Where to stay in Murren

I stayed at the Hotel Edelweiss Superior in Murren this past June and loved it.

It’s an easy flat walk from the train station. The views over Lauterbrunnen were spectacular. This is one place where I recommend paying extra for a room with a view.

Wengen, on the other side of the valley, is a little easier to get to. And the easiest would be staying down in Lauterbrunnen.

Lauterbrunnen to Mürren 21 min. CHF 11.80

If this feels expensive for a cable car plus a train ride, then you might be shocked at the price of a cup of coffee :-)

Remember that you can’t compare it with no time at all, if you want to hike ( hubby) or look at the amazing views, you will want to travel around the area at least a little bit, no matter where your home base is.

Thanks for the info. We have been warned about the cost of travel in Switzerland. My intent was to try to understand if it is beneficial to stay at a lower elevation and take a day trip up to higher elevation or stay up there since we will not be doing a lot of hiking. In our younger years we hiked through Austria, but my knees and conditioning are not up to that after living at sea level for almost 3 decades. Trying to be practical in the 5-6 days we have to explore.

It would help if you shared some of the things you will be doing/places you will be going. The wonder of Switzerland is that even those who are not hiking can get up close with the mountains due to the amazing transport system. If I was not hiking, then I would still want to be up there to enjoy the views.

Sleeping and waking up in the Alps is priceless. Please consider staying in Murren or Wengen- no one ever regrets it and no one is ever ready to leave. You don't have to hike to enjoy the beauty, you can do so by simply sitting on your balcony. Enjoy!

I have been 4 times since May 2019 after just staying one day the first time in July 2017 to see if It was worth it. I stayed in Lauterbrunnen the first trip after exploring Luzern. If you don't think you'll ever have opportunity to return stay in Murren at that Hotel Edelweiss. To get the bang for your buck be sure to get out as early as possible like the local senior citizens do. Otherwise the area is not as enjoyable after 10 when the crowds arrive.
FYI:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/switzerland/mass-tourism-in-the-berner-oberland

We loved Hotel Edelweiss in Murren in July 2023. Eating on the terrace is fantastic. Friendly staff.

Have a look at Chalet Fontana in Murren (http://www.ferntree.ch/chalet/fontana_summer.htm). We loved it there, particularly for the views.

Hope you know about passes that can save you a little money so that “commute” to Mürren won’t be a concern. This one https://www.berneroberlandpass.ch/ is for general the area you are visiting and this one https://www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/jungfrau-travel-pass/ is more specific to the immediate area.

The cablecar ride and train on the way up to Mürren are very scenic and a perfect example of “the journey is the destination”. We have not encountered long waits for the cablecar on our last 2 visits, but we were there in September. At the height of summer it is more crowded, but in early June it should still be OK.

If you choose to stay in Mürren, which I recommend, you could spend a delightful day that would serve both of you well by doing this:

Ride the Allmendhubel funicular from the town up to the top of the hill. There is a nice restaurant with a terrace where you could enjoy lunch. Maybe walk the easy and level trail through the alpine botanical garden. Then your husband can enjoy a nice hike back to Mürren on the spectacular North Face Trail, and you can ride the funicular back down to town when you have had your fill of the scenery.

Second the recommendation about the Allmendhubel funicular. One of our Murren highlights! We stayed at Hotel Alpenblick in Murren and it was perfection.

Don't think you can find a more desirable place than the Hotel Edelweiss in Murren - just returned from 6 nites skiing. Recommend one of the "new" wing rooms. We were also there in early August, truly 5* beauty and not to be missed. Murren also from the top of the Allmendhubel funicular the North Face trail is downhill to Murren and not particularly challenging (we are in our 70's) Also recommend the (short) walk downhill to Gimmelwald and the Lauterbrunnen Valley walk - starting at Stechelberg so that it is downhill.

The combination of cable car and cute little train to Murren takes about 30 minutes from Lauterbrunnen and is an attraction itself.

The fares for these are included in the Swiss Pass. At certain times of day the cable car can be crowded as tours come and go.

My intent was to try to understand if it is beneficial to stay at a lower elevation and take a day trip up to higher elevation or stay up there since we will not be doing a lot of hiking. In our younger years we hiked through Austria, but my knees and conditioning are not up to that after living at sea level for almost 3 decades. Trying to be practical in the 5-6 days we have to explore.

Regarding altitude effects: in my younger backpacking days when I carried my "room" on my back into the California Sierras, the usual advice was "hike high but sleep low", ie sleep at a lower elevation if possible so it was easier to get to and stay asleep (and avoid headaches induced by higher elevations for some). That was useful for trips where the trails were mostly above 10,000 feet, but even at lower elevations, if you are unused to the altitude, it may take a few days for you to acclimate. I also live at sea level, and if I know I will be spending time in the backcountry (many trailheads I frequent are above 8000 feet, some much higher than that), I add a couple of days at a higher altitude before hitting the really high stuff. The ideal would be to spend a few days in locations lower in altitude than Murren, which is at around 5400 feet, but a lot will depend on your sensitivity to altitude. Taking it slow at higher elevations is never a bad idea, but since your husband is an avid hiker, he probably knows all this already! :-)

FWIW, we began with a booking in Lauterbrunnen, but after reading the countless posts about the joys of Murren and Wengen, I realized I would regret not having stayed in one of the towns, so we switched (to the Hotel Edelweiss Superior in Murren). We also dropped another destination from our itinerary so we could spend a week in Murren, and based on the feedback on this thread and elsewhere on the RS Switzerland forum, I doubt very much if I will regret that decision. I can already see myself sipping a morning coffee and gazing at the headwall across the valley that the hotel faces-after that, I might start looking at real estate ads!

The views from Murren are spectacular and, in my estimation, unmatched by any other location.
After visiting Murren for the first time way back when, a few years later while traveling with a Eurail Pass in Germany, I spontaneously decided to go south and visit Murren for a single day.
It is that spectacular.

Thanks you all for the very helpful thoughts and suggestions. Keep the ideas coming since this is our first time in Switzerland. We will spend 3 nights in Murren. We have from Sunday am to Tuesday am before we fly out of Zurich back to the US. Ideas on what we shouldn't miss in our remaining time? We thought of going from Murren to Lake Lucern Sunday through Monday am and then on to Zurich old city prior to catching our flight. Thank you again your input is very valuable.

Good call on staying in Murren. I second (third?) the recommendation to take the funicular up to Allmendhubel, especially if the weather is nice. It's a beautiful area and there are some shorter trails and a restaurant up there. I'd recommend checking out Lucerne before you fly out of Zurich. It's very easy to get from Lucerne to Zurich, though if you have an early morning flight you may want to stay our last night in Zurich. We had a 7am flight so we opted to do this.

Lucerne for the remaining two nights you have is a good idea. The 2.5-hour train ride from Interlaaken to Lucerne over the Brunig Pass is another spectacular train ride. . From Lucerne, take a day to ascend Mt. Rigi or Mt. Pilatus by train or cable car. For a panoramic view of the Alps. The Mt. Pilatus cogwheel train’s route is the steepest in the world for an added adventure.
There are hourly trains that go directly from Lucerne to Zurich’s airport in one hour which means you really can safely stay in Lucerne the night before your return flight. The first train leaves Lucerne Hbf for Zurich Flughafen at 5:35 am with a couple earlier ones which have a transfer in downtown Zurich.

Add one of those extra days to Murren? No one is ever ready to leave the BO. Enjoy!