One reason I like Bern as a city is its underground layer. There are literally hundreds of basement stores lined up along the old town boulevards, and you can spend days (and nights) just diving into these hidden worlds down there. You will find flower shops and theatres, nightclubs and record stores, hemp shops and bakeries, bars and barbershops. My favourite basement happens to be a cinema though. Kellerkino (basement cinema) is a tiny cave with a 1.6 meter high canvas and 36 red armchairs. Claustrophobics like me perhaps should take a look into that dungeon type of cinema before buying the ticket.

But once I sit in the comfy chair and the film lights up the hall, the basement cinema turns out to be a very cozy place with a kind of familial atmosphere. Founded in 1970, the Kellerkino was the first independent cinema in the country, and until today the programme consists of cinematic avant-garde gems that wouldn’t be shown on the real big screens. So even film freaks like myself will find a raw diamond in this underground spot once in a while.