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Grindelwald or Murren?

My GF and I are planning on a late June trip to the Berner Oberland area for 5 nights. We will be arriving and returning by train from Milan and prefer to stay at one hotel. Our plans are to visit the Schilthorn and the Jungfraujoch for mountain photography as well as other local sites. We plan to purchase 6 day Swiss Travel Passes for train and discount lift use. Any help on the best location between these 2 areas for our stay would be appreciated. So far it seems that Grindelwald has more to offer. Also any good spots to shoot the north face of the Eiger from the Grindelwald area.
RDJ

Posted by
11056 posts

We were so happy we chose to stay in Grindelwald. We visited Murren and Wengen and other mountain towns too.
Grindelwald offers more choices of lodging and dining.
We felt like we could reach out and touch the Eiger from the balcony of our chalet, breathtaking!

Posted by
4616 posts

The golden hour sunsets in Murren are fabulous, the light reflecting through the clouds and off the granite peaks. Just an idea.....

Posted by
32173 posts

Of the two, Mürren would be a better choice (IMHO) as it would make transportation somewhat easier in some ways. Grindelwald tends to be more "touristy" with larger and more posh hotels, while Mürren has more of a "small town" feel. The most convenient location in terms of getting around the area is Lauterbrunnen, as it's the transportation hub for the area and easy to get to both sides of the valley. The Schilthorn and the Jungfraujoch are on opposite sides.

For the trip to the Jungfraujoch, be sure to check the local webcams for the weather before you make that trip. You won't see much if it's all fogged in.

Posted by
49 posts

Thanks to all for your replies. We have chosen a hotel in central Grindelwald for the views of the Eiger.
RDJ

Posted by
16028 posts

Good choice for your interests.

Mürren tends to be the choice of people here, in large part because RS deems Grindelwald “too touristy”. While we do love the car-free village feel of Mürren, I have to say that Grindelwald has some advantages, including the beautiful view of the Eiger North Face from many points in town. Yes, there are tourist buses and traffic on the main street, but there are also great views and good trailheads for hiking all around.

One of my favorite memories from our numerous trips to Switzerland is walking back to our hotel on the Main Street in Grindelwald in the evening, and hearing the ethereal sounds of yodeling. Not the jokey comic “cowboy” style that many associate with yodeling, but the pure sounds of a capella singing in harmony, without words.

There was a yodeling group at tables in the Stübli in front of our hotel, outside. They were practicing for a competition, and apparently had free drinks as long as they wanted to sing. The sounds were haunting and beautiful. We have had many special experiences innSwitzerland, ut that evening is my favorite. So I cannot fault Grindelwald as a nice to stay, especially if you enjoy hiking and photography, and maybe a bit of nightlife. (FWIW, that was not our only memorable experience in Grindelwald).

Posted by
476 posts

I agree, I think that Grindelwald is a good choice for you.

Have you seen this? Showing winter photo locations, but I think that most would be good in June as well

https://grindelwald.swiss/en/summer/planning-and-events/social-media/12-winter-insta-spots/

I see summer shots of #4 on social media a lot. Looks great!

I would also add:

Train from Lauterbrunnen - Wengen. Sit on the right side in the direction of travel. Look for a window that you can open so you don't have to shoot through the glass. Get ready to shoot as soon as you leave the station. Once you pass the embankment you can get a great photo of the river/church/ waterfall and down the valley a bit. Similar to #2 on the website above, but including the river in the shot. A photo that I took like this got me a win on GuruShots recently. :)

In Wengen:
In the morning, as the sun rises you will get some great layers when shooting toward Mürren from Staubbachbänkli

https://grindelwald.swiss/en/summer/tracks/wengen-staubbachbaenkli-25-min/

Giessbach Waterfalls - if you want some long exposure shots or if you have some rainy days and you still want to shoot something. Definitely do the hike up in behind the waterfall as well.

Also, if you find that the Schilthorn and Jungfrau are socked in, take a look at other mountain locations. Sometimes the weather can be very different a short train ride away. Some suggestions are: Niederhorn and Stockhorn mountains, Kandersteg and Oeschinen Lake. All good photo spots.

Posted by
1516 posts

If you are only going to be spending time in the Bernese Oberland you should not buy a Swiss Travel Pass. You will mostly be travelling on railways and cable cars where the pass only gives you a reduction. Also the Swiss Travel Pass only gives you 25% off on the Jungfrau Railway trip, So buying it only for the reductions, without planning to do a lot of long distance travel you are better off with another option.

What you should do is get the Half Fare Card. This costs 120,- and will give you 50% off on all trips, even up to the Jungfraujoch. And then just buy tickets for your trips. Tickets for Milan - Grindelwald - Milan you can buy on www.sbb.ch, and you can enter there the HFC reduction. Other tickets you buy locally. Eg. if you want to visit the Schilthorn from Grindelwald you just go to the station in Grindelwald and buy a return ticket to Schilthorn.

Posted by
32523 posts

vacation places spam reported for zappage

Posted by
49 posts

From myswisslife:
Thank you for the great recommendations.
From WengenK:
Thanks for the tip on the Swiss Half Fare Card. It will save us quite a bit.
RDJ