Murten (or Morat in French), is a beautiful Swiss medieval village on the shores of lake Murtensee in the Fribourg Canton in Switzerland. Murten has a beautiful long town wall you can walk on while you take in the views, either of the brown rooftops of the city, or of the beautiful lake. Close to Murten you will also find the town Avenches, which is located in the Vaud Canton, and which has very well-preserved Roman ruins.
Murten
Murten is a picturesque small town, on the border of the German and French speaking parts of Switzerland, which can easily be explored by foot. Murten has beautiful streets with shady arcades which could remind you a bit of the center of Bern, fountains decorated with flowers, and a castle with nice black and white window shutters. There is a small road called ‘Stadtgraben’ which leads you behind houses and along the beautiful gardens. At several points you will also see stairs to access the beautiful medieval city walls. The city walls are quite long and well preserved and walking on the walls is a must-do in Murten.
Museum Murten
Murten has a nice local museum which is located in the building of an old water mill. You will find local history in this museum, but also temporary exhibitions.
What to eat in Murten?
Even though Murten is a small town, it even has its own culinary specialty, the Nidelkuchen. Nidelkuchen is a delicious cream pie, with the upper cream layer which has a bit of caramel flavor. Very delicious! Highly recommended to buy a slice at a local bakery and eat it by the lake.
Murtensee
If you visit Murten in summer, you may want to go for a swim in lake Murtensee! There are several beaches on the lake, and there is also a place which combines a swimming pool and the lake. The local swimming pool of Murten has a play area for kids on the lake with a playground, stairs to easily enter the lake, floating platforms to jump in the lake, and a fun zipline.
Excursions close to Murten
Avenches and its Roman ruins
Avenches is very close to Murten and can easily be visited on the same trip. Avenches, which was called Aventicum in Roman times, has a very well-preserved Amphitheater where 16.000 people could watch gladiator fights or shows. Nowadays the Amphitheater normally hosts music festivals in summer. You can visit the Amphitheater, the museum located on-site, or head out a bit further from the town center to visit the old city walls or the Roman baths.
Papillorama in Kerzers
Another easy combination with a visit to Murten, and fun for kids, is a visit to the Papillorama in Kerzers. Papillorama is a big tropical garden where more than 1.000 butterflies fly. Papillorama also has a playground and picknick areas.
More information: https://papiliorama.ch/en
If you liked this article, you may also be interested in our article on Summer Holidays in Switzerland:
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