Bern Old Town

The arcaded galleries running along the streets total 6 kilometres; they are considered Europe's longest covered shopping walk protected from rain. The astronomical clock in the Zytglogge tower dates from 1530 and the figures begin moving four minutes before each hour. Einstein lived at Kramgasse 49, a few steps from this tower, while writing his 1905 special relativity paper — the flat is a museum today. The city sits on a peninsula in a bend of the Aare; in summer locals enter the river and float with the current back to the centre.