Muerren

Besides the obvious hiking and going up to the Schilthorn, there's mountain biking. Another activity which is popular from Muerren is paragliding. Looks like a lot of fun for the adventurous soul.

Taking the gondolas and cog railways to various scenic overlooks, many hikes. Rick Steves describes these in detail in his book Switzerland.

I have spent a lot of time staying in Lauterbrunnen with my kids. Obviously, the hiking is great.

We went to the top of the Jungfraujoch and went sledding up there - a novelty since we are from the south. The sledding was free if you gave a deposit for the saucer-shaped sled.

We also went up the Pfindsteg lift at Grindelwald and rode the sommerrodelbahn. A big hit with kids of all ages - warn the boys to take the bremsen (brake) notices seriously as some college students were injured on the one near Neuschwantstein when they flew out of the track. Only happens to the reckless, from what I could tell. My son and I were fine.

There is a company in Interlaken that does bike tours. We have not done that.

My daughter and I enjoyed the Ballenberg Open Air Museum. We took the boat over from interlaken and the train back. It might be tame for big boys, but we liked the animals, seeing the insides of beehives, etc...

You can also see the inside waterfall in the Lauterbrunnen valley. I've never seen anything like it.

Have fun.

We've been twice, the last time with my 2 sons who were 13 and 23 at the time. We stayed in Muerren also. They're favorite activity was mountain biking from Muerren down to Lauterbrunnen. They took a few different routes, and finished by riding from Lauterbrunnen most of the way to Interlaken. (I'm too chicken - I did laundry:))

2nd favorite activity was riding the scooters which you can rent at one of the stops up to First from Grindlewald. You ride the gondola up - then the scooters down - it's a blast!

For me - my favorite hike is from Almendhubel (above Muerren) down to Gimmlewald. And, lastly as others have posted check out the Trummlebach falls in the valley - there's nothing else like it!

Trummelbach falls is a must! It is a waterfall inside the mountain and is very impressive to see. It is in the middle of the Lauterbrunnen valley and is located half-way between Lauterbrunnen itself and the gondola station up to Muerren. You can access it by car, bus, walking, or bicycle.

Otherwise, the two really big touristy things in the area are to head up the gondola all the way to the top of the Schilthorn, and to take the cogwheel trains to the top of the Jungfraujoch. If one of your boys likes trains, this will be a highlight for sure.

Otherwise, it is just hiking and enjoying the beautiful nature and towns.

Hey everyone, Thanks for the advise. I can't wait to see the Alps! We had planned on going up to the Schilthorn. Would you also go up to the Jungfraujoch or is it more of the same adventure?

If you have a clear and sunny day go to the top, if you have a foggy and rainy day go to the bottom (Trumbleback Falls).

I have done both Jungfraujoch and Schilthorn and they are similar in that they are both high mountains, but I found the experiences quite different.

Jungfraujoch is train all the way, some right through the mountain. Altitude is so high that if you exert yourself, you may feel lightheaded. You are at a glacier, you can sled, hike across the glacier to a warming hut, dogsled ride etc... I think there was also an icecave with sculptures. It seemed more crowded than Schilthorn even though it was bigger and there was more to do. It's also much more expensive. We also enjoyed passing through Kleine Scheidegg on the way up and down.

Schiltorn was cable car lifts to the rotating restaurant at the top where we had a nice meal and enjoyed the view. This is the building from the Bond movie, On her Majesty's Secret Service. We didn't try to go out and hike there, as it seemed most of it would be more like hiking down the mountain.

I will say that you probably don't want to pay for either unless the weather is good enough for views. Also, my experience in two trips to the Jungfraujoch is that the weather is clearer the earlier you can get there.

I've been to Muerren several times, and you really don't have to even plan ANY activities to have a great time in Muerren. Just the quaintness of the town, the breathtaking beauty of the Alps, the clean air and cowbells clanging are enough to make me have a blast. All of those other activities just make it even better.

We saw people paragliding. May check into it.