Biel/Bienne

<map lat='47.1324032424812' lng='7.24411010742188' zoom='12' view='0' float='right'/> Biel (French: Bienne) is the biggest bilingual town in Switzerland (German-/Frenchspeaking). It has 51.000 citizens and is located in the northwest of Switzerland, at the Jura-mountainchain and at the lake of Biel/Bienne. The town is famous for its watches - companies like Omega and Rolex are amongst the most important employers.

Hitching out

East, South towards Bern, Interlaken

From the main trainstation in Biel: Get out of the building, then turn right to the roundabout. Turn right again and cross unter the railway lines. Keep to the right until you get to the main road Bernstrasse. Turn left and follow that street, because it will become the highway A6/A1 going go Bern,Fribourg,Thun,Burgdorf,Interlaken. Shortly before the highway begins, there is a BP-filling station on the right side. There is a lot of space for the cars to stop. (From the trainstation to that place it takes you about 5-10 minutes.)

East, North towards Zürich, Basel, Germany

From the main trainstation: Cross the town center walking towards the Jura (mountain-chain). There you find a main road with a lot of traffic. Turn right and follow this street, you can already try to stop cars here. There are bus stops (#1, #2) where cars have space to stop. After about 2km the highway A5 going to Zürich and Basel starts.

Sleeping

The only hostel in town is the Lago Lodge and located at the lake. It has beds from CHF 28.-/€18. The reception times are 7-11.30am, 2pm-10pm. Phone +41 (0)32 331 37 32, email [email protected]

Try also hospitality networks like bewelcome.org, hospitalityclub.org, couchsurfing.com