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Overview:
Biel, Switzerland -
The double-barrelled town 32km northeast of Murten, and almost
exactly halfway between Geneva and Zürich, can get a little
confusing. German-speakers call it BIEL, French speakers know it
as Bienne, but it’s Switzerland’s only officially bilingual
town and so all road signs, documents and public information
must be in both languages. Train timetables, maps and books
always call the place Biel, Bienne, and the locals cheerfully
straddle the Röstigraben without a second thought –
perhaps chatting with a friend in German whilst ordering lunch
in French.
In addition, some
forty percent of the town’s inhabitants originate from outside
Switzerland, with particularly high populations of Italian and
Spanish residents as well as Turks, people from the former
Yugoslavia, Arabs and more. Eavesdropping can be an entertaining
pastime, but it takes a certain shift in attitude in order to
find your way around smoothly. Unless you’re a linguist
yourself, there’s no reason why you should know that the
street called Seevorstadt, for instance, is one and the same as
Faubourg du Lac, or even that the body of water stretching
southwest from the town is either the Bielersee or the Lac de
Bienne depending on who you’re talking to.
Visiting
one country? Individual Country Passes offer convenience and
affordable travel options.
Use the Rail
Saver tool to help choose the right pass for your
trip.
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