Interlaken — the Jungfraujoch, the Eiger & the Top of Europe
Interlaken: the town between the lakes, gateway to the Jungfrau massif with the Eiger 3,967m, Mönch 4,107m, and Jungfrau 4,158m all accessible by mountain railway from the town centre.
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The Jungfraujoch — the Highest Railway Station in Europe
Jungfraujoch — Top of Europe (the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454m, accessible from Interlaken Ost station by the Jungfrau Railway, the journey requiring 2 hours each way from Interlaken through the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald valleys to the Jungfraujoch terminal at 3,454m, the ticket at CHF 215 adults return from Interlaken Ost — the most expensive mountain railway ticket in Switzerland and the single most visited mountain destination in the Alps at 900,000 visitors per year): the ascent (the journey from Interlaken Ost by the Berner Oberland Bahn to Grindelwald, then the Wengernalpbahn to Kleine Scheidegg at 2,061m, then the Jungfraubahn — the tunnel railway through the Eiger and the Mönch — to the Jungfraujoch, the 9km tunnel section the most dramatically enclosed mountain railway in the world, the windows at the Eigerwand and Eismeer stations cut through the north face of the Eiger and the ice of the Grindelwald glacier giving the most vertiginous single-point view in the Alps), the summit (the Jungfraujoch at 3,454m — the Sphinx Observatory, the Aletsch Glacier panorama — the Aletsch the longest glacier in the Alps at 23km, visible from the summit as the most grandiose single glacial landscape in Switzerland — the Plateau of the Jungfraujoch snow surface at 3,454m the highest snow-covered plateau in the Alps accessible without mountaineering equipment, the year-round skiing on the glacier the most altitude-accessible recreational skiing in Switzerland), the Eiger north face (the 1,800m vertical granite face of the Eiger the most famous single mountain wall in mountaineering history — the face first climbed by Heckmair, Vörg, Harrer, and Kasparek in July 1938 after 13 failed attempts and 8 deaths, the 1938 climb the most celebrated single mountaineering achievement in European Alpine history, the face visible from Grindelwald and from the Kleine Scheidegg the most dramatic vertical rock vista accessible from a Swiss tourist resort) and the Early Bird ticket (the Early Bird ticket at CHF 155 adults for the first Jungfraujoch train departing before 8am from Grindelwald — the 26% saving versus the standard ticket, the Good Morning ticket at CHF 90 for the Jungfraujoch between 6am and 9:30am the most affordable single option, both tickets requiring the purchase at the Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen station on the day of travel).
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The Schilthorn — the Bond Mountain
Schilthorn (the 2,970m summit above Mürren, accessible from Interlaken via Lauterbrunnen and the cable car system in 75 minutes at CHF 105 adults return, the James Bond filming location for 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' 1969): the Piz Gloria (the revolving restaurant at the summit, the Bond World 007 exhibition, the breakfast at CHF 25 with the 360-degree panorama of the Bernese Alps), the Thrill Walk (the 200m steel walkway cantilevered from the Birg cliff face 100m above the valley at 2,677m mid-station, the most exposed accessible walkway in Switzerland at CHF 5 supplement), the Mürren car-free village (the highest permanently inhabited village accessible in the Bernese Oberland at 1,638m, the 1920s alpine architecture the most intact Belle Époque mountain village in Switzerland), the Lauterbrunnen valley (the U-shaped glacial valley below the Schilthorn with the 72 waterfalls — the Staubbachfall 297m the most photographed — and the cliff walls rising 700m on both sides) and the Allmendhubel (the flower meadow mountain above Mürren at 1,907m, the most colourful Alpine meadow in the Bernese Oberland in June-July, the easy 2-hour circular walk from Allmendhubel to Mürren through the wildflower meadows the most family-appropriate alpine outing in the Schilthorn area).
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Grindelwald and the First Mountain
Grindelwald (the mountain village 25km southeast of Interlaken by BOB railway in 35 minutes, the Eiger north face directly above the village): the First Cliff Walk (the 1.6km steel walkway on the cliff edge at 2,168m above Grindelwald, the cantilever sections extending 45m over the valley, free with the First Gondola ticket at CHF 49 adults return, accessible May-October), the First Flyer (the alpine rollercoaster zip line from the First summit to the Schreckfeld at 84 km/h, CHF 29), the Bachalpsee (the alpine lake 1.5km from the First cable car with the Schreckhorn reflection, 35-minute flat walk, the most photographed alpine lake reflection in the Bernese Oberland), the Eiger Trail (the path along the base of the 1,800m Eiger north face from Eigergletscher station to Grindelwald, 6km, 3 hours descent, the most dramatic trail in the Bernese Oberland) and the Männlichen gondola (the world's longest passenger gondola at 6.2km from Grindelwald to the Männlichen ridge at 2,343m, the summit Royal Walk giving the definitive 3-summit view of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau simultaneously).
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Lauterbrunnen Valley and the Waterfalls
Lauterbrunnen (the glacial valley with 72 waterfalls and 700m vertical cliff walls on both sides, 15km south of Interlaken by mountain railway in 20 minutes): the Staubbachfall (the 297m free-fall waterfall above the village, described by Goethe as the most beautiful natural sight he had seen, free at the base, the spray rainbow on sunny mornings the most photographed element), the Trümmelbach Falls (the 10 glacier-fed waterfalls inside the cliff at 20,000 litres per second, the most powerful enclosed waterfall system in Europe, CHF 14 adults accessible by internal lift through the rock), Wengen (the car-free village at 1,274m above the west cliff, the home of the Lauberhorn ski race — the most technically demanding and most watched single alpine ski race in the world — with the Grand Hotel Regina 1894), Mürren (the car-free village at 1,638m above the east cliff with the complete Jungfrau massif view) and the valley cycling (the flat cycle path 8km from Lauterbrunnen village to the Stechelberg cable car base, the most accessible cycling in the immediate Interlaken area at CHF 30 per day hire).
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Lake Thun and Lake Brienz
The two lakes flanking Interlaken (the Thunersee to the west and the Brienzersee to the east, both accessible by BLS lake steamer from the Interlaken piers): Lake Thun (the 18km lake at 22 degrees in July-August the warmest pre-Alpine swimming, the BLS paddle steamer Blümlisalp 1906 the oldest in Switzerland, the Thun castle the most complete medieval castle in the Bernese Oberland, accessible by steamer in 80 minutes at CHF 18 adults), Lake Brienz (the coldest and most translucent lake in the region, the turquoise glacier-fed water most visible from the steamer deck, the Brienz village at the east end with the Swiss Open Air Museum Ballenberg — 100+ relocated Swiss rural buildings — at CHF 32 adults), Iseltwald (the village on the south shore of Brienzersee associated with the Netflix 'Squid Game' Season 2 filming, the pier the most visited new tourist site in the Bernese Oberland 2024, accessible by bus from Interlaken Ost in 25 minutes), the Giessbach Falls (the 500m cascade waterfall flowing into the Brienzersee behind the Belle Époque Grandhotel Giessbach 1875, accessible by the lake steamer to the Giessbach pier then the oldest funicular in Switzerland 1879 — the most historically layered single waterfall destination in the Bernese Oberland) and the BLS steamer circuit (the full-day circuit of both lakes by steamer from Interlaken West to Thun and return, then steamer from Interlaken Ost to Brienz and return — the most relaxing single-day Swiss lake transport experience).
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Interlaken Practical — Adventure Sports, Budget and the Bernese Oberland Pass
Interlaken as adventure capital (the most concentrated adventure sports town in the Alps): paragliding (the tandem flight from Beatenberg at CHF 170-220 including the 20-minute Jungfrau massif aerial view), the canyon swing (the world's largest at the Glacier Canyon in Grindelwald, 90m free-fall at CHF 145-195), canyoning (the Saxetbach descent 3-4 hours at CHF 109-149), bungee jumping (the 134m jump from the Stockhorn cable car at CHF 195), the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass (CHF 195 for 3 days covering the BOB, WAB, and Jungfrau Railways plus lake steamers plus the 50% discount on the Jungfraujoch and the Schilthorn — the most cost-effective mountain transport document for the visitor doing 2 major excursions), the Early Bird Jungfraujoch ticket (CHF 155 for the first morning departure versus the standard CHF 215 — the most practical single cost-saving action for the Interlaken visitor), the youth hostel at CHF 40-70 per night the most affordable accommodation base and the Victoria-Jungfrau at CHF 400-800 the most historically atmospheric, the SBB from Bern in 55 minutes at CHF 18 adults the correct gateway approach from the Swiss capital.