Contact: Nicole Schaffner Direct line: +41 (0)31 328 12 42 Email: [email protected] Media text Bern – A shopping paradise in which to linger and luxuriate. Everything your heart could ever desire – from ultra-modern shops, fashion boutiques through to exquisite specialist stores – can be found in the Swiss capital. Both principal shopping streets, Spitalgasse and Marktgasse, lie right in the heart of the Old Town. Six kilometers / four miles of arcades border this UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed city and invite you to indulge in a very special shopping experience. The famous arcades have also given Bern one of the longest covered shopping promenades in Europe. What's more: whilst other luxury shopping streets have long since succumbed to international chains, many local shops still continue to thrive amongst Bern's arcade stores. The Mediterranean ambience of the street cafes and restaurants invites visitors to linger and soak up the atmosphere. Bern's cellar shops constitute another special feature of the city: in the Middle Ages, the architects of old Bern provided for storage cellars on both sides of the wide alleyways. Today, these cellars are home to fashion boutiques, art galleries and wine dealers. On Tuesdays and Saturdays, colorful markets with fresh vegetables, flowers and meat products are held on the Bundesplatz (Parliament Square) and the Münsterplatz (Minster Square). Standing in marked contrast to this is the Westside Leisure and Shopping Centre. Opened in 2008, this Daniel Libeskind- designed complex offers a world of shopping experiences across 23,500 square meters of floor space that can only be described in superlatives. But Bern also has much more to offer: the Einstein Museum, the traditional Zibelemärit (Onion Market), the redesigned Bahnhofplatz (Station Square) and the Zentrum Paul Klee to name only a few highlights. Reprints free of charge. A file copy is requested. Bern Welcome Amthausgasse 4 | P.O. Box | CH-3001 Bern | T +41 (0)31 328 12 12 | F +41 (0)31 328 12 99 | [email protected] | Bern.com .