Thun Castle

Thun Castle is the blunt white block on the hill above the town, a keep raised around the end of the twelfth century with a squat tower at each corner. It was built as a seat of power and later served the town as a courthouse and prison, which is why the interior is plain rather than palatial. The great hall runs the full length of the upper floor under a timber roof, and the rooms below hold a local museum of furniture, weapons, pottery and toys. The climb up the turret stairs ends on a walkway where the whole lake opens out towards the Bernese Alps.

What you actually see

• The knights' hall - the long timber-roofed hall filling the top of the keep.
• The turret walkway - the view down Lake Thun to the peaks at its far end.
• The museum rooms - local furniture, ceramics, weapons and toys across several floors.
• The covered stairway - the roofed steps climbing from the old town's main street to the castle gate.

When to go

Spring to autumn for the clearest view from the turrets, which is most of the reason to climb. Winter hours are shorter and often afternoon only. Mornings are quiet; the castle is a common stop for groups heading into the Bernese Oberland, and midday can be busy in high summer.

Honest expectations

The stairs are narrow, steep and wooden, with no lift, so the upper floors are out of reach for anyone with limited mobility. The museum is old-fashioned and the labelling is thin in English. The building is a fortified box rather than a decorated palace, and visitors expecting painted halls tend to leave underwhelmed.

Nearby

Thun's arcaded old town lies below, and the lake steamers leave for Spiez and Interlaken.