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Bern · Switzerland

Car hire and driving in Bern

Driving distances to the cities around, the rules that change at the border, and where to compare rental prices.

OverviewFlightsHotelsTrainsBusesCar rentalTours

In Switzerland traffic drives on the right. Picking up at BSL means 73 km (45 mi) into the centre before the trip starts. The emergency number is http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1061257 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q11185210 / http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25648814.

Drives from Bern

Car rental from Bern: distances and estimated journey times
RouteCountryDistanceEstimated time
Bern to BaselSwitzerland69 km (43 mi)about 1 h 3 min
Bern to LausanneSwitzerland79 km (49 mi)about 1 h 12 min
Bern to MulhouseFrance90 km (56 mi)about 1 h 22 min
Bern to ZürichSwitzerland95 km (59 mi)about 1 h 27 min
Bern to BesançonFrance113 km (70 mi)about 1 h 44 min
Bern to WinterthurSwitzerland115 km (71 mi)about 1 h 45 min
Bern to FreiburgGermany120 km (75 mi)about 1 h 50 min
Bern to GenevaSwitzerland130 km (80 mi)about 1 h 59 min
Bern to VaduzLiechtenstein159 km (99 mi)about 2 h 25 min
Bern to StrasbourgFrance183 km (114 mi)about 2 h 48 min
Bern to DijonFrance189 km (117 mi)about 2 h 52 min
Bern to NovaraItaly190 km (118 mi)about 2 h 54 min
Bern to LondonUnited Kingdom747 km (464 mi)about 11 h 24 min
Bern to BerlinGermany753 km (468 mi)about 11 h 29 min
Bern to MadridSpain1,152 km (716 mi)about 17 h 34 min
Bern to KyivUkraine1,730 km (1,075 mi)about 26 h 23 min
Bern to RomeItaly691 km (429 mi)about 10 h 32 min
Bern to ParisFrance435 km (270 mi)about 6 h 38 min
Bern to HamburgGermany756 km (470 mi)about 11 h 32 min
Bern to BucharestRomania1,472 km (915 mi)about 22 h 27 min

Distances are straight-line; road and rail routes run about 15–25% longer. Times are estimates from distance and typical speeds, not timetables.

Where to compare car hire

ExpediaCar hire from the major suppliers, and the one to look at if the flight or hotel is already booked there. Part of Expedia Group.Check car hire on Expedia (opens www.expedia.com in a new tab)
DiscoverCarsCompares local and international suppliers. Read the counter reviews before you pick.Check rental cars on DiscoverCars (opens www.discovercars.com in a new tab)
Auto EuropeA broker specialising in Europe, often with clearer all-in pricing for US renters.Get European rates on Auto Europe (opens www.autoeurope.com in a new tab)
Rentalcars.comBooking.com's car arm, with wide airport coverage worldwide.Compare suppliers on Rentalcars.com (opens www.rentalcars.com in a new tab)
Every link above leaves this site.

We take no bookings for these providers and hold no reservation with them. The provider you choose handles payment, confirmation, changes and refunds. How that works.

Common questions

Which side of the road do they drive on in Bern?

The right, as everywhere in Switzerland.

How are the journey times on this page worked out?

From straight-line distance and typical speeds for each mode, so they are estimates for planning, not timetables. Road and rail routes run 15–25% longer than the straight line.

Where these facts come from

  • GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
  • Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
  • OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
  • Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines

Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.