Trip Planner: Europe / Switzerland / Canton of Bern / Bern Mittelland District / Bern / Barenpark

Barenpark, Bern

3.8

Wildlife Area · Hidden Gem · Nature / Park

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See the bears of the capital city at Barenpark, a brown bear shelter on the eastern edge of the city's Old Town. According to local legend, Bern got its name from a bear caught by Duke Berthold von Zahringen, the founder of the city. Bern's bear saga continues at this "bear pit," which underwent a massive reconstruction project in 2009. The spacious riverside park now spans over 6,000 sq m (65,000 sq ft), featuring a hibernation cave and secure areas where the animals can freely roam. Take a self-guided walk through this bear world, or call ahead to book a guided tour with an expert bear keeper. Before you head to Bern, plan trip itinerary details with our user-friendly Bern holiday maker, to make sure you see all that Bern has to offer, including Barenpark.

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Tours to Barenpark

FROM $163 BOOK WITH VIATOR Bern Capital City Private Tour Bern Capital City Private Tour

4.0

Duration: 3 to 4 hours

Tours from $163 ›

FROM $6 BOOK WITH VIATOR Bern Self-Guided Audio Tour Bern Self-Guided Audio Tour

2.0

Duration: 3 to 9 hours

Tours from $6 ›

Barenpark reviews

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TripAdvisor traveler rating

1,535 reviews

Google

4.4

By swissmiss1

Three bears are pretty close up. Arrive just before 12:00 and they are trying to get in the doors to their feeding area. The doors open at 12.:00 and off they go. A bit sad, in terms of the...

Three bears are pretty close up. Arrive just before 12:00 and they are trying to get in the doors to their feeding area. The doors open at 12.:00 and off they go. A bit sad, in terms of the... more »
By B1714D

Bear is the symbol of Swiss capital - it's even on its flag. Barenpark is a small circular pit set beneath the Rose garden and before the bridge leading to the city center. However, we waited some 20.... more

Bear is the symbol of Swiss capital - it's even on its flag. Barenpark is a small circular pit set beneath the Rose garden and before the bridge leading to the city center. However, we waited some 20.... more »
By JHMTTL

Barenpark is a short walk from Old Town across the bridge. You can see the bears relaxing among the trees. You can take stairs or an elevator down to the riverbank to get better views of the bears...

Barenpark is a short walk from Old Town across the bridge. You can see the bears relaxing among the trees. You can take stairs or an elevator down to the riverbank to get better views of the bears... more »

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Google

By Fiona Cock

Great location to experience viewing beautiful animals. The baby deer and warthogs were cute and the wolves through the fences, although hard to see were exciting. We couldn't work out how to get to the walkover bridge though.

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By Biopio

Not very good. No way to pay the parking if you don't have coins. We lost one hour lny for the car park. The zoo is medium interesting..and you suppose to be the principal city of Swiss and the label of each cage is only in German!! Come on ..there are at least 3 languages in this city...shame on you.

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By Antonio Fortes

Wonderful place to visit, stood there for one day during a vacation while I was waiting for some relatives to join us. There's a great coffee there with a very good hot chocolate!

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By Franci M.

Very nice place to go to if you visit Bern...a small but worthy Zoo

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By Tuan-Anh Nguyen

Very fun place to see the bears in action. There is also the Aare River that runs behind the park so it's a nice place to go for a walk as well.

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