"Swimming in the Aare" Top 5 Page for this destination Bern Sports & Outdoors Tip by Nemorino

While I was riding my bicycle along the banks of the Aare River I noticed that there were small groups, then large groups, then dozens of people in swimming suits, most of them barefoot, walking long distances up the bank of the river.

Then I noticed that there were heads bobbing up out of the swift-running turquoise water, much like the photos we used to see of Mao Tse-tung swimming in the Yangtze River, but cleaner.

There are signs along the shore saying that the Aare is very fast-flowing and dangerous, and only for experienced swimmers.

Second photo: Because of the swift current, there is only one direction you can swim in the Aare, namely downstream, which is why people try to walk up quite a ways so they can have a longer swim down.

Third photo: Diving in. (Or not.) The water temperature was only 19 degrees centigrade, so some people took a while to get their courage up.

Fourth photo: Swimming in the Aare.

Fifth photo: The main thing about swimming in the Aare is that you have to be careful not to miss the last exit on the left bank, otherwise you might get caught up in the weir below the Kirchenfeld Bridge.

Directions: 46°56'28.66" North; 7°26'42.17" East
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