I plan to take the Glacier Express from Chur to Brig in late September. We have not decided which town we prefer to stay in Lauterbrunnen, Murren, Gimmelwald or Wengen. I have read good things about all of these places. We will only have one or one and a half days in the Alps. Would like to take in an easy hike if there is such a thing in the Alps! My question: how do I get from the rail station in Brig where we exit the Glacier Express to these towns? We will be arriving in Brig in mid-afternoon. Any suggestions about what is easiest/fastest to get to and worth experiencing? Rick Steves has sold me on the virtues of Gimmelwald.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32757 posts
walk a short distance from where the Glacier Express stops in the middle of the road to the entrance to the SBB station just down the street. Board any train going to Bern, and get off at Spiez. Change platforms to any train going to Interlaken Ost. Get off at the last stop. Walk down the stairs or ramp towards the exit of the station and turn left at the last way up on the left. Get on the little train, being sure to ride in the half of the train to Lauterbrunnen (clearly marked on the outside of the train), otherwise you will wind up in Grindelwald, the next valley over. This assumes that you have got your tickets.....
sound complicated. easy.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
And there will be a train every hour. Swiss rules. If you want to know the times, go to the SBB website: https://www.sbb.ch/en/
Enter From: Brig, to: Lauterbrunnen (or Mürren, Gimmelwald or Wengen depending on what you decide on), and the date and time you will arrive at Brig station, and it will show you all the trains.
if you want to see this (and your Glacier Express route from Chur) on a map, see here: https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/sbb/de/pdf/freizeit-ferien/ferien-kurztrips-schweiz/internationale-gaeste/sts-geltungsbereich_en.pdf
All these rail routes (red lines) have at least one train per hour.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thank you for your speedy response! It does sound a little confusing, Nigel. Take the train to Interlaken Ost and get off at the last stop. Wouldn't the last stop be Interlaken?
Posted by
Green Bay
20090 posts
Interlaken has 2 train stations, Interlaken West, then Interlaken Ost. Ost is where you connect to trains to Luzern, Grindelwald, and Lauterbrunnen. They are narrow gauge railways, so that is why you must transfer there. The train to Lauterbrunnen splits along the way and half the train goes to Lauterbrunnen and the other half to Grindelwald. So make sure you get on the cars going to Lauterbrunnen. There you connect to other means of transportation to Muerren, Gimmelwald, and Wengen.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
All you have to do is visit www.sbb.ch/en and enter Brig as your departure and then your destination (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Murren) and you'll get the complete itinerary step by step. It's not difficult.
Do try to give Gimmelwald a visit if you can, but staying in Gimmelwald for your time in the alps could be quite dull. RS may love Gimmewald, but seeing Gimmelwald as a vacation destination is a stretch. I think RS has developed close personal relationships with a few of Gimmelwald's familys which may be more interesting to RS than to anyone else.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
" I think RS has developed close personal relationships with a few of Gimmelwald's familys which may be more interesting to RS than to anyone else."
My thoughts exactly. It is interesting to see a town that doesn't have every inch covered by hotels (like Wengen and Muerren do), and where there are still cows right in town, but once you've seen those features, you're done. For me, the lack of a supermarket or ATM, and the very limited food options, mean I wouldn't want to stay there.
However, as far as I'm concerned, as long as you stay in one of the four you mentioned (Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, Muerren, or Gimmelwald), you can't lose. All have their advantages and disadvantages, and all are actually IN the Alps, as opposed to near them like Interlaken is.
I say this as someone who had a great stay in Muerren in 2014, but will stay in Lauterbrunnen in 2017 (the place I stayed at in 2014 didn't have a room for all my nights, and I used that as an excuse to try something different!).