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Municipality in Bern, Switzerland
Photo: Roland Zumbühl (Picswiss), Arlesheim (Commons:Picswiss project), CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Biel/Bienne (Biel in German, Bienne in French) is the 10th largest city of Switzerland and is located on the northern edge of the canton of Bern. Famous for watchmaking, and home to Rolex, Omega and Swatch among other famous makers.
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main French-speaking church
main German-speaking church
The 'house of the people' was built in 1929-1932 as a headquarters to the labour union. It is also a good example of the New Objectivity (Neues Bauen) architectural style. It now houses a restaurant and a congress centre.
The hotel was also built in the Neues Bauen style and as a symbol of the bourgeoisie it gives an interesting contrast to the Volkshaus opposite. Is still operated as a hotel today (see Sleep section).
Strandbad Biel
Bauhaus / International Style
Museum of contemporary arts, photography and cinema.
Over two buildings (Schwab and Neuhaus) this museum offers a variety of collections on art, watches, history, film and archaeology.
This company museum on the famous Swiss watch brand is located opposite the factory.
An engineering museum.
The museum explains the water corrections which took place in the Jura region.
7 km in winter, 5 lifts
A small ski area close to Biel, makes a good day trip for skiing or snowboarding.
The speciality of the house are the fish dishes, many of which are from the nearby lake.
200m from the train station. Great hotel bar "Baramundo".
By car
Biel/Bienne is well connected with highways in each direction: To the east A5 starts just outside the city and connects to A1 near Solothurn, which comes from Zurich.
By boat
As Biel/Bienne is located at the end of Lake Biel, it can be reached by boat from other villages along the lake with a handful of trips every day.
By foot
It is possible to visit the main touristic sights of Biel/Bienne on foot. It's safe and not far.
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Bern · Regional · BRN
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