Jungfrau Region Villages

If you stay in Lauterbrunnen you can get to all...cable car to Murren, train to Wengen & Grindelwald
and train to Interlaken for great boat rides-get the Swiss Pass to cover most trains, boats, buses and
some cable cars and discounts on the others. Hotel Oberland is great and a few minutes from train station
on foot and good restaurant-outside terrace. I've been five times and also booked for late next June.

Back in the Summer of 2017 we had 4 nights and the same decision. We picked Wengen and made the right choice. They have a nice main street area and are up in the mountains. It's easy to get there via train. Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are in valleys, Gimmelwald is too small, and Murren is nice but their commercial area is more spread out. Any will be great depending on your interests. Beautiful view and great hikes all around!

My daughters and I stayed in Mürren for four nights in May 2019. We loved it! There was a good choice of lodging and restaurants. It was very easy to go up the Schilthorn and down to Lauterbrunnen. We walked through Gimmelwald and Wengen. Gimmelwald seemed a little too small and Wengen a little too big. Mürren was just right for us.

We have been to Switzerland on 2-week hiking trips 5 times now. We have stayed in Grindelwald, Wengen, and Muerren, sometimes two of the 3 on the same trip. I have come to prefer Muerren, as it has more good hiking opportunities right from the village, and the scenery from the village itself is stunning (from the upper village in particular).

We have always stayed in an apartment there, but if we wanted a hotel stay, my choice would be Hotel Bellevue:

https://www.bellevuemuerren.ch/english/hotel-rooms/

The hotel is well-situated for the best views, as well as access to the Allmendhubel funicular and the Schilthorn cablecar station. And the food in their restaurant is excellent (we rarely dine out in Muerren, but when we do, it is either the Asian restaurant Tham’s, or Hotel Bellevue in the little Stubli).

In the event you choose Wengen instead, I recommend Hotel Baeren, which also has excellent food (half board is a great option there).

We love Mürren. Good options for lodging and restaurants. Easy to access the Schilthorn, Gimmelwald. and the North Face Trail which is more like a wonderful stroll than a real hike. Plan to return once the virus mess is behind us.

I'm with TC for all the same reasons. There is no substitute for being in the mountains. Gimmelwald is great, but a little small as a base, but a lovely walk from Mürren. Getting to the Jungfrau region is the prize, the rest is gravy. Enjoy!

Murren was our choice and we loved it.

Stayed at Chalet Fontana. Highly recommended, with views across the valley to the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau.

Can park your car in the lot in Stechelberg, and take the cable car up. Or take train to Lauterbrunnen, and go up from there.

Cable car goes up to Schilthorn. We went to the top, then down to Birg. From Birg, there are amazing hikes down to Murren, with views, alpine lakes and meadows, waterfalls, and stops at these little "alps" (like Schiltalp) which are these refuges / restaurants/ bars amazingly scattered throughout the meadows.

Wengen and Grindelwald are on the wrong side of the valley to see the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. Gimmelwald is great to walk through, but too few services to be a base for any but the most stripped-down backpackers.

We have stayed in Wengen a few times (were supposed to go again earlier this year, sigh). I find that to be the ideal location. Personally I love being up in the mountains rather than basing in a valley. I find Wengen to have a few more hotel and restaurant options than Murren. And it’s location gives easy access not only to Lauterbrunen and Murren, but also to Grindelwald and First. Everyone’s personal preferences will be different. But you really can’t go wrong anywhere in that region!

We've always stayed in Murren (except once) during our many trips to this area. The one time we stayed elsewhere was Wengen, and I spent several hours wanting to kick myself for that decision. But then again - the whole area is drop-dead gorgeous. Just don't make the mistake of staying in "Interlaken" which is not in the alps and is best used for changing trains when you arrive/exit the area.

Lola, we just booked the Bellevue in Murren, so I appreciate your feedback. The folks were very nice to work with, and we saved a lot of $$$$ booking directly with the owners. The cancelation policy is also very reasonable- I think it was full cancelation until the week before.
Safe travels!

Thank you for the feedback, Pat. I hope you enjoy it there. I'm a bit jealous! We have Italy in our plans for 2022 but nothing for Switzerland yet.

We’re fans of Wengen and will be staying there again this August/September. We like the access to both sides of the valley and like many of the hikes on the Grindlewald side. We do some hikes on the Maureen side as well but Wengen is just the right size for us, not too big and not too small. We do half board at Hotel Schönegg and though it is expensive we make up for that on other areas of our trips.

Have booked Lauterbrunnen for a visit in September.......we have stayed there as well as Wengen....we are certainly not partiers but found Wengen to be a little too quiet for us.....we love the access we have in Lauterbrunnen to all of the valley and the easy accessibility to catching a train and heading anywhere we want whenever we want. There is a restaurant on the main drag of Lauterbrunnen that has a gorgeous view of the valley and delicious food and we enjoy frequenting it.....you cannot go wrong anywhere in this valley and I agree that Interlaken is too commercial and Gimmelwald too small. Hotel Restaurant Oberland is where we eat in Lauterbrunnen and watch the world go by. I also remember trying to use laundry facilities in Wengen one night after hiking all day and the line was backed up for hours! Anywhere in this area will be a TREAT!