A big number of shops are sheltered by the 6km (4 miles) of covered arcades in the city centre, so in Bern shoppers are protected from rain and snow. The main shopping streets are the Spitalgasse and Marktgasse. They are located in the centre of the Old Town and lined by upmarket shops of all kinds.

Globus, Spitalgasse 37, is a very popular city centre department store attracting shoppers from the whole region with everything from home accessories to fashion and cosmetics items to luxury food. Loeb, Spitalgasse 47-57, is another department store, which is particularly good on upmarket fashion.

There are food and flower markets Tuesday and Saturday mornings on Bundesplatz, Münstergasse, Parliament Square and Bärenplatz (daily from May to October on Bärenplatz). From March to December on every first Saturday of the month there is a crafts market on the Minster platform, and a flea market takes place on Mühleplatz in the Matte every third Saturday of the month from May to October.

Shops are usually open 0900-1900 from Monday to Wednesday, 0900-2100 on Thursday, 0900-2000 on Friday and 0900-1700 on Saturday. Many shops are closed on Sunday, but some keep open 1000-1700.