Bern does not shout. The Swiss capital sits on a sandstone spur in a tight loop of the green Aare, with six kilometres of arcaded streets that let you walk the whole old town in the rain without getting wet. It was founded in 1191 by Duke Berthold V of Zähringen, and legend says he named it after the first animal he killed hunting nearby, a bear. The bears have been the town's mascots ever since, and a few still live in the BärenPark down by the river at the end of the Nydeggbrücke.
The old town is a UNESCO site, and it earns it with a rare consistency: sandstone facades, colourful fountains topped with figures, red-tiled roofs and the great late-Gothic Minster, whose tower is the tallest church tower in Switzerland and worth the climb for the view to the Bernese Alps on a clear day. The Zytglogge clock tower puts on its little mechanical show a few minutes before each hour, and on Kramgasse you can visit the apartment where Albert Einstein lived while working out special relativity. In summer, locals jump into the Aare upstream and drift back through town with the current, which says a lot about the water quality and the Bernese temperament.
Riding into Bern is straightforward but not glamorous. The centre has narrow streets, trams, buses, pedestrian zones and strict parking rules, so find a designated motorcycle parking area on the edge of the old town and walk. Switzerland requires a vignette for motorways, and speed enforcement is notoriously strict and expensive, so keep to the limits even when the road feels empty. The good news is that leaving the city takes minutes: the Emmental's rolling hills, the Gantrisch nature park with the Gurnigel pass, and the lakes of Thun and Brienz with the Alps behind them are all within an hour.
Fuel, food and coffee are everywhere, though Swiss prices will catch your breath. A local tip is to buy picnic supplies at a supermarket and eat by the river or in the Rose Garden above the bear park, which has the best view over the rooftops and the Aare loop. If the weather is fine, an early evening stroll under the arcades, when the shops close and the light warms the sandstone, is the best way to feel the city.