Interlaken in the Winter?!

Umm... skiing? Interlaken and the surrounding area is one of the world's premier destinations for winter sports. It's busier (and more expensive) in the winter than in the summer.

i think interlaken itself is still open and has plenty of things to do. the villages up the mountain around it tend to shut down and get very slow during the winter. i was there last may and when we hiked up to towns like murren there was virtually nothing open but it was still beautiful and worth going to. just realize if you go now or in feb. or march there is likely to be alot of snow and getting around will be tough. can u go in may??

I've been to Interlaken / Gimmelwald / Murren and stayed in each in late October / early November and also in mid-March -- -- so not 'true' winter, but got a taste.

They are beautiful beyond description that time of year. Skiing is, obviously, a big thing that time of year -- but hiking is also still good, as is snow-shoeing.

It is less active with people than the times I've been there in May and September, though still lively enough -- and with a much less touristy, more outdoorsy crowd (at least fewere American tourists -- seems like in March it was all French, Germans and Poles).

Do keep in mind that the weather gets more questionable -- so the odds of a day where the wind is high, or visibility low, enough they will close the higher gondolas.

You won't find many student types there until mid-April --- --- except the few with enough money to go skiing in Feb/Mar.

EDIT: And... almost forgot... normally I recommend staying high on the mountain, at least in Murren if not Gimmelwald --- in winter is when I do NOT recommend doing that!! If the weather turns bad you end up hanging out in your hotel / B&B --- --- if you stay at the bottom, in Interlaken, and the weather turns you could choose to take a side trip to Geneva or Basel, or at least have more activity options, waiting for better weather.

Thank you all for the advise... I will not be here in May unfortunately. But I have always wanted to go snow shoeing. So maybe I can try that out. Thank you for all of your advise. This is a great way to communicate!