The Lauterbrunnen Valley began to welcome visitors towards the end of the 18th century. Now millions of tourists come to this popular Swiss destination every year to enjoy the mountain scenery, pushing prices sky high. But it is still possible to find solitude here, as well as visit on a budget.
Bus timetable
A single road runs through the Lauterbrunnen Valley, as well as a well-made hiking and cycling track. Along the road runs the #141 bus, with two departures every hour between 05:06 and 22:53 and the journey between Lauterbrunnen and Stechleberg takes 20 minutes. This bus is run by PostBus and stops at:
- Lauterbrunnen Bahnhof
- Lauterbrunnen Dorf
- Lauterbrunnen Kirche
- Lauterbrunnen Ey
- Schützenbach;
- Heliport
- Trümmelbachfälle
- Sandbach
- Stegmatte
- Schilthornbahn
- Stechelberg Post
- Stechelberg Hotel
Isenfluh
At the entrance to the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Isenfluh’s (pronounced “EESen-floo”) main attraction (besides the pretty village itself) is the 1970’s red cable car running every five minutes up to Sulwald hamlet. Here is a restaurant (Sulwald Stübli) and a number of hiking opportunities.
Wengen
Wengen (pronounced “veng-gn”) is typical Alpine village of wooden chalets, colourful flowers and cute restaurants. It’s a car-free resort popular for winter sports as well as hiking in warmer months. To get here there’s a direct train from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald.
Männlichen
From Wengen you can take a cable car to the top of Männlichen mountain. Here, at 2,343m, is a selection of hikes, perhaps the best of which is the 4.5km trail to Kleine Scheidegg from where you can either take the Jungfrau Railway up to Jungfraujoch, or the Wengernalp Railway down to Grindelwald.
Grütschalp Cable Car
A short walk from Lauterbrunnen train station, the Grütschalp cable car whisks passengers on a 4-minute ride up to Grütschalp train station, which is at 1,487m altitude. From Grütschalp two to four trains run per hour to Mürren, a 12 minute extremely scenic journey.
Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen Village is the valley’s centre of activity. It’s connected by train to Interlaken, Grindelwald and Kleine Scheidegg, and via cable car and train to Mürren. In peak seasons it’s hard to see the streets for people, but your attention will no doubt be drawn upwards to pretty chalet balconies and those ever-present mountains. From the centre of town there’s a steep walk up to and behind Staubach waterfall (free) from where you get a great view of the valley. Restaurant Weidstübli is a great place to try a Berner Oberländer fondue (CHF23) or raclette (CHF21).
Helicopter tours
This is the source of the constant, annoying noise that fills Lauterbrunnen Valley. Just outside of Lauterbrunnen Valley is a field filled with helicopters. Yes, the tours may be spectacular, but they’re expensive, polluting and a massive nuisance. If that’s OK with you then I’ve included a link to book below. From CHF190 per person for a 13-15 minute flight.
Kleine Scheidegg
Moving down the valley, or rather upwards, Kleine Scheidegg is a busy mountain pass where trains from Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and Jungfraujoch meet. I recommend not hopping from one train to another, but instead spending at least a little time here to enjoy the views and maybe embarking along one of the trails.
Trümmelbach Falls
Inside the mountain tumble ten waterfalls creating a mist and loud roar. As you travel up through the cave system you’ll catch glimpses of the subterranean falls and no doubt marvel at their terrifying power. It costs CHF14 to enter, included in the price is the elevator ride up the inside of the mountain. Note that, while the path through the caves is wide and even, there are a lot of steps to navigate. The #141 bus stops here, or it’s a 2.8km walk from Lauterbrunnen.
Mürrenbachfalls
Dropping from a height of 417 metres, Mürrenbachfalls are perhaps the Lauterbrunnen Valley’s most dramatic. Anyone can see them for free; they’re just a short walk from the Schilthornbahn, or about 4.7km walk from Lauterbrunnen.
Schilthornbahn
The beginning of quite possibly the most dramatic journey you’ll ever take, from Schilthornbahn cable cars rise up the mountain between 07:25 and 16:25. This is just one of a series of cable cars that can take you all the way to the top of Schilthorn. Here’s the route:
- Schilthornbahn
- Gimmelwald
- Mürren
- Birg
- Schilthorn
You’ll need to change cable cars at each stop but, this being Switzerland, the changes are smooth and easy, with the total journey from valley floor to mountain top taking just 32 spectacular minutes
Mürren
Ah Mürren. Gorgeous, car-free Mürren. From this busy village, 1,638m high in the mountains, you can look out across the Lauterbrunnen Valley to the Jungfrau (4,158m), Monch (4,110m) and Eiger (3,967m). There’s a wide choice of hotels and restaurants, a wealth of hiking trails for all levels of ability, and a train station linking the village to Lauterbrunnen and the rest of Switzerland. I visited Mürren on honeymoon, that’s how much I like this place.
Piz Gloria
OK, this is my favourite place in the whole world. Piz Gloria is a fairly large complex which has been built on top of Schilthorn mountain, 2,970m high. The highlight of Piz Gloria is the revolving restaurant, made famous by the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It’s not cheap to get here, it’s not cheap to eat here, but you will have an experience you will not forget. After all, where else can you sit on top of a mountain, eating a meal while being gently spun around among countless snowy peaks? There’s also a large terrace from which to enjoy the views.
Jungfraujoch
Next in the showcase of frankly astonishing Swiss engineering is Jungfraujoch, a train station, restaurants, observatory, shop etc. built in the saddle between the Jungfrau and Monch mountains. Jungfraujoch train station is, at 3,454m, the highest in Europe. The train journey from Kleine Schiedeg takes 35 minutes, travelling through the mountains and behind the infamous north face of the Eiger. The Sphinx Observatory is one of the world’s highest and there are awesome views from the Sphinx terrace. Enjoy a walk around the subterranean Ice Palace, or a walk along the snow to Mönchsjochhütte. Throughout the year there are a number of winter sports to enjoy.
Stechelberg
Far from the madd(en)ing crowds of Lauterbrunnen, Stechelberg is at the far end of the valley. It’s a small hamlet with hotel, restaurants and camping. Most tourists have been tempted away by the valley’s other attractions before they get to Stechelberg, leaving you to enjoy the scenery in relative peace. It’s a 5.7km walk along that lovely car-free track from Lauterbrunnen and you can walk towards the Breithorn range, to Staldenbachfall, or all the way to Gimmelwald and Mürren – a most enjoyable if challenging hike of 8km with a total ascent of 1,190m.
Gimmelwald
To get to Gimmelwald you either have to walk from Mürren or Stechelberg, or take a cable car. If you don’t suffer from vertigo then the Mürren via ferrata is another option. It’s a small village that has a wonderful feeling of remoteness, although it is possible to find accommodation and places to eat here. Like many villages in the area it’s inhabited by the Walsers, who began to migrate from the Swiss canton of Valais around the year 1300.
Getting to Lauterbrunnen
Visit the Lauterbrunnen Valley as part of this free 10-day itinerary
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Lauterbrunnen is connected with the rest of Europe via Interlaken. It takes around 10h21m from London to Interlaken with 4 changes, 6h36m from Paris with 3 changes, and 6h56m from Munich with 1 change.
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International coaches travel to Bern, from where it’s no more than a 1h29m train to Lauterbrunnen.
A Plan To Go 