Most visitors to Bern meet Europaplatz before they ever learn its name. You step off a train at Bern's main station, follow the signs for buses, push through the glass doors, and find yourself on a broad paved square ringed with bus bays, bicycles and people in a hurry. That is Europaplatz: not the postcard Bern of arcades and fountains, but the working entrance through which much of the city actually moves.
If you are planning a trip to the Swiss capital, changing between trains and buses, or simply trying to work out where to catch a coach to a village in the Emmental, this square matters to you. Here is what it is, where it fits into the city, and how to use it well.
Where Europaplatz Sits in Bern
Bern's main railway station is one of the busiest in Switzerland, and it stands directly at the edge of the old town, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. Europaplatz lies immediately to the southwest of the station concourse, connected by short covered passages, so the walk between platform and bus bay takes only a few minutes under cover — a genuine advantage in a city where it rains more often than the guidebooks admit.
The square sits at a kind of hinge in the city's geography. Behind it, on one side, the arcaded lanes of the old town begin almost at once; on the other side, the open green expanse of the Schützenmatte stretches out, with residential quarters and the wider canton beyond. Unlike Bundesplatz with its fountain jets in front of the parliament building, or the cobbled intimacy of Waisenhausplatz, Europaplatz was never designed to be admired. It was designed to be used, and it shows: buses glide in and out all day, commuters cut diagonally across the paving, and the glass tower of the Welle7 building watches over it all.
The Bus Hub: How Bern Connects
The square's central role is simple: it is Bern's main bus interchange. City buses operated by Bernmobil fan out from the bays here to neighbourhoods across the city, while the distinctive yellow PostAuto coaches handle the regional routes, carrying passengers to surrounding towns and villages across the canton — toward the rolling Emmental, the lakeside Seeland region and the agricultural plains of the Oberaargau.
In practice, this makes Europaplatz the point where the national rail network meets the local one. Trains bring people to Bern from Zürich, Geneva, Basel, Interlaken and beyond; a short walk through the station delivers them to a bus that reaches the last few kilometres. The same works in reverse for commuters, students and shoppers who ride in each morning.
A few practical points worth knowing:
- Bays are organised by route, with departure information displayed on boards at the square and inside the station. If you are unsure which bay you need, the departure monitors or the staffed information points in the station will sort you out in a minute.
- Services run frequently through the day, with reduced schedules in the evenings and on Sundays. A night bus network operates on weekends for anyone out later than the regular timetable.
- Tickets for city and regional buses can be bought from machines at the square and inside the station, and the same tickets integrate with the Swiss rail network's fare zones.
- Taxis wait around the station, and ride-hailing pickups are easiest to arrange from the streets immediately beside the square.
Welle7: The Modern Landmark on the Square
The most striking structure at Europaplatz is Welle7, a tall modern building of glass and steel that has become the anchor of this corner of the city. Where the old town is protected sandstone and geraniums, this is Bern's attempt at contemporary urbanity: offices, a well-known co-working space, small shops and services stacked above the square itself.
The building is a good example of how the area around Europaplatz has developed into an extension of the city centre. Office workers flow through it at lunchtime, the ground-floor businesses serve people changing transport modes, and the upper floors — home to a fitness club known for its rooftop views — give a perspective on Bern that the medieval streets cannot. On clear days the view stretches a long way, and Bern's famously compact skyline, with the Münster tower at its heart, reads clearly from above.
You do not need a reason to enter the building, and many people use it simply as a landmark: "meet me at Welle7" is an instruction any local will understand.
Schützenmatte: Bern's Open Backyard
Directly beside Europaplatz lies one of Bern's most appreciated open spaces, the Schützenmatte. It is exactly what a Swiss city square is often not: a big, unpretentious field. Football games break out on summer evenings, dog walkers cross it daily, and in fine weather it fills with people eating lunch on the grass. The city also uses it for temporary events when something larger than a normal square can hold needs a home.
At its edge stands the Schützenhaus, a traditional restaurant tied to the city's old shooting tradition — the name means "marksmen's house" and the surrounding area has served that purpose for generations. It is a reminder that this district, modern as it now looks, has its own history quite separate from the UNESCO-listed lanes a few minutes away.
For travellers, the Schützenmatte has a practical value too: it is the nearest thing to a lung beside the station. If you have an hour between connections and do not want to haul luggage into the old town, the grass is two minutes from the bus bays.
Shopping, Food and Everyday Services
Because Europaplatz sits against the main station, it inherits everything a Swiss major station offers. The station complex includes supermarkets, bakeries, pharmacies, bookshops and fast, reliable places to eat, and — a point that surprises many visitors — the shops inside the station open seven days a week, including Sundays, when most retail in Switzerland closes.
Bern Tourism's main information office is located in the station, which makes the Europaplatz side of the building a sensible first stop for maps, the Bern Ticket arrangements that many hotels provide, and advice on current events. Left-luggage facilities and lockers are available in the station if you need to store a bag while you explore.
On Foot Into the Old Town
One of the best things about arriving at Europaplatz is how quickly the scenery changes. Walk from the bus bays into the station, pass through to the other side, and you step almost directly into Spitalgasse, the beginning of Bern's long, arcaded main street. From there, the old town unfolds in a straight line:
- The Käfigturm, a former prison tower, marks the entrance to the central shopping streets.
- A few minutes further, the Zytglogge — the medieval clock tower with its astronomical dial and moving figures — anchors what is probably the city's most photographed corner.
- Beyond it lies Kramgasse, where Albert Einstein's former apartment at number 49 is now a small museum.
- The Münster, with the tallest church tower in Switzerland, rises a short detour to the south, and the terraces beside the Aare river offer the classic view of red rooftops curving around the turquoise water.
The walk from Europaplatz to the Zytglogge takes roughly fifteen minutes at an unhurried pace, entirely through covered or semi-covered streets, which makes it pleasant in almost any weather. The Bundeshaus, rose gardens at the Rosengarten, the BearPark with the city's famous bears, and the museums across the Kirchenfeldbrücke — including the Historical Museum with its Einstein exhibition — all fit within a day's wandering on foot.
Practical Tips for Visitors
Parking and driving: The streets around the station are busy and parking is limited. Several public car parks operate in the station area, but for anyone arriving by car, using a park-and-ride facility on the city's edge and continuing by train or bus is usually the calmer option.
Accessibility: The square and the station passages are flat and step-free, with lifts serving the platforms, so travelling with luggage, a stroller or a wheelchair is straightforward.
Timing: Weekday rush hours bring heavy foot traffic through the square between roughly seven and nine in the morning and again in the late afternoon. Mid-morning and early evening are calmer.
Day trips: The station beside Europaplatz is the starting point for easy excursions — a short train ride to Wabern and a funicular up the Gurten, Bern's local mountain; a train to Thun or Murten; or a bus across town to the Zentrum Paul Klee with its distinctive wave-shaped architecture.
Common Questions About Europaplatz Bern
Is Europaplatz the same as the train station? No, but they are effectively one unit. The station is the railway building; Europaplatz is the bus square on its southwestern side, connected by short passages. Locals often use the names loosely together.
Where do regional buses leave from? From the bays on Europaplatz itself. The yellow PostAuto coaches and Bernmobil's city routes share the square, with departure boards showing the correct bay for each service.
How far is the old town? Very close. The station entrance is about three minutes away on foot, and the main sights — Zytglogge, Kramgasse, the Münster — are within a fifteen-minute walk.
Can I walk to the river from here? Yes. The Aare and the paths along it are reachable on foot in around ten to fifteen minutes, heading through the old town toward the Münsterplattform or the Marzili area.