A day in Fribourg/Freiburg: Tips and sights in the Zähringerstadt

Few streets are as familiar to me as the Boulevard de Pérolles in Fribourg. For three years, I commuted from my parents’ home to the natural sciences campus of the University of Fribourg. And while many fellow students raved about their student life in “Fribi”, the city has always remained a little foreign to me over the years. Freiburg im Üechtland is not only a casual multicultural student city, but also scores with one of the largest medieval old towns in Switzerland. At Easter, we took advantage of the beautiful weather for a detour over the Röstigraben and let ourselves drift through the charming alleys of the old town for a day.

From this short trip we have brought you four tips for a day trip to Fribourg. The fifth tip is for those who want to challenge the soles of their feet; in just under 30 brisk kilometres, you can hike from one beautiful old town of the canton of Fribourg to the next.

Fribourg/Fribourg then and now

The city of Fribourg was founded in 1157 by Duke Berchtold IV of Zähringen and thus joins Bern, Burgdorf, Murten, Rheinfelden and Thun in the guild of Swiss Zähringen towns. The old town is considered one of the largest enclosed townscapes in medieval Europe and still knows how to inspire today with its numerous magnificent Gothic building facades.

Freiburg or Fribourg? Like Biel/Bienne, Fribourg has the status of a “ville billingue” (bilingual city). In contrast to Biel/Bienne, this is much less noticeable and visible in Fribourg. It feels like the “Welsh” part currently has the upper hand here. For me, however, the lived bilingualism was actually the main reason why I decided to study in Fribourg. In my three years on campus, I heard a lot of French and spoke little – because one thing I learned here: French-speaking people usually understand German better than we think.

«Frÿburg1606» – a journey back in time to medieval Fribourg along the sights

In the middle of last year, Fribourg Tourism launched “Frÿburg1606”. This is an app-based city tour that can be done either using a tablet (which you can borrow on site at the tourist office) or directly with your own smartphone. The approximately three-hour tour immerses you in the medieval era of historic Fribourg and leads you through the maze of alleys to the sights and beautiful vantage points of the old town.

I’m not a big fan of audio guides – or rather, I usually get bored of audio guides quickly. In “Frÿburg1606”, however, the whole thing is linked to an entertaining red thread with the virtual tour guide “Philippe” and Marie, who lives in the city of Freiburg in 1606 and is desperately looking for her boyfriend Hans. In addition, the app offers insights into historical maps and augmented reality experiences (which work surprisingly well even with a smartphone).

The tour starts at Place Jean Tinguely. From there it leads via the Kollegium Sankt Michael to the cathedral, via the town hall to the Zähringerbrücke and then over the steep Stalden down to the Neustadtquartier. There we cross the wood-roofed Bern Bridge and the St. John Bridge and walk back to the starting point via the Escalier du Court-Chemin (alternatively, the altitude difference at the end of the tour can also be overcome with the over 100-year-old funicular (Funiculaire)).

In any case, plan at least three hours for the tour. Depending on your mood, you can also plan one or two extra stops along the way, such as a visit to the Espace Jean Tinguely et Niki de Saint Phalle or a detour to the viewpoint of the Loreto Chapel. What is definitely worth it is the climb to the tower of the Cathedral of St. Nicholas (from March to November). Unfortunately, our timing was not optimal in this regard, as the access remained closed due to the Easter Mass. You can buy the ticket at “Les marchands merciers” directly opposite the cathedral (costs 5 CHF for adults). By the way, they also have good coffee there!

The rental for tablet and headsets costs 12 CHF (17 CHF for two people). Alternatively, you can download the app from the Apple Store / Google Play Store (which we did). This costs 5 CHF and is a really great deal in my opinion! Especially since you are not bound to opening hours and the whole thing takes place outside. More information can be found here: Frÿburg1606

The Bridges of Fribourg – Open-Air Exhibition

On the “Frÿburg1606” tour, you cross the Zähringer Bridge on the lower level. If you want to enjoy another great panoramic view of the scenically impressive scenery of Fribourg after the city tour, you should not miss the detour to the upper level of the bridge.

Before the construction of the Poya Bridge, the Zähringer Bridge was not only the city’s landmark, but also the traffic bottleneck. Fortunately, the traffic congestion here has decreased massively and so the bridge invites you to take a discovery walk on the subject of “bridges“. 14 panorama panels on the bridge railing are dedicated to the various bridges in Fribourg. In addition to the historical and technical information presented on the boards, you can learn even more exciting facts about the individual bridges via the app (the same one you download for the city tour).

After-work cookies above the rooftops of the old town

Due to its topography, Fribourg is definitely not lacking in beautiful viewpoints. I am particularly fond of the spot above the Escaliers du Collège at the Kollegium Sankt Michael. If the app hadn’t guided us through this during our city tour, I probably wouldn’t have discovered this spot. Due to the lack of a bench seat (which is admittedly a pity), you don’t have to share the view here with many other people. It’s the perfect place to end the day with a refreshing drink (or enjoy the take-away dinner at the nearby ramen restaurant Kumo).

Overnight tip in Freiburg’s Old Town

The choice of casual accommodation in Fribourg is – let’s put it this way: modest. But our search for a charming place to stay finally yielded a hit. We spent two nights at the Bed & Breakfast Maison d’Amman, just behind one of the magnificent facades of the Grand-Rue and with a view of the cathedral. The costs here vary depending on the room category – we paid 130 CHF per night for a room with an integrated bathroom. Breakfast costs an extra 12 CHF per person and didn’t blow our socks off. Since the lively weekly market takes place right outside the front door on Saturday mornings, we would rather recommend (at least on this day) a morning market tour instead of the B&B breakfast.

Get a taste of “long-distance hiking” on the Way of St. James

We took a day to visit the sights of Fribourg’s old town. The natural location of Fribourg makes it easy to combine the sightseeing part with a short (or longer) hike in the area. One of the classics is the circular hike through the Gorge du Gottéron. Another alternative is to follow the course of the Camino de Santiago to the Ste-Apolline Bridge and then walk along Route 81 (Fribourg en diagonale) along the Sarine back to Fribourg. Or you would like to get a taste of long-distance hiking like us and tackle the complete 27 kilometres of the ViaJacobi to Romont.

Up to Autigny, I found the hiking trail quite varied despite numerous tarred passages. On the last 10 kilometres from Autigny to Romont, however, the trail follows only paved country roads – perfect for cycling, too monotonous for hiking. We classify this as an “exciting experience”. If you want to put your affinity for long-distance hiking to the test, you’ve certainly come to the right place. Otherwise, I recommend that you follow the signpost at the Ste-Apolline bridge via Route 81 back to Fribourg.

Key data of the hike Fribourg – Romont

On the map below you can see the route of the Camino de Santiago (ViaJacobi, stage 14). This starts at Fribourg train station (or in our version in the Grand-Rue) and leads 29 kilometres across the canton of Fribourg to the historic city centre of Romont.

Starting point	Old town (or alternatively train station) Fribourg/Fribourg (590 m above sea level)
Reachability	accessible by public transport
Length	29.7 kilometres
Elevation gain	↗ 665 m 544 m ↘
Duration	6:00 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Destination	Romont railway station (710 m above sea level)