Hi - we only have 2 nights in Switzerland. We will be arriving on a Saturday afternoon via train, and going to Jungfrau on Sunday. Monday we leave by 7 am to head to Paris.
Which city is the most convenient to get to Jungfrau, but also to get an early train to Interlaken?
We hope to go up the Schilthorn on Saturday afternoon, and hike to a waterfall Saturday or Sunday early evening.
Any suggestions?
Lauterbrunnen is right in the middle. Good luck getting that all done.
Be prepared to be flexible. Weather doesn't always cooperate. Was there in July 2017 and couldn't see either mountain due to low cloud cover and rain. No sense spending the money to go up on a rainy, cloud covered day.
Wengen is closest to Jungfrau;
Murren or Gimmelwald closest to Schilthorn.
Lauterbrunnen is on the valley floor between the two of them.
Any of them would work, provided the weather cooperates.
Lauterbrunnen for sure.
I agree Lauterbrunnen will be your best choice. You will be hard pressed checking into your hotel, getting to the top of the Schilthorn and doing a hike on Saturday afternoon unless you arrive very early afternoon. If you do manage I would recommend the North Face trail, but that's a 2 1/2 hour hike. If you run short of time you could do the very nice walk from Murren to Gimmelwald.
happy,
Just to clarify, there is no town of "Grimmelwald". You appear to be combining "Gimmelwald" and "Grindelwald".
I agree with the others. IMHO, your best bet is to stay in Lauterbrunnen as it's the rail hub for that area and provides good access to both sides of the valley. It will also make your ongoing journey to Paris a bit easier. Which station does your 07:00 departure to Paris leave from?
To reach the Jungfraujoch, you'll first take the Wengernalpbahn cog-wheel railway from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg, via Wengen. When you arrive at Kleine Scheidegg, you'll transfer to the Jungfraubahn (red cars, easy to spot) for the final trip to the Jungfraujoch.
One other point to mention is that some people may have issues at the Jungfrau, given the elevation of 12,000 feet+. You'll probably find that you're moving much slower than normal, but short visits are tolerable for most people.
