Fribourg has plenty of quality places for eating and drinking. Fondue is a local speciality, and you can find some of the best fondues in the country in Fribourg’s cafés and brasseries. The giant Cardinal brewery, which sends its palatable beers out across Switzerland, is located in the town.

The Placette department store overlooking Grands-Places (closed Sun) houses an excellent Manoraself-service restaurant, with fifth-floor views, while Fou Food, 27 Rue de Lausanne, is a Lebanese hole in the wall offering a kebab and a drink for Fr.7.50.

Cafés and café-bars
Belvédère, 36 Grand’Rue. Uniquely amiable and atmospheric old student café, tucked away virtually out of sight at the head of the precipitous street Stalden. The mood is warm, the service friendly, but the joy of the place is its comfy old armchairs, saggy sofas and bookcase-lined walls. An outside terrace is true to the café’s name, giving eagle-eye views over the river.

Café Populaire, 9 Rue St-Michel. As it says, a popular student café-bar, also offering simple stomach-fillers like bagels, baked potatoes, and fish and chips. Closed Sun.

Gothard, 18 Rue du Pont-Muré. A Fribourg institution, beloved of Jean Tinguely, that’s equally full of old-timers at their regular seats sipping at their beer and excitable students downing an espresso before heading off to a party. Posters, ephemera and intriguing bits and pieces cover the walls under a riot of fairy-light decoration, but the food is solid quality – excellent fondues, and daily menus for Fr.15 or so. Unmissable.

Maison du Peuple, 76 Rue de Lausanne. Cheapest of cheap bars, big, rough and loud, with cut-price beer and plenty of student life. Also has simple veggie food – often Indian – for Fr.13 or less.

Midi, Rue de Romont. One of the best pavement cafés along this central street, in prime Fribourgeois-watching territory.

Pans Ami, 5 Rue du Temple. Smoky, friendly café-bar near the station open until 3am Friday and Saturday. Closed Sun.

La Spirale, 39 Place du Petit-St-Jean (www.laspirale.ch). Cellar bar and major venue for live music, with small-scale gigs on Wednesdays (Fr.10), very cool DJ-ing on Thursdays (free) and a range of jazzy, folky, worldish performers at the weekends (Fr.15–25). Wed–Sun 8.30pm–2am.

Restaurants
Aigle Noir, 10 Rue des Alpes (026/322 49 77). Quality French cuisine (from Fr.30) in the heart of the Old Town, with an attractive modern interior and warmly efficient service. Closed Sun & Mon.

Auberge de la Cigogne, 24 Rue d’Or (026/322 68 34). Beautiful little bistro in a medieval house opposite the Pont de Berne, using market-fresh produce to produce subtle, inventive dishes. Perfect for a romantic tête-à-tête. Menus around Fr.25. Closed Sun.

Auberge de Zaehringen, 13 Rue de Zaehringen (026/322 42 36). Fribourg’s finest eatery, housed in an old patrician mansion, with a cosy brasserie that serves up fresh and interesting gourmet menus from Fr.20 or so at lunch time, a little more in the evenings, and an adjacent formal restaurant where prices – and haute-cuisine quality – rise dramatically. Closed Sun & Mon.

Bindella, 38 Rue de Lausanne (026/322 49 05). Classy Italian in the centre, with cosy, warm decor and excellent fresh pastas (menus around Fr.23). Closed Sun.

Buffet de la Gare, in the station. Three different areas – a shabby café-bar, a slightly more upmarket brasserie section and, upstairs, one of the city’s better restaurants (026/322 28 16), specializing in exquisite fish dishes – although it’s not cheap (menus from Fr.50).

Fleur-de-Lys, 18 Rue Forgerons (026/322 79 61). A gastronome’s delight on a medieval lane by the river. A tumbledown exterior preludes a cosy, atmospheric interior and fresh seasonal dishes of the highest quality (menus from Fr.30). Locals love the place, which is a high recommendation. Closed Sun & Mon.

Musée, 11 Rue Pierre-Aeby. A spartan, very uncomplicated Chinese, offering exceptional value – quality menus from Fr.16.

Listings

Car rental Avis, 13 Route du Jura (026/322 75 55); Budget, 81 Rue de Vevey, Bulle (026/912 73 81); Europcar, 103 Route de Villars (026/402 38 88).

Changing money In the train station (daily 6am–8.30pm).

Markets Vegetable and flower markets occupy Place Python (Wed morning) and the area around the Hôtel de Ville (Sat morning) all year round. The Place du Petit-St-Jean features a traditional flea market on the first Saturday of the month (April–Nov), while there’s a crafts market on Rue de Lausanne on the last Saturday of the month (March–Dec).

Post Main office in the large high-rise just east of the station (CH-1700 Fribourg 1).