You want to stay in a mountain town in the Jungfrau region but don’t want to stay in the crazy tourist town of Lauterbrunnen with all the car traffic and hordes of people. An alternative is Wengen or Murren . Which one? We are staying just outside of Wengen ourselves and did a day trip to hike around Murren. Here are my thoughts:
Wengen: It’s easy to get to from Lauterbrunnen because you only have to get on one train. Super easy. Seems to be a much quieter and more laid back place than Murren. There are plenty of great views of the mountains and the lush green hillsides. There is the COOP grocery store which has everything you need. Lots of chalets within walking distance of Wengen and in-town hotels to stay in. My wife and I love it here!
Murren: Not easy to get to from Lauterbrunnen. First you have to get on a very loaded cable car and ride up to Grutschalp. They pack you in shoulder to shoulder like sardines which my wife hated. Too many tourists. Fortunately, it is only a 5 minute ride. Then when you get to Grutschalp, you have to board a train to Murren, which is also a relatively short ride. So every time you want to arrive in or leave Murren, you have to get on a packed cable car. Ugh! This is what the literature out there does not tell you about Murren. Then you have the massive construction project going on in the south end of town. Another ugh! If you are staying in Murren, stay in the north part of town! We visited Murren so that we could hike the fabulous Northface Trail and we are glad we did. But we are not inclined to visit Murren again because of the double ughs and they are significant ughs! Sure, the mountain views from Murren are fabulous, but at what cost to your piece of mind.
Our vote? Wengen by a mile! (Or should I say kilometer?)