Gimmelwald or Murren?

Murren or Wengen...and day trips to Lauterbrunnen and Gimmelwald.

I wouldn't say that Gimmelwald is "preferred". It's a smaller, more rustic and peaceful place, but Mürren is very nice too. There are very few accomodations in Gimmelwald; you will have more choices in Mürren. But if you wish to stay in Gimmelwald and dine in Mürren, it is a 20-to 30-minute walk uphill , on a paved path. Or you could ride the cablecar up.

Hi Kay,
Not an answer to your question, but just another option. We loved staying in Wengen! We stayed at The Hotel Eiger. There are quite a few options for hotels and restaurants in Wengen. Gorgeous views also!

Paul

Stay in Murren. Greater variety of accomodations and places to eat. Gimmelwald is cute, but there is very little there. When we go back, we'll stay in Murren. Would stay in Gimmelwald only as a last resort. Hope this helps.

I vote for Murren also. We absolutely loved it! We stayed at the Hotel Eiger, the rooms w/ balconies are wonderful. Murren and the Hotel Eiger were one of the highlights of our 6 wk trip to Europe last summer.

We stayed at the schoolteachers home in Gimmelwald and it was very nice.There are very few places to eat in Gimmelwald however.Muren has more places to eat and stay.We walked between the two and it is a easy walk downhill one way and up the other.

Thought I would throw in my two cents. My wife and always stay in Lauterbrunnen, in the beautiful valley beneath Gimmelwald, Wengen and Murren. All are scenic, but in Lauterbrunnen, you can park your car (or get off the train) and walk to your hotel (with luggage) easily. I'm afraid we don't simply use backpacks, but travel by car with bigger suitcases. Also, Lauterbrunnen has the advantage of being centrally located, making it equal time to any part of the area. With Gimmelwald and Murren (on the west side of the valley), you have to take your luggage up the hillside in a cable car. With Wengen (on the east side of the valley), you have to pack your stuff onto the cog train for the ride up the mountain. We like the Hotel Staubbach with a terrace view of Jungfrau and the Staubbach waterfall. (But Hotel Staubbach's view rooms are probably booked for this summer.) Best of luck to you, whichever town you choose! --Walter

I was in Murren for two nights earlier this month . . . actually snowed in which was very unusual according to everyone. Murren is a great little village but you will have to take the cable car there and walk to your hotel with luggage. I agree with Walter in his post. You might want to consider the Launterbrunnen Valley with day trips to Murren and Grimmelwald. The Valley is gorgeous. Consider your ages, health, walking ability and an altitude difference. The Hotel Jungfrau in Murren is wonderful.

If you have the money I would recommend Murren. Gimmelvald is a very quiet little get away with one resturant. If you want peace away from a lot of tourist stay in Gimmelvald and enjoy the view from the terrace while you eat breakfast at the hotel. I can't remember the hotel but its the one with the resturant. We stayed there and a local Swiss band, the Jacky's played. Dinner only with entertainment ticket. It was worth it. We Spent the afternoon hiking ate lunch in Murren and before dinner we played pool at a pub in Murren. Eat dinner at the beautiful hotel in Murren with windows overlooking the Alps. It was pricey but worth it. I liked Gimmelvald just because it is away from all the loud tourists. Enjoy the view. Prost!

I would definately stay in Murren over Gimmelwald. We will be staying in Lauterbrunnen this year. We decided to stay there after we found out the cog train up to Murren was torn out and didn't want to take out luggage on the small trains. We loved Murren and would stay there again. It is much easier to jump the train into Interlaken for groceries and dinner from Lauterbrunnen.

We loved the hotel for dinner and drinks that was where the train station emptied. It was straight across the street. We have reservations at the Hotel Staubbach.

I wrote previously saying I would recommend staying in Murren, and I recommended Hotel Eiger. Of all the towns/villages in the area, we loved Murren the most. It is well worth taking your luggage up on a cable car (very easy) and Hotel Eiger meets you at the cable car in a golf cart and takes you and your luggage to the hotel. You do not have to walk as Audrey wrote. I suspect many hotels do this for their guests.

We stayed in Murren about 10 years ago and loved it! I believe Hotel Alpina was the name of the place we stayed. Ask for a room overlooking the Alps - AWESOME!!

We too stayed in Lauterbrunnen. We stayed at the Hotel Silberhorn which is about 500 feet from the train station. Since we intended to visit both the Jungfrau and Shilthorn sites as well as Interlaken, this was attractive to us. If we went back, we would stay in Murren and relax a bit more. It's really everything you would want in a small swiss village. Several places to stay and eat. You have to Gondola up to Murren. It's a "no car" village. As for Gimmelwald, RS gets a bit carried away. It's small and beautiful but... Walter's hotel, one of his favorites, is a nice hike uphill from the gondola station. You can't tell that from the map in RS' book. Not fun with lots of luggage. You can easily walk down to Gimmelwald from Murren on a great trail. It's about 30-45 minutes to casually walk down and enjoy the view. In our opinion, Murren is the most beautiful but Lauterbrunnen is the most convenient if you are planning to visit the entire Berner Oberland.

We were in the Interlaken area for 3 days and loved it. Murren is a neat little village and we got to sit at a cafe to look down at the para gliders. View was fantastic. We had the Swiss rail pass so to/from the Murren/Wengen area fron Interlaken was no problem. Hiked all around and must say the Wengen area is very beautiful. ALL of the Berner Oberland area is just that. Weather was warm withand abundant sunshine. Matter of fact our hotel owner was a little upset with the heat. 75+ degrees and NO humidity with complete sunshine made our 8+ day trip a must do for all. Will go back someday. Don't frett about Murren vs Gimmelwald. Just do it. I would prefer Wengen though after seeing the place. It is absolutely beautiful.