Bern - Getting There By Road

With its central location in Switzerland, Bern is easily accessible by car. The city is directly connected to the national motorway network as well as to the European E4 highway. The A12 leads to Lausanne, and the A1 runs via Bern between Geneva in the southwest and Zurich in the northeast. From Bern, access to southern Switzerland and Italy is via the Lötschberg Tunnel/Simplon Pass or the St Bernard road tunnel.

There are two motoring associations in Switzerland. These are Touring Club Suisse (TCS) (tel: 0844 888 111; www.tcs.ch) and Automobil Club der Schweiz (ACS) (tel: (031) 328 3111; www.acs.ch).

Emergency breakdown service: TCS/ACS (tel: 140).

Switzerland has the most efficient railway network in the world, and intercity trains are the most common means of public transport. PostBus (tel: 0848 888 888; www.postbus.ch) operates a network of local and regional bus routes. Eurolines (tel: 0871 781 8181, in the UK; www.eurolines.com) operates coach services between Bern and other European cities.