A knight, a king and a Grim Reaper jig on the hour atop this 12th-century astronomical clock with its hands reversed so the smaller one shows the minutes. It's on Marktplatz, which springs to life during the Wednesday morning market.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
18.13 MILES
Bern’s answer to the Guggenheim, Renzo Piano’s architecturally bold, 150m-long wave-like edifice houses an exhibition space that showcases rotating works…
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27.35 MILES
Showcasing the works of the adjoining, eponymous high-end furniture manufacturer, Vitra Campus comprises the dazzling Vitra Design Museum (of Guggenheim…
18.44 MILES
Bern’s flag-bedecked medieval centre has 6km of covered arcades and cellar shops and bars descending from the streets. After a devastating fire in 1405,…
24.09 MILES
About 17km east of Basel, on the Rhine's south bank, Switzerland’s largest Roman ruins are the last remnants of a colony founded in 43 BC, the population…
26.82 MILES
This astounding private-turned-public collection, assembled by former art dealers Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, is housed in a long, low, light-filled, open…
24.09 MILES
Housing the most comprehensive collection of public art in Switzerland, this superb fine arts museum reopened in mid-2016 after updates to the existing…
18.45 MILES
Bern’s most famous Old Town sight, this ornate clock tower once formed part of the city’s western gate (1191–1256). Crowds congregate to watch its…
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24.53 MILES
Designed by leading Ticino architect Mario Botta, this museum showcases the playful, mischievous and downright wacky artistic concoctions of sculptor…
Nearby attractions
0.02 MILES
West of the clock tower, this fountain (1561) portrays a blindfolded Justice, holding aloft a sword, while the four most important contemporary figures in…
0.03 MILES
The unprepossessing facade of this church (1680–89) disguises an interior of baroque embellishments and stucco work. All the ‘marble’ in here is fake –…
0.1 MILES
Architect Gaetano Matteo Pisoni restrained himself with the classical Italianate facade of Solothurn’s monolithic 18th-century cathedral, but went wild…
0.11 MILES
Fresh from extensive renovations completed in late 2016, the early 17th-century rust-coloured facade of this vast, multi-windowed arsenal museum is a…
0.13 MILES
Just east of the cathedral, this is Solothurn's most attractive city gate. Nearby, the city’s former bastion makes a decent picnic spot.
0.18 MILES
The centrepiece of Solothurn's Fine Arts Museum is Ferdinand Hodler’s famous portrait of William Tell (looking a bit like a red-haired, bearded Goliath in…
11.07 MILES
In the new Lower Town, the works of Switzerland’s foremost photo-realist painter steal the show at the Franz Gertsch Museum.
11.14 MILES
The works of Switzerland’s foremost photo-realist painter steal the show at the Franz Gertsch Museum.