List of cities in Switzerland in the context of "Bern"

Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located at the intersection of Central, Western, and Southern Europe. It is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Austria and Liechtenstein to the east, and Italy to the south. Switzerland is geographically divided among the Swiss Alps, the Swiss Plateau, and the Jura mountains; the Alps cover most of the country's territory, whereas the majority of its 9 million people are concentrated on the plateau, which hosts many of the largest cities and economic centres, including Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Bern, Lausanne, Winterthur, and Lucerne.

Switzerland is a federal republic composed of 26 cantons, with Bern serving as the federal city and the seat of the national government. The country encompasses four principal linguistic and cultural regions—German, French, Italian, and Romansh—reflecting a long-standing tradition of multilingualism and cultural pluralism. Swiss national identity nonetheless remains fairly cohesive, rooted in a shared historical background, common values such as federalism and direct democracy, and Alpine symbolism. Swiss nationhood transcends language, ethnicity, and religion, leading to Switzerland being described as a Willensnation ("nation of volition") rather than a conventional nation state.

Geneva (/dʒɪˈniːvə/ jin-EE-və, Arpitan: [dzəˈnɛva] ; French: Genève [ʒ(ə)nɛv] ) is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. Geneva is a global city, an international financial centre, and a worldwide centre for diplomacy, which has led to it being called the "Peace Capital".

It hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world, including the headquarters of many agencies of the United Nations and the ICRC and IFRC of the Red Cross. It was where the Geneva Conventions on humanitarian treatment in war were signed, and, in the aftermath of World War I, it hosted the League of Nations. It shares a unique distinction with municipalities such as New York City, Bonn, Basel, and Strasbourg as a city which serves as the headquarters of at least one critical international organization without being the capital of a country.

Lausanne (/loʊˈzæn/ loh-ZAN, US also /loʊˈzɑːn/ loh-ZAHN; French: [lozan] ; Arpitan: Losena [lɔˈzəna] ) is the capital and largest city of the Swiss French-speaking canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. The Olympic capital, it is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway between the Jura Mountains and the Alps, and facing the French town of Évian-les-Bains across the lake. Lausanne is located (as the crow flies) 51.7 kilometres (32 miles) northeast of Geneva, the nearest major city. The Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland convenes in Lausanne, although it is not the de jure capital of the nation.

The municipality of Lausanne has a population of about 150,000, making it the fourth largest city in Switzerland after Basel, Geneva, and Zurich, with the entire agglomeration area having about 420,000 inhabitants (as of January 2019). The metropolitan area of Lausanne-Geneva (including Vevey-Montreux, Yverdon-les-Bains, Valais and foreign parts), commonly designated as Arc lémanique was over 1.3 million inhabitants in 2017 and is the fastest growing in Switzerland.

Zurich (German: Zürich; Alemannic German: Züri; see below) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. As of the end of 2024, the municipality has a population of 436,551, while the urban area was home to 1.45 million people (2020), while the Zurich metropolitan area had a total population of 2.1 million (2020). Zurich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zurich Airport and Zurich's main railway station are the largest and busiest in the country.

Evidence of early, sparse settlements in the area dates back more than 6,400 years, indicating human presence prior to the establishment of the town. Permanently settled for over 2,000 years, Zurich was eventually founded by the Romans, who called it Turicum. During the Middle Ages, Zurich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli.

Basel (/ˈbɑːzəl/ BAH-zəl; Swiss Standard German: [ˈbaːzl̩] ), also known as Basle (/bɑːl/ BAHL), is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with 177,595 inhabitants within the city municipality limits.

Basel is commonly considered to be the cultural capital of Switzerland and the city is famous for its many museums, including the Kunstmuseum, which is the first collection of art accessible to the public in the world (1661) and the largest museum of art in Switzerland, the Fondation Beyeler (located in Riehen), the Museum Tinguely and the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is the first public museum of contemporary art in Europe. Forty museums are spread throughout the city-canton, making Basel one of the largest cultural centres in relation to its size and population in Europe. It is the hometown of Art Basel, the world's most prestigious and influential international art fair, showcasing modern and contemporary works from leading galleries and attracting top collectors, artists, and enthusiasts globally.

Winterthur (Swiss Standard German pronunciation: [ˈvɪntərtuːr]; French: Winterthour [vintəʁtuʁ, vintɛʁ-]) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 140,000 inhabitants. Located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Zurich, Winterthur is a service and high-tech industrial satellite city within Zurich Metropolitan Area.

The official language of Winterthur is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Zurich German. Winterthur is usually abbreviated as Winti in the local dialect and by its inhabitants.

Lucerne (English: /luːˈsɜːrn/ loo-SURN) or Luzern (Swiss Standard German: [luˈtsɛrn] ) is a city and a municipality in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the district of the same name. With a population of approximately 82,000 people, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland, and a nexus of economics, transport, culture, and media in the region. The city's urban area consists of 19 municipalities and towns with an overall population of about 220,000 people.

Owing to its location on the shores of Lake Lucerne (German: Vierwaldstättersee) and its outflow, the river Reuss, within sight of the mounts Pilatus and Rigi in the Swiss Alps, Lucerne has long been a destination for tourists. One of the city's landmarks is the Chapel Bridge (German: Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first erected in the 14th century.