Biel/Bienne

Worth seeing in and around Biel/Bienne

7 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

1. 01
   Bern University of Applied Sciences

   The Bern University of Applied Sciences is a public vocational university in Switzerland with a strong national and international profile. It comprises six departments and also incorporates the Higher Technical School of Wood, which is affiliated to the Department of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering.

   3.5 km · vocational university in Switzerland · Wikipedia
2. 02
   Nidau-Büren Canal

   The Nidau–Büren Canal is a 12-kilometre canal that carries the Aare River from Lake Biel to Büren an der Aare.

   1.7 km · canal in Switzerland · Wikipedia
3. 03
   Petinesca

   Petinesca is an archeological site on the territory of Studen, a community of the Canton of Bern, in Switzerland, where Celtic and Roman vestiges were found.

   3.9 km · archaeological site in Studen in the canton of Bern, Switzerland · Wikipedia
4. 04
   Eisstadion Biel

   Eisstadion Biel was an arena in Bienne, Switzerland, primarily used for ice hockey. It is the home of EHC Biel from 1973 to 2015.

   2.9 km · building · Wikipedia
5. 05
   Gurzelen Stadion

   Gurzelen Stadion was a multi-purpose stadium in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Inaugurated in 1913, it primarily served as the home ground of FC Biel-Bienne and was mainly used for football matches.

   1.6 km · football stadium · Wikipedia
6. 06
   Nidau Castle

   Nidau Castle is a castle in the municipality of Nidau of the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

   1 km · castle building in Nidau in the canton of Bern, Switzerland · Wikipedia
7. 07
   Reformed City Church

   The City Church of Biel is a Swiss Reformed church in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Built in the Gothic style, its construction started around 1451 and was mostly complete in 1470.

   900 m · church in Bienne in the canton of Bern, Switzerland · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What Wikivoyage says to see

Biel offers quite a collection of architectural styles. The oldest buildings can be found in the historic medieval town centre (Bieler Altstadt / Vieille ville de Bienne). The newer town centre (Bieler Neustadt / Nouvelle ville de Bienne) offers international and Bauhaus styles, as well as the neoclassic style rail station.

1. 01
   Stadtkirche Biel
2. 02
   Volkshaus

   The 'house of the people' was built in 1929-1932 as a headquarters to the labour union.

3. 03
   Hotel Elite

   The hotel was also built in the Neues Bauen style and as a symbol of the bourgeoisie it gives an interesting contrast to the Volkshaus opposite.

4. 04
   Pasquart

   Museum of contemporary arts, photography and cinema.

5. 05
   Neues Museum

   Over two buildings (Schwab and Neuhaus) this museum offers a variety of collections on art, watches, history, film and archaeology.

6. 06
   Museum Omega

   This company museum on the famous Swiss watch brand is located opposite the factory.

From Wikivoyage: Biel/Bienne, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Things to do

Go swim in the Lake Biel (Bielersee) Take a look and stroll to the historic medieval town (Altstadt). Lake Promenade at the Strandboden. Do a cruise on Lake Biel. Go to the Taubenloch Canyon (Taubenlochschlucht) and explore the cascade. Pick up a bike and take a ride around the lake or the Jura mountains.

From Wikivoyage: Biel/Bienne, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Where to eat

You should definitely try some of the food sourced regionally, such as the freshwater fish (especially perch and luce) from the lake Biel, the cheese from the nearby Jura mountains and the vegetables from the Seeland region, which Biel is part of.

1. 01
   Restaurant

   The speciality of the house are the fish dishes, many of which are from the nearby lake.

From Wikivoyage: Biel/Bienne, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Getting to Biel/Bienne

Airports

EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg (BSL), 56 km · Zürich (ZRH), 104 km · Geneva (GVA), 132 km

Stations

Bienne railway station, 500 m · Biel Mett railway station, 2.1 km · Brügg BE railway station, 2.4 km · Studen BE railway station, 4.7 km · Biel/Bienne Bözingenfeld/Champ railway station, 4.4 km

• Zurich → Biel/Bienne

  102 km · quickest by road, 2h 14m · CHF12–16
  GuideToday
• Geneva → Biel/Bienne

  134 km · quickest by road, 2h 27m · CHF16–21
  GuideToday
• Bâle / Mulhouse → Biel/Bienne

  68 km · quickest by road, 2h 21m · €12–17
  GuideToday
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Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

No local-transport research exists yet for Biel/Bienne

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Biel/Bienne. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

If you know how people move in Biel/Bienne – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.