Murren or Lauterbrunnen in mid-June, where to stay?

We stayed at the Hotel Staubbagh in Lauterbrunnen. It is about a 15 minute walk from the train station. They have great breakfast and the hosts are wonderful. We had a room that faced the street on the second floor with a little balcony. Was so great. Murren and all the other towns in the area are easily accessible by train or cable car. The view from the bottom of the valley is wonderful. There are more stores in Lauterbrunnen than we saw in Murren. Not sure about the vegan menus.

Andy,

Mürren tends to be somewhat "sunnier" as it's on the side of a hill, whereas Lauterbrunnen is on the valley floor. I find that Lauterbrunnen is very scenic, and getting a bit less sun isn't a problem if I'm out touring all day. If you're planning on touring both sides of the valley, Lauterbrunnen is more "efficient" as it's the transportation hub for the area.

A few comments on your questions.....

1. "Reasonable cost" and Switzerland don't generally go well together, so you'll have to budget accordingly. If you're interested in really cheap accommodations, there are Hostels in both Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald. In Mürren you could also consider this - http://www.ferntree.ch/chalet/fontana.htm (but be sure to book well in advance). I stayed at Hotel Oberland in Lauterbrunnen on my last visit and would certainly recommend it.
2. Comments provided above.
3. I suppose it depends what kind of views you're looking for? I find the views in Lauterbrunnen to be great, but Mürren will probably be a better choice as views of the surrounding peaks are spectacular.
4. The other couple shouldn't have any trouble finding vegan food in either community. There are Coop stores in both Mürren and Lauterbrunnen, and the breakfast provided by hotels usually provides a wide selection to suit just about all tastes.
5. There are a couple of nice hikes possible from Mürren. You could walk down to Gimmelwald and explore that for an hour or two, and then either walk back up or take the cable car. You could also take the Allmend-Hubel Funicular up to the top and then walk back to Mürren through the alpine meadows. If your budget will allow, you could also take the cable cars up to the Schilthorn, where the James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service was partially filmed. There's also a revolving restaurant there. Although it's a bit on the pricey side, the views at 10,000 ft. are spectacular! If you're adventurous, you could also try tandem paragliding from Mürren.

Have only been there once, but ...Mürren!! Absolutely stunning views where you feel like you could reach out and touch the mountains. We stayed at Hotel Regina, and the view from the breakfast room was amazing.

Lauterbrunnen is much like staying in Yosemite Valley -- you look UP at the mountains. And that's gorgeous too.

We were there last June and I couldn't recommend Chalet Fontana in Murren any higher (http://www.ferntree.ch/chalet/fontana_summer.htm). Ask for the upstairs room at the front with the unbelievable views of the Jungfrau. Its a folksy place, run by a woman from England who also runs the town yoga at the Sports Centre. Good breakfast where you can meet and share ideas with fellow travellers.

Murren definitely gets more sun and better views than Lauterbrunnen, but Lauterbrunnen is worth walking around and stopping for coffee on your way in or out of the valley. Great place is the base of the Staubbachfalle waterfalls. Murren is also more central to the hiking trails (https://muerren.swiss/en/summer/see-do/#category57).

The trails we've done and loved were:
(a) take the gondola to the Schilthorn for breakfast and back down to Berg. Hike down from Berg to Gimmelwald via the Schutz waterfall, where you can actuall hike in behind the falls and see the falls from inside. Either hike or gondola back to Murren;
(b) walk from Gimmelwald down to Stechleberg. You'll get a great view of the entire Lauterbrunnen valley. Take the gondola back up to Murren.

I stayed at the Hotel Steinbach in Lauterbrunnen Valley a short walk from the train station
http://www.booking.com/Share-23K7CY

I've stayed in both Lauterbrunnen and Muirren and don't really remember either one not being sunny.

1. In Murren we stayed at the Eiger Guesthouse which I really liked and it was one of the "cheaper" options, but not cheap. It's more like 2 or 3 star. I really liked it and they had great food. It's a little less expensive because it's not on the "cliff" side, but some of the upper floor rooms still had good views. We always stay at the Hotel Staubbach. Will be staying there again this July with a south facing room with a view of the waterfall.
2. I really don't think you will notice any difference here.
3. Murren definitely has better views in general, but I really like the view of the valley and waterfall from the Staubbach.
4. Both Lauterbrunnen and Murren have one small co-op store.
5. Lauterbrunnen is just slightly larger than Murren. They both have easy walks for the evening time when you will be in the village. Lauterbrunnen may have just a few more options.

We have always gone for 4 nights or longer. This year we are going for 6 nights and I prefer staying in Lauterbrunnen because it's centrally located. We will do a couple of all day hikes and getting started early is important to us.

You will love it no matter where you end up staying!

Murren without a doubt. Views are fantastic. Highly recommended Hotel Jungfrau. Since you want to do some hiking consider the "North Face Trail". Most of it is more like walking as opposed to hard and heavy mountain hiking.

The Swiss diet is so full of milk, cheese and butter that options for a vegan are pretty limited, especially at breakfast. Müesli cereal is itself vegan but has to be moistened with something, usually milk or yogurt. Bread might contain mile or eggs. So they may need to buy their own bread and maybe have Nutella on it.

Rösti is a popular potato dish but usually cooked in butter. They could ask that it be cooked in oil instead, with no egg or cheese on top “Rösti Natur”.

There is an Asian restaurant in Mürren that has some vegan dishes on the menu.

Hi Andy, I did my third trip to Switzerland in Oct 2017. We stayed in Murren at the Hotel Alpenruh for six nights and highly recommend it. We also stayed at the Hotel Alpenruh in 2016 and at the Hotel Jungfrau in 2010. Both hotels are very nice and clean, with great staff and knock-out views. We did trips to the Schilthorn and Jungfrau (best day ever!), and enjoyed lots of hiking around the area.

Murren is only a short train ride and cable car from Lauterbrunnen (15 minutes total travel time). Fantastic views. You feel like you can just reach out and touch the mountains. Hope you have a great trip!

As for vegan food for your friends, there's a good vegetarian Swiss restaurant chain called "Tibits" that has solely vegan selections once a week (Tuesdays when I was there in 2017 and 2016). Bern has one next to the train station. Luzern has one inside the train station on the top floor.

Thank you all for your suggestions!

Even though Murren and Lauterbrunnen sound equally attractive, I like the idea of being at a higher elevation for the view, and our traveling companions feel the same way, so it'll be Murren.

I was also wondering if there are any cheese/chocolate factory tours or other interesting activities besides sightseeing/hiking (our vegan friends do eat cheese occasionally). We may consider staying 2 nights/3 days in Murren and then maybe moving to Lucerne or Zurich, before our flight leaves from Zurich on day 4. Are there any flea markets in either city on Friday or Saturday? We don't plan to visit any department stores.

There may be something cheese-related around Gruyeres--possibly very touristy, and not necessarily close enough to any of your planned stops.

I've seen references to a Chocolate Train that I think is somewhere in Switzerland.

For markets you may turn something up with Google. Literally decades ago I hit an outdoor craft market in Bern. It was on a weekend, which is pretty typical for such things. Bern, incidentally, has quite an attractive historic core with a lot of arcaded streets. It's good to keep it in mind as a possible day-trip in the event of a spate of dreadful weather.

We may consider staying 2 nights/3 days in Murren and then maybe moving to Lucerne or Zurich, before our flight leaves from Zurich on day 4.

Two nights is ONE full day and 2 partial days. Mountain weather is fickle and your single full day could be the one that is occluded and rainy. :-( Arrival day you will be lucky to be settled by 3:00pm, and departure day may be just after breakfast (or earlier) if you are heading to the airport.

It is highly recommended to stay at least there all 3 nights so you have a better chance at some great sunny weather.

Laurel is spot on about the weather. My choice would also be to spend all three nights in Murren.

If you can afford it, stay in Mürren.

Mürren is the setting for one of the most beautiful clay courts in the world so if you play tennis, pack your racquets to give yourself an experience you won't forget; for my husband and me, experiential travel makes a trip! For us, the Mürren courts are tied with the Monte Carlo Country Club's clay courts in terms of playing on fabulous clay in an unimaginably beautiful setting.

We've hiked to this restaurant from Murren: http://www.restaurant-winteregg.ch/ From there you can hop on the train to go back to Murren or on to Grutschalp or just hike to either one.

We've never stopped at it, but there is a cheese factory just to the north of the restaurant.

We stayed at the Bellevue in Murren. It has a wonderful patio for outdoor dining: https://www.bellevuemuerren.ch/english/restaurant/

I was also wondering if there are any cheese/chocolate factory tours
or other interesting activities besides sightseeing/hiking (our vegan
friends do eat cheese occasionally). We may consider staying 2
nights/3 days in Murren and then maybe moving to Lucerne or Zurich,
before our flight leaves from Zurich on day 4. Are there any flea
markets in either city on Friday or Saturday? We don't plan to visit
any department stores.

There's a good pastry and chocolates shop in Wengen (near Mürren). They make their own chocolates, and it's delicious. No need for a factory tour. Just eat the chocolate.

I've been to flea markets in Lucerne. There are different kinds. Here's Lucerne's web site:
http://www.luzern.com/en/

taking it easy after visiting Greece and Italy

Sounds like you only have 3 nights in Switzerland, which means only 2 full days to relax and enjoy the gorgeous scenery before flying home. Checking out and in to other places would cut into your relaxation time, so I think you'd be happiest staying around the Mürren area, although you may need to move to Lucerne for your last night if your plane leaves early in the morning from Zurich.

Our next destination after Murren is Bacharach in Germany, where we will go by train. We're taking your advice and leaving the last day open, depending on weather, but were thinking of visiting:
http://www.luzern.com/en/excursions-and-resorts/special-experiences-in-lake-lucerne-region/pastures-rigi
Has anyone seen this place?

I have seen many posts on the cheese/chocolate factory tours in the Gruyeres area, and have the impression that the tours aren't worth the travel time. Depending on weather we could spend all our time in Murren and the surrounding area (also see the cheese making operation in Wintergg, as suggested by mnannie), leave for Lucerne late on day 3, and then Bacharach mid-morning on day 4.

The other possibility, assuming that we were able to really see a lot on day 1 and 2 in Murren, would be to leave for Rigi from Murren early on day 3, return to Lucerne for the night, and leave for Bacharach mid-morning on day 4. My understanding is that Rigi is very scenic.

On a separate subject, we will arrive in Zurich from Athens, and I was wondering what is the scenic (but not too long) train route from Zurich airport to Lauterbrunnen?

http://www.luzern.com/en/excursions-and-resorts/special-experiences-in-lake-lucerne-region/pastures-rigi
Has anyone seen this place?

I have not been to Alp Chäserenholz, which is what pops up when I went into that link.

impression that the tours aren't worth the travel time.

Yes, that's my impression of factory tours.

My understanding is that Rigi is very scenic.

Yes, Rigi's views are extraordinarily beautiful, but only if the area isn't foggy or blanketed in thick clouds below. I prefer the view from trails that fan out from Rigi-Kaltbad, but the view from the peak--Rigi-Kulm--is also nice.

what is the scenic (but not too long) train route from Zurich airport to Lauterbrunnen?

The most scenic route, by far, is to take the train from the Zurich airport train station directly to Luzern. Change to the "Golden Pass" route at Luzern that leaves platform number 12, hourly (at 6 minutes after each hour). It travels beside mountain lakes and waterfalls to Interlaken Ost. At Interlaken Ost you change to a train on platform 2A to go to Lauterbrunnen. (Make sure the train carriage says "Lauterbrunnen," not "Grindelwald," so you'll get to the right place, since the train separates midway with one section going one way and another the other way.) From Luzern to Lauterbrunnen is 2 hours 19 minutes. From the Zurich airport to Luzern takes about an hour.
Here's the Swiss transportation system web site: www.sbb.ch/en

I hope you get lots of good clear weather for your Swiss trip!

Mürren 100%. There is no comparison to Lauterbrunnen.

check out Hotel Alpina in Mürren with a balcony view of the mountains. You feel like in dream.