's oldest cyclorama of its kind – between 1809 and 1814, seizing inspiration…

4. Schadau Park

1.04 MILES

These beautiful botanical gardens spread along the shores of Lake Thun, with sublime views to the snowcapped Jungfrau range on clear days. The grounds…

5. Schloss Hünegg

2.34 MILES

The plaything of a wealthy Prussian baron and modelled on the chateaux in the Loire region of France, silver-turreted Schloss Hünegg is a feast of art…

6. Schloss Oberhofen

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Scenically perched on the lake, turreted Schloss Oberhofen was wrested from Habsburg control after the Battle of Sempach (1386) and now traces Bernese…

7. Heimat und Rebbaumuseum

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This attractive 18th-century wooden chalet showcases exhibits on wine cultivation. The best time to actually taste local tipples is at the Läset-Sunntig…

8. Schloss Spiez

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This turreted medieval castle is smothered in oil paintings of its former masters, the influential von Bubenburg and von Erlach families. But it’s the…