Things to do in Thun

Thun sits at the point where the Aare leaves Lake Thun, about 25 minutes from Interlaken by train. The castle above the old town dates to 1190 and holds five rooms open to the public, including the knights' hall and a rooftop walkway with views over the rivers.

Below it, the Obere Hauptgasse is the town's odd trick: shops sit half a storey down, so their flat roofs double as a raised pedestrian walkway lined with flower boxes. In summer the Aare's weirs and locks pull swimmers and paddlers straight through the centre, wetsuit or not.

The Schadau park, a 15-minute walk along the lake from the station, has a neo-Gothic villa and a viewing platform. On Saturday mornings a market fills the old town streets with stalls of produce and cheese.