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Wengen vs Murren

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?)

Posted by
10574 posts

I happen to agree, but many others prefer Mürren.
It has changed a lot since we first went ten+ years ago. But you can also take the gondolas to Mürren from the parking structure; yes, it’s a schlepp to the Lauterbrunnen train station.

Posted by
3021 posts

I agree, not a fan of getting up and down from Murren. But, Murren has my favorite walk—Murren down to Gimmelwald. And the Hotel Edelweiss has the best views down into Lauterbrunnen Velley.

On my most recent trip this past June, I stayed in both Murrren and Wengen and found that worked well for me.

Posted by
47 posts

Wengen is more centrally located and has better transit connections. Murren has much more to offer, including better mountain view and hiking trails. Wengen is a good base but is not really a destination itself. If you are based in Murren and taking the cable car up and down the cliff every single day you are doing it wrong.

Posted by
11697 posts

We have stayed in all three and prefer Lauterbrunnen for the convenience of connecting to both sides of the valley and places outside the valley. Throngs, crowds, and traffic? Yes, but we have an apartment away from the center, view of the falls, bus stop 2 minutes away and spend our days outside of Lauterbrunnen village. Works for us.

Posted by
54 posts

This subject has been brought up so often, and you will always get difference of opinions. We have been to all three and we prefer Lauterbrunnen. We were there last year and never felt there were hordes of people and cars. We had such an amazing 180 degree view from our hotel room. One morning we went for a walk from one end of town all the way to the other end and met only one man on the road. It was fun riding up to Murren and Wengen each for a day, but we wouldn’t want to do that every time we wanted to go somewhere else. We also enjoyed sitting on a bench and watching the little train go up the mountain to Wengen. There is beauty in all three villages, and it is a good thing everyone doesn’t want to stay in the same one.

Posted by
856 posts

As Gelato Girl says, this topic has been brought up often, and it's good that there are different opinions. For me, after three nights in each last June, it's Mürren all the way for the spectacular views, although I agree the crowded cable car is very unpleasant. The construction was no factor, except right next to it, and it won't last forever. If I'm ever lucky enough to return to the area for 10 nights, I'd spend a few nights in Wengen for hiking on that side, and the rest in Mürren.