The old-world town of Thun (French Thoune), which has belonged to the canton of Berne since 1384, lies on the River Aare just below its outflow from Lake Thun. Charmingly situated on both banks of the swiftly flowing green river and on a 1km/0.6mi-long island in the middle, with its castle on a hill 30
m/98ft high dominating the town, it is the gateway to the Bernese Oberland. An unusual feature of the old town is the flower-bedecked pedestrian walkways running along above the arcades containing the shops on ground level in the main street (Hauptgasse).