Exploring Thun, Switzerland's Most Underrated City

Historic Thun

Most visitors to the Berner Oberland pass straight through Thun on their journey from Zurich to Interlaken without ever getting off the train. The town recieves a fraction of the number of foreign visitors but, on any given day, it's buzzing with energy. Thun’s incredible old town rivals the best in Switzerland and its bars and restaurants offer an outdoor vibe that is hard to find most anywhere else in Switzerland. Combine all that with fantastic mountain views and, in our opinion, Thun becomes one of the most underrated towns to visit in all of Switzerland.

If you follow this blog, you have already heard a bit about Thun. We finished a walk along the western shore of Lake Thun just a few months back at the fantastic Thun Castle, but that trip just grazed the surface. This week, we travel to Thun by train from Interlaken, weave our way through the historic old town, take a lunch on the Mühleplatz, and tour the 12th century Thun Castle and Stadt Kirche all before catching the famous steamship Blümlisalp back to Interlaken.

It’s a spectacular day trip that should be at the top of your bucket list.

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You can follow along with our walk using the interactive map above

From Interlaken to Thun

We talked all about the history of transport on Lake Thun during our walk from Interlaken West to Neuhaus, one of Interlaken's absolute best easy walks. This week, with Summer now in full swing, we take the journey from Interlaken to Thun via train and then back via steamship.

Following the route of the historic Bödeli and Lake Thun railways, we efficiently travel from Interlaken (Ost or West) to Thun. There are a couple of trains every hour. If you have already made your way from Zurich to Interlaken through Bern, this route backtracks along (arguably) the most spectacular section of that journey, the shores of Lake Thun.

From Interlaken West, you pass by the Interlaken ship canal and the beavers at the Weissenberg nature reserve before paralleling the shores of Lake Thun the rest of the way. The train passes straight through Därligen, the former end of the Lake Thun steamship line before the rails, beautiful Faulensee with stunning views across the lake to Niederhorn and the glacially carved Justistal valley, and Spiez (the focus of an upcoming post) with its stunning bay and 12-century castle all before arriving at Thun train station just past the end of the lake.

Views over Lake Thun on the ride from Interlaken to Thun

Thun serves as a regional hub and, on arrival, the train station is liable to be bustling. It's generally a safe bet to follow the bulk of the crowd out of the train station. This should bring you towards the bus terminal and end of the ship canal where we will catch our ride back to Interlaken later in the day. Our journey starts just beyond the end of the ship canal on the non-descript Aarefeldstrasse.

Let's Go Surfing Now...

From the train, we walk straight to the Aare river which outlets from Lake Thun about a kilometer upstream by Schloss Schadau (an excellent attraction in its own right if you have some time to kill at the end of the day). Following Aarefeldstrasse brings us straight to Scherzligschleuse, a long set of idyllic flower-laden locks with a covered path connecting to a large island in the river.

When you have had your fill of flowers and surfers, cross the covered bridge to a large island in the river then cross the normal Gottibachsteg bridge to get to the far side of the river and a number of fancier restaurants. We head downstream from here into the Thun inner city via the Aarequai path.

Whoever is responsible for Thun’s flowers has a real eye for it. The displays all around town are beautiful and make for an exceptionally photogenic waterfront. Beyond serving as a convenient and beautiful path across the river, however, these locks, alongside the Mühleschleuse, just downstream, serve an important practical role. The locks regulate the flow of water out of Lake Thun and into the Aare which runs unobstructed all the way from here to the City of Bern some 30 km or so downstream.

Water rushing under the locks at high velocity creates a standing wave just below the covered path making Thun a highly unlikely destination for surfers. When conditions are ideal, surfers grab a rope on the river channel wall and use it to position themselves in the current before throwing the rope to the next in line and riding the wave as long as they can. I can't say I am especially keen on donning a wet suite but it looks like fun and it is certainly a lot of fun to watch. On a nice day there is liable to be a few surfers out and often a small crowd of onlookers.

Surfers on the standing wave just downstream of Scherzligschleuse

Views of and along the Aarequai

Scherzligschleuse, the upper locks on the Aare River in Thun

Into the Altstadt

Eventually, the Aarequai passes the next set of locks and runs into Mühleplatz, Thun’s large open terrace.

The Mühleplatz was once the site of a late 19th-century high-performance industrial flour mill which ran until 1982. At its founding, the position along the Aare was ideal for power production to run the mill and the newly established Bern-Thun railway made the location ideal for transporting products. Into the 20th Century, however, further development of the city and the lack of ability to expand put increasing pressure on the mill and eventually led to its closure and purchase by the City of Thun (not without some controversy). For nearly a decade, the mill became a dilapidated cultural space until, finally, in 1989, it was torn down and the space you see today was formed.

In fine weather, the terrace is liable to be packed with people enjoying the nice weather and, if you manage to come at just the right time in summer, even a giant Ferris wheel! Depending on when you left Interlaken, you may consider taking lunch here or waiting until after you have worked up an appetite climbing the many stairs up to Thun Castle. Regardless, it's a fun atmosphere, and I think it's worth taking a break here, even if you are just going to stick your toes in the river for a few minutes.

A covered walkway off to the side of Mühleplatz takes you one street up to Obere Hauptgasse, one of the most adorable narrow Medieval streets in all of Switzerland. Sunken shops built into old building cellars line the cobblestone street while upper pathways allow access to additional shops and buildings above. All along, Swiss, Bern, and Stadt Thun flags strung across the street flutter in the breeze and it’s all quite idyllic.

Mühleplatz at the center of Thun

Looking down Obere Hauptgasse in Thun

A left turn and a brief jaunt down Obere Hauptgasse brings you straight into the lovely Rathausplatz or City Hall Place. While usually fairly quiet outside of the Saturday market, this small square with an exceptional view of the story book turreted Thun Castle, has served as the beating heart of Thun since 1500.

Entering Rathausplatz from Obere Hauptgasse

Up to Thun Castle

At the far end of Rathausplatz, you will turn off Hauptgasse and head up a steep path to Holi Mäz, to work your way up to the 12th century Schloss Thun or Thun Castle.

Looking up at Thun Castle from Rathausplatz

If the hill is not really feasible for you (or its just too hot to bother), head back down Obere Hauptgasse in the direction you just came from and find the entrance to the underground parking garage. This entrance leads through a tunnel to the center of the hill under the castle and, from here, you can take an express elevator straight up to the castle.

Either way you choose, you enter the castle through a bridge and gate into a small courtyard with a sizeable cannon. The entrance to the castle (included if you have the Swiss Museum Pass or a Swiss Travel Pass) is just to the left past a small boutique hotel within the castle.

I highly recommend exploring inside the castle. It has great interpretation on every floor and the spiraling staircases lead you all the way up to the exquisite wooden roof and into the turrets with spectacular views over Thun and the Bernese Alps on a clear day. Simply magical.

Stunning views from the turrets of Thun Castle

The story of Thun castle, told in exceptional detail in the museum of the Thun castle is quite fascinating. The Duke of Zähringen, Swabian Nobility from modern day Southern Germany, commissioned the initial construction of Thun Castle, including its 14 m (46 ft) tall Knights’ Hall, between 1180 and 1190 as a demonstration of his massive power and wealth. Some 28 years later, the Zähringen line died out and the lands of Thun and its castle (alongside much of the Berner Oberland) passed to the House of Kyburg, another Swabian noble family, in 1218.

In 1322, Eberhard II von Kyburg, fighting for power over the southern Kyburg lands, stabbed and killed his brother Hartmann II in one of the spiral staircases of the castle. To ensure that Thun stayed out of the hands of the expansionist Habsburgs, Eberhard sold Thun to the Bernese who then granted him a fief from the lands. With swirling conflict, the Bernese eventually took over the lands of Thun in full around 1384 establishing their own administration. The castle’s prominent roof was installed between 1430 and 1436 alongside administrative and residential wings.

The castle tour leads you through five floors and then back into the internal courtyard. From there we head back out of the courtyard the way we came in and meander down the street a bit to the 14-century Stadt Kirche which featured prominently in our walk from Chanderbrügg to Thun. The historic church belltower hosts a small museum free of entry that is a true hidden gem.

Inside the hidden museum of the Stadt Kirche

From the Stadt Kirche, we head around the outside of the castle along a small path which offers views into the surrounding hills and gives a good idea of the strategic advantage of the castle hill that is somewhat lost from way up in the castle turrets. Coming around the corner you pass through the old city wall onto a small terrace overlooking the far end of the Thun old town. From here the layout of the old town, surrounded by its medieval walls, becomes much more clear.

Looking out over the old town of Thun and its Medeival city walls

Back down to the Lake and On to Interlaken

From the terrace overlooking the city, there are a few options for getting back down to the old town. We prefer following the city wall down to Holi Mäz and then heading back down to the old Bern gate. From there, you can leave the town center and skirt along the outside of the old wall following Grabenstrasse, the path of the old city moat.

While many old town walls have been replaced or built into, by Swiss standards, Thun's is remarkably well preserved and tracing its outline gives a good sense for the magnitude of the city defenses required in the tumultuous Middle Ages.

We track along the outside of the wall to make our way back to the Aare River. Just before reaching the Aare, we pass by the Schwäbisturm, the last medieval tower which now creatively hosts stores and a restaurant and bar bringing a whole new meaning to urban redevelopment

From here we cross the river and turn back into the old town to make our way down Bälliz, Thun’s main shopping street. From here, several pedestrian bridges will get you back to Mühleplatz if you are keen on exploring the old town a bit more.

The well preserved Thun city wall

Bälliz, Thun's main shopping street

At the end of Bälliz, we cross a roundabout back to the train station and to the ship canal to catch a boat back to Interlaken. There are boat sailings around every hour during the summer but we prefer to catch the 16:40 sailing of the historic Bel Epoch Steamship Blümlisalp (be sure to check the current schedule for accurate times).

With its luxurious interior, big paddle wheels, and open engine compartment, there really isn’t anything else like Blümlisalp on Lake Thun. The full lake journey from Thun to Interlaken takes just about 2.5 hours. Of course, this is substantially longer than the half hour on the train but I think it’s still very much worth it.

There are options to grab food and drinks on the boat and the relaxed pace gives you a great chance to decompress and enjoy the spectacular scenery. Along the way, you pass several castles including the picturesque Schloss Schadau, which we mentioned previously, and the spectacular 12-century Schloss Oberhofen which partially extends into the water.

If you don’t care to spend the full 2.5 hours on the boat, we won't hold it against you. For an expedited trip that still gets you out on the water, you can always hop off at any of the boat stops along the way and catch a relatively efficient bus the rest of the way into Interlaken. At Spiez, about halfway through the trip, you can also catch a train but just be aware that the train station is up a sizeable hill from the boat station!

We hope you enjoyed our visit to Thun this week. If you enjoyed this week’s visit, check out the other articles in our Discovering Bern series and stay tuned for more on our Swiss travels every week!

Until next time, gute Reise, and feel free to leave a comment on one of our social media platforms!

The Bel Epoch Steamship Blümlisalp

Schloss Oberhofen extending into the waters of Lake Thun