Current Time in Thun, Switzerland

Thun is a city in the canton of Bern, central Switzerland, situated at the point where the Aare River exits Lake Thun (Thunersee), surrounded by the snow-capped peaks of the Bernese Alps. A picturesque and historically significant city, Thun is the gateway to the Bernese Oberland — the region of dramatic Alpine valleys, glaciers, and mountain resorts including Interlaken, Grindelwald, and the Jungfrau — and has long served as a market town and administrative center for this spectacular highland region.

With a population of approximately 44,000, Thun is the second-largest city in the canton of Bern after Bern itself and an important regional center for commerce, military training, and light industry. The Swiss Army maintains significant facilities in and around Thun, and the Swiss armaments industry has had an important presence here for over a century. Despite this military connection, Thun is primarily known as a pleasant lakeside town and tourist base, with a charming old town and easy access to some of the most celebrated mountain scenery in Europe.

Thun Castle (Schloss Thun), dramatically situated on a hill above the old town with four corner towers and a square central keep, dates from the 12th century and was the residence of the Counts of Kyburg before passing to the Habsburgs and eventually to the Bern city-state. The castle now houses the Historical Museum of Thun (Schlossmuseum Thun), with excellent collections of medieval arms, ceramics, and local history exhibits. The views from the castle's roof terrace over the old town, Lake Thun, and the Alpine panorama behind are exceptional.

The old town of Thun is built on an island in the Aare River, creating a distinctive urban form. The most unusual feature of the main shopping street, the Obere Hauptgasse, is that pedestrians walk along the roofs of the ground-floor arcaded shops — the street runs at first-floor level, with shop entrances on the street below opening into vaulted medieval cellars. This extraordinary arrangement, unique in Switzerland, gives Thun's main shopping street a character unlike that of any other Swiss town.

Lake Thun (Thunersee) is one of the most beautiful lakes in Switzerland, with crystal-clear water, a backdrop of Alpine peaks including the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau, and the medieval castles of Oberhofen and Spiez along its shores. Lake cruises from Thun reach Interlaken and the Brienz end of the lake, passing through scenery of breathtaking grandeur. Swimming in the lake in summer, sailing, windsurfing, and kayaking are popular activities.

Thun is connected by frequent trains to Bern (about 20 minutes), Interlaken (about 25 minutes), and Spiez. The Autobahn A6 provides road access from Bern and from the A8 towards Interlaken. Thun is an excellent base for day trips to the Bernese Oberland mountain resorts and to Bern.

Thun is a city of understated charm and remarkable natural setting, serving as an ideal introduction to the grandeur of the Swiss Alps and the pleasures of the Bernese Oberland.