The Basse-Ville is the older and more atmospheric half of Fribourg, tucked into the loop of the Sarine river below the cathedral plateau. The streets here are narrow, the houses tall and close together, and the whole quarter has a medieval density that the upper town lacks. It is also considerably quieter — tourists and most of the city's commerce cluster around the cathedral, leaving the lower town to its residents.
The Gothic fountains that punctuate the old town are especially well preserved in the Basse-Ville, and the covered wooden bridges over the Sarine give the quarter a character unlike anywhere else in Switzerland. The short walk from the covered Pont de Berne to the Pont de Gottéron follows the river bend and provides the best view of the city as a whole — the old town stacked up on its sandstone ridge above the water.