Facts and figures

With over 6 million hotel overnight stays in 2023, the canton of Bern leads the way in Swiss overnight tourism, together with Zurich and Graubünden. 47% of the guests come from Switzerland, 19% from European nations, and 34% from overseas (2023).

The canton of Bern has an area of 6,000 km² and a population of 1,000,000 inhabitants. The cantonal as well as the national capital is Bern. German (86%) and French (11%) are the two official languages. From clear mountain streams to calmly flowing rivers, the canton of Bern features a huge diversity with 11,000 km of waterways. The three main Bernese lakes, lake Brienz, lake Thun and lake Biel as well as the more than 100 small lakes shape the Bernese landscape. The highest mountain in the canton is the Finsteraarhorn with an altitude of 4,274 metres. The lowest point in the canton (401.5 metres above sea level) is near Wynau.

The most important tourism facts and figures from the canton of Bern:

• 550 kilometres of pistes in the four largest ski areas in the Bernese Oberland (Jungfrau Region, Meiringen-Hasliberg, Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad-Saanenland) 
• 400 winter sports facilities 
• 10'000 km is the total length of the hiking trail network in the canton of Bern, almost ¾ of which are paths with a natural surface.
• Over 9'000 hiking signposts
• Europe's highest railway station is located at 3,454 metres above sea level on the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe.
• More than 1'400 culinary GaultMillau points
• 3 cm is the average size of the holes in an Emmental cheese.
• Around 500 alpine farms in the Bernese Oberland produce the Berner Alpkäse AOP cheese.
• 17,4 degrees celsius is the average temperature of the Aare river in Juli.
• 5 bears live in the city of Bern: three bears in the BärenPark and two in the Dählhölzli Zoo.
• On average, 40 tonnes of onions are offered for sale at the traditional «Zibelemärit» onion market.
• The longest staircase in the world has 11,674 steps and leads up the Niesen.
•  The «Big Pintenfritz» on the Faulhorn, the longest toboggan run in the world, is 15 kilometres long.
• 200 breweries produce beer in Bern, making it the canton with the most producers.
• Bernese specialities include the Bernese Platter, Bernese Rösti, Meringue, Ovaltine, Kambly biscuit, Ingwerer, Ragusa chocolate, Toblerone chocolate and Tête de Moine cheese
• Biel/Bienne is home to world-famous watch brands such as Rolex, Omega, Mido and Swatch. This makes the largest bilingual city in Switzerland one of the most important watchmaking cities in the world.