Bern keeps 4,000 Paul Klee works, Switzerland's oldest art museum and the hall where Christo first wrapped a building — all within twenty minutes of each other. Three days here move from Hodler's canvases to concerts under the Reitschule's vaults.
Switzerland's oldest art museum, open since 1879. Ferdinand Hodler's monumental symbolist canvases fill a whole floor, beside Anker, Klee, Picasso and works from the Gurlitt bequest. Tue 10:00-21:00, Wed-Sun 10:00-17:00, closed Monday.
The 1718 granary cellar under Kornhausplatz, converted in 1898 into a vaulted banqueting hall with frescoes by Rudolf Münger. Lunch beneath the barrel vault; upstairs the Kornhausforum runs design and photography shows.
The late-Gothic cathedral begun in 1421, its 100m spire finished only in 1893 and still Switzerland's tallest. Erhart Küng's Last Judgement portal keeps 234 original painted figures. 344 steps lead to the tower platform.
The 1918 non-collecting exhibition hall where Christo wrapped the building in 1968 and Harald Szeemann staged 'When Attitudes Become Form' in 1969. Three or four shows of new work a year. Tue-Fri 11:00-18:00, Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00.
Renzo Piano's three steel waves in a field east of the city hold roughly 4,000 Klee works, the largest single-artist collection anywhere. Light-sensitive papers cannot hang permanently, so displays rotate. Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00.
Swiss Post and Telecom's museum, rebuilt in 2017 around human 'communicators' who guide visitors instead of wall labels. A vault of rare stamps and a hall of 1900s switchboards anchor the collection. Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00.
Bern's 1894 museum built as a fantasy castle, holding the Burgundian tapestries taken from Charles the Bold at Grandson in 1476. The upper floor is the Einstein Museum, tracing his 1902-1909 Bern years. Tue-Sun 10:00-17:00.
The 1903 theatre on Kornhausplatz runs opera, ballet and spoken drama in true repertory, changing title almost nightly, while the Bern Symphony Orchestra plays the Kultur-Casino hall three minutes away.
A 1930s school building on Waisenhausplatz converted into studios for around 100 artists, musicians and designers, with the city-run Stadtgalerie on the ground floor and the Turnhalle bar in the old gym hall.
The riverside quarter below the old town, once tanners and millers, still associated with its own Matteänglisch back-slang. Reach it by the free Mattelift or the Matte-Stäge; eat on the terrace at Schwellenmätteli by the weir.
The 1897 riding school, occupied since 1987 as an autonomous culture centre: Dachstock concerts, the Kino, Frauenraum and Sous le Pont, every surface painted over. The Lorraine streets behind hold co-ops and second-hand shops.
A former bakery turned living-room venue: Balkan brass, jazz and DJ nights in the cellar, Bernese cooking and a newspaper table upstairs. Programme runs Wednesday to Saturday, doors around 20:00.