Posted on TripAdvisor in the Switzerland forum.
4000 cars a day in Lauterbrunnen? Hard to imagine.
A Swiss person blames Rick Steves videos along with TikTok and YouTube. But Rick’s videos of the Berner Oberland have been around for 20+years, and this over-tourism phenomenon appears to be a post-pandemic problem.
I hate posts like that, where they complain that there was "nothing to do" there. As if you come to be entertained instead of to admire the natural beauty. "Nothing but houses" in Gimmelwald? That's the whole point.
That person is eye rolling and I basically told them so in my reply :) Clearly crowds weren’t the problem for them. I too laughed at the “nothing to do” - sounds as if they would like Disney World with zero people except themselves in it. One of those “entertain me” people. Ew.
LOL Not sure how anyone can be standing in the middle of one of the most scenic places on earth and ask, "What am I missing?"
Perhaps 20/20 vision!!!
Complainer is from Princeton, NJ... an American!
Many DEs never mention their favorite locations on TA because we do
not want them to suffer from overtourism.
Took me a minute to figure out that DE is destination expert.
Clearly the OP was expecting Disneyland or something similar, not “just houses”. Seems they didn’t even notice the scenery. And then later on they wonder why no one warned them not to go to Grindelwald or Mürren.
But what really drew my attention was the long response by Terre2014, with all the discussion of the small towns feeling overwhelmed by all these people who come basically to take selfies in places they had seen on Instagram (or the Korean series Crash Landing on You). It is pretty disturbing.
But what really drew my attention was the long response by Terre2014,
with all the discussion of the small towns feeling overwhelmed by all
these people who come basically to take selfies in places they had
seen on Instagram (or the Korean series Crash Landing on You).
I agree that popping into a town/village to take a selfie and then heading out is a bit crazy. I find myself wondering what the itinerary of the South Koreans who do that looks like. Are they people on tours which have added the Crash Landing on You village to a typical tour because it's now expected (or as a draw)? If independent travelers, what are they doing with the rest of their time in the area?
Hopefully lots of folks read this article and then avoid Switzerland. Works for me! ( wink emoji)
We just left Wengen. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world for mountain scenery. If that person wanted Disneyland they should have headed up to the Jungfrau with the rest of the selfie crowd. Thank goodness most of them are left far behind when one ventures out on one of the numerous trails. We walked one late afternoon from the top of the Mannlichen lift to Kleine Scheidegg and caught the last train back and had the trail to ourselves, priceless! If you need more than stunning scenery to entertain you, stick to the amusement parks, please!
yea, I was in lauterbrunnen yesterday for the first time and wasn't impressed. People and cars were everywhere and hard to enjoy the place. I couldn't wait to retreat back to Murren. Was there for short few hours and I hope I didn't miss anything about it.
I hope I didn't miss anything about it.
One of my favorite walks is walking in Lauterbrunnen Valley once you get past the town and the crowds at staubbach falls. There’s just something about the rocky cliffs and all the waterfalls.
Here’s a good video if anyone is curious about Lauterbrunnen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI3IH6KJjFY
Everyone likes different things. I certainly never expected to fall in love with Switzerland, but I did.
khysky if you're still looking for a rainy day option, Bern i think would be a good choice. It's not a favorite of mine, but i am definitely in the minority. I just prefer those waterfalls. :-)
I agree, Carrie. That valley walk is a weekly event for us when we stay several weeks. So many people never get past the waterfall. Lauterbrunnen village is best avoided from 9:00 to 18:00. I feel for the residents. Cars should be banned like in Zermatt, or limited to residents only. Why everyone wants the “freedom” of a car is beyond me. We cherish our car-free travels and the freedom of public transport.
In our many years of visiting the area, the post-pandemic Instagram-era has been disheartening to experience.
