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An old town on a peninsula, with cellars that open through the pavement.
Bern is the federal capital and its historic centre sits on a peninsula inside a loop of the Aare, which means there are very few ways in and out of it. Add a UNESCO listing and six kilometres of arcades, and the delivery question answers itself.
Along the arcaded streets many buildings reach their basements through doors set flat into the pavement, and an open one takes up much of the usable walkway. Combined with the arcade columns and the protected sandstone behind them, that gives a crew a narrow, obstructed route from vehicle to door. Geography did something unusual here. The medieval centre was built on a spur of land almost encircled by the river, so the old town is entered from one end rather than from all sides. Traffic in and out is limited by that shape before any regulation is applied on top.
The arcades then narrow what is left. The covered walkways run for kilometres along the main streets, and beneath many of them the cellars open directly through hatches set into the pavement. A crew working there is negotiating a covered walkway, a protected building and a hole in the ground at the same time.
Outside the peninsula, Bern is an ordinary and quite comfortable city to deliver into. The two halves need quoting separately.
Bern also appears as Berne and Berna. Whichever version you searched for, this is the same city and the same page. Give the mover the address exactly as it appears on your Swiss lease.
The city and the canton share a name and both are German speaking, so Bern is what your lease, your commune and your utilities will use. Berne is the French form and Berna the Italian, and you will meet them on paperwork prepared elsewhere in the country.
The canton is large and reaches a long way south into the Bernese Oberland, so a Bern canton address is not necessarily a Bern city address. Thun, Steffisburg and Spiez are all in it and are all a different journey.
Give the mover the town as well as the canton. It is a distinction that matters more here than in the smaller cantons.
The cellar hatches are the detail nobody warns you about. Along the arcaded streets, many buildings reach their basements through doors set flat into the pavement, and when one is open it takes up a good part of the usable walkway.
Combined with the arcade columns and the sandstone facades behind them, that gives a crew a narrow, obstructed and protected route from vehicle to door. It is worked out address by address, and a reserved standing point is arranged with the commune in advance.
The sandstone matters too. It is soft, it marks, and the buildings are listed. Expect a crew to board and pad more heavily here than they would elsewhere, and expect that to take time.
Somewhere else in the region? Each of these has its own detail.
Solothurn · Biel/Bienne · Fribourg · Lucerne · Neuchâtel · Zurich · · Herisau · Köniz · Kriens all Swiss towns
As the seat of federal government, Bern hosts the diplomatic community, and diplomatic and government moves behave differently from ordinary household ones. There are frequently additional requirements around documentation, timing and who may be present.
They also tend to run to postings rather than to open ended stays, which means the arrival and the departure are both planned from the start. Return moves are correspondingly common on this route.
If your move falls into that category, say so at enquiry. The requirements are not onerous but they are not something to raise on the day.
These three are the ones that actually get asked about on a Bern move.
Furniture through an arcade and a protected stairwell.
Packing, when the carry is long and the route is protected.
Why an old town address prices differently.
Because of its shape as much as its status. The medieval centre sits on a peninsula inside a loop of the Aare, so it is entered from one end rather than from all sides, and traffic is limited by that geography before any regulation applies. It is also UNESCO listed and the buildings are protected.
Along the arcaded streets many buildings reach their basements through doors set flat into the pavement, and an open one takes up much of the usable walkway. Together with the arcade columns it gives a crew a narrow and obstructed route from vehicle to door, which is why access here is worked out address by address.
No. Outside the peninsula Bern is an ordinary and quite comfortable city to deliver into, with sensible streets and adequate lifts. The contrast with the old town is sharp, which is why the two need quoting separately and why the street name matters more than the town name.
It can. Diplomatic and government moves often carry additional requirements around documentation, timing and who may be present, and they usually run to a defined posting rather than an open ended stay. Say so at enquiry stage rather than on the day.
Yes. Berne is the French name and Berna the Italian. The city and the canton share the name and both are German speaking, so Bern is what your lease and commune will use. The other forms appear mainly on paperwork prepared elsewhere in Switzerland.
Not necessarily, and it is worth being precise. The canton is large and reaches well south into the Bernese Oberland. Thun, Steffisburg and Spiez are all in it and each is a different journey from the city. Give the town as well as the canton.
Probably. The old town buildings are listed and faced in a soft sandstone that marks easily, so crews board and pad the route more heavily here than elsewhere. That is time rather than difficulty, and it should be in the quote rather than a surprise.
Collection address, the Bern delivery address, a room by room list and the window you can work with. One vetted moving company from our network checks the route and the access, then comes back to you.
Send your move detailsOperated by DATACONTEXT (UK) LTD, company number 07425576, ICO registration ZB022743, registered at Norman House, Saint Saviours Estate, Abbey Street, London SE1 3DH. Running since 2010. We work with vetted moving companies in the AGM Group network.
Written by Darren Benjamin, founder of International Removals Companies, who has run the business since 2010. Last checked 5 August 2026.