Berne is the city that time forgot. The old city centre in its entirety has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the architecture reads like a timeline of Western European fashions - from the medieval to the overly ornate affectations of the Renaissance.

Sitting in a loop of the River Aare, Berne has always been protected geographically. It was this strategic position that first attracted Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen to the spot, founding the city as the western extreme of his territory in 1191, probably on the site of an existing fort. The Clock Tower still standing was built this same year. A wall was built along the peninsula that the old city stood on, meaning it was completely protected on all four sides. Within these boundaries sprung up a carefully planned city. The Great Fire of 1405 destroyed much of the predominantly wooden old city, and the rebuilding was conducted in sandstone giving the city its creamy colouring so distinctive today.

The 15th and 16th centuries saw the city at the height of its power and influence. The fountains and elaborate façades of the finer buildings indicate the wealth of its merchants and gentry. People came here to trade, meet and socialise among the fashionable intelligentsia. Even Napoleon, who conquered the city in the late-18th century, was struck by its beauty, forbidding his army from sacking it.

Berne today is a laid-back place, secure enough in its historic charms to not need to add to them artificially. The visitor takes from here what they want, not what the city gives them. The main pleasures are derived from strolling among the arcades of the shopping streets and central squares, or admiring the amazing period architecture that still appears as fresh and clean as when first built.

Theatres, art galleries and museums fill out the rest of the attractions, as you might expect in such a refined environment. Although it's the federal capital of Switzerland, Berne is overshadowed financially and politically by Geneva and Zurich, but you almost get the idea that that is all to Berne's liking. While those cities toil, Berne goes serenely on, as it has done for nearly a millennium.