4 Best Sights in Bern, Switzerland

Bern almost certainly gets its name from the local contraction of the German word Bären because of the bear that Berchtold V supposedly first hunted in the area. The image of a bear is never far away, from the official coat of arms to chocolate morsels. The city has kept live bears since 1513, when victorious Bernese soldiers brought one back from the Battle of Novara and installed it in a hut on what is now Bärenplatz. Brown bears Björk, Finn, and their daughter, Ursina, seem to feel at home in this open-air enclosed area just off the Aare River, complete with quasi forest, shrubs, and cave, where they can play, swim, climb, and sleep all day. Photos and plaques in English describe the bears and their lifestyle. The park is open all hours, every day.

Master builder Matthäus Ensinger already had Strasbourg's cathedral under his belt when he drew up plans for what became the largest and most artistically important church in Switzerland. The city broke ground in 1421 on the site of a smaller church that was dismantled once the cathedral's choir could accommodate Sunday worshippers, and work continued, with minor interruptions, for about 180 years. The finishing touch, the tip of the open, octagonal, 328-foot steeple, was added almost 200 years after that, in 1893. Today Switzerland's highest church tower houses a tower keeper (in an apartment below the spire) and presents wraparound views of Bern and the surrounding mountains.

The Reformers dismantled much of the Catholic Münster's interior decoration and paintings (dumping them in the Münsterplattform, next door), but the exterior 15th-century representation of the Last Judgment above the main portal was deemed worthy and spared. The archangel Michael stands between ivory-skinned angels with gilt hair (heaven) on the left and green demons with gaping red maws (hell) on the right; painted images of the Annunciation and the Fall of Man flank the carved figures as you pass through the doors. Elaborately carved pews and choir stalls within are crowned by 15th-century stained-glass windows that show an easy mix of local heraldry and Christian iconography. The organ, above the main entrance, is often used for concerts.

The permanent collection here, one of the largest and most diverse in Switzerland, begins with the Italian Trecento (notably Duccio and Fra Angelico), then follows Swiss art from Niklaus Manuel in the 15th century through Albert Anker and Ferdinand Hodler in the 19th and on to Giovanni Giacometti and Cuno Amiet in the 20th. The impressionists are covered, from Manet through Monet; the Nabis, by Bonnard. Picasso bridges the gap between Toulouse-Lautrec and Braque; Kirchner, Kandinsky, and Klee represent German expressionism through Blue Rider to Bauhaus. Mondrian and Meret Oppenheim round out the 20th century. Temporary exhibits often take it from there.

Engaged creativity are the watchwords in this undulating, light-filled complex inspired by the life and art of Paul Klee and designed by Renzo Piano. The permanent collection is the world's largest of works by Klee (about 200 are on display at any given time); temporary exhibits focus on his artistic environment and legacy. The Ensemble Paul Klee performs regular, varied, and colorful short concerts in the auditorium; guest artists from the worlds of theater and dance present productions, readings, and workshops (mainly in German) with a pictorial slant. The Kindermuseum Creaviva, a sunny, paint-spattered area visible from the Restaurant Schöngrün on the north end of the interior Museum Street, is open to children over four and anyone else who would like to make art. A sculpture garden and multilingual audio tours of the permanent collection round out the possibilities. Basic signage is in English.