I'm there for 3 nights and was wondering if there is anywhere that we should seriously consider going for the day or afternoon.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Day trips from Interlaken: you are going to Lauterbrunnen Valley and the Alpine villages above it, right, either before or after your 3 days in Interlaken?
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
We stayed in Lauterbrunnen for 6 nights. Day trips to Murren, Gimmelwald, Wengen and daughter went up to PizGloria.
Definitely don't miss Murren and Wengen they are minutes away from Interlaken. You could do both villages in 1 day.
Posted by
HI
100 posts
Hi JB-We really enjoyed the train ride up the Jungfrau-not cheap but a great experience. Also, we loved visiting Trummelbach Falls and seeing that whole area. Switzerland is gorgeous, have a great time!
Posted by
OP
Charleston, SC, USA
174 posts
We are coming from Munich, and unfortunately there are no overnight trains, so we'll have to spend almost a whole day on the train.
We'd like to visit a small village and explore the mountains - we're going canyoning our 3rd day in interlaken, and on the 4th day its off to Nice.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
My advice (as well as others) is to bypass Interlaken and head straight for the alpine villages of Muerren, Gimmelwald or Wengen. You could also choose the Lauterbrunnen Valley which sits in the middle of these villages.
If you're going to Interlaken to see the Alps then by all means STAY in the Alps. Interlaken is best experienced as a transportation hub.
The car-free villages listed above are all very nice with Wengen being the most built up with hotels, restaurants, gift shops and residences. Gimmmelwald would be the least built up with more residences and just a very few pensions and restaurants but loads of character. Muerren, in my opinion, the best of all 3.
Posted by
Wilmington, DE, USA
712 posts
I agree with Tim. It you can, go stay in Murren as your base for 3 days.
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
Have you been to Ballenberg? It's one of my favourite historical outdoor museums.
A nice destination for half a day could be the castle in Oberhofen am Thunersee. It's a very pretty location and the castle is well maintained inside and out. The summer we went, they had music students from Bern in residence who were performing their instruments while visitors were strolling through the museum. It's set in a beautiful garden that's famous throughout the Alps.
We also took the funicular to go up the Niesen. Really fun as you often have hang gliders who go up with you and you can observe them on their rides. Btw the stairways next to the funicular is the longest in the world!
Posted by
Calgary
2297 posts
Oh, I just realized that there were two different JB posting ... If you never been to the Alps skip my suggestions and follow the tipps towards those small Alpine villages.
We had seen the German and Austrian Alps before going to Switzerland. AND we live in a city with view of the Rocky Mountains. So our trip to Switzerland bypassed the Swiss Alps quite on purpose and we focussed on other sites.