BERN

Bern, the capital of Switzerland was once voted Europe's most floral city. Its population of barely 130, 000 people means that Bern retains a small town easy approach to life. Traffic is kept out of the  Old Town. The perfectly preserved medieval street plan, with its arcades, street fountains and impressive towers persuaded UNESCO to deem Bern a world Heritage Site. Bern is inseparably linked with bears. According to legend the city’s founder, Duke Berchtold V von Zähringen, named the city after the first animal to be caught here. The saga lives on in the form of the real-live bears in the Bear Pits and the heraldic bear in the Bernese coat of arms.