Interlaken: how many days you need and the best months to go

When to go, and what each month costs you

The Bernese Oberland has a mountain climate: warm summers in the valleys with showers and thunderstorms, cold, snowy winters, and changeable springs and autumns. The high paths are free of snow only from June to October, and the summits can be in cloud on any day of the year.

1. January: Worth it, butJan
2. February: Worth it, butFeb
3. March: Worth it, butMar
4. April: Worth it, butApr
5. May: Worth it, butMay
6. June: Go nowJun
7. July: Go nowJul
8. August: Go nowAug
9. September: Go nowSep
10. October: Worth it, butOct
11. November: Worth it, butNov
12. December: Worth it, butDec

• Go now
• Worth it, but
• Think twice

• June to September

  Go now

  The hiking season

  Warm days, the high paths open, the waterfalls full of snowmelt in early summer and the alpine meadows in flower. Mornings are usually clearer than afternoons, so go up early.

• December to March

  Worth it, but

  Snow and the ski season

  Snowy villages, ski slopes at Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren, and the Jungfraujoch above the clouds on clear days. Christmas and February are the peak, with the highest prices; the valley floor of Lauterbrunnen sees little sun.

• April and May

  Worth it, but

  Spring in the valleys, winter above

  Green valleys and full waterfalls, but snow still on the high paths, and some lifts closed between the ski season and the summer. A quieter time, with lower prices, if you stay in the valleys.

• October and November

  Worth it, but

  Golden autumn, then closures

  Clear, crisp days and golden larches in October, then grey weather and the lifts closed for maintenance in November. The quietest season, with many mountain hotels shut until winter.

How many days Interlaken needs

Three days give the region its due. One for the Lauterbrunnen valley: its waterfalls, the glacier falls inside the mountain at Trümmelbach, and the cable car up to Mürren and the Schilthorn. One for the Jungfraujoch, the high trip, on the clearest day of your stay. One for Grindelwald and First, or the classic walk from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg under the Eiger.

A fourth day is for the lakes or a rest: a boat on Lake Brienz to the Giessbach falls, the castles of Lake Thun, the Harder Kulm above the town at sunset, or a day for the weather to clear. In bad weather, the lake towns and the open-air museum of Swiss rural houses at Ballenberg are the alternatives.

How the region is arranged

Interlaken sits on the flat land between the two lakes, with Lake Thun to the west and Lake Brienz to the east, and two stations, West and East. South of the town, the valley splits in two: Lauterbrunnen to the right, Grindelwald to the left, both leading to the foot of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, with the rack railways meeting at Kleine Scheidegg below the Jungfraujoch.

• Interlaken — the town between the lakes, with hotels, the main stations, shops and the meadow where the paragliders land.
• The Lauterbrunnen valley — a deep glacial valley with sheer walls and waterfalls, with the villages of Wengen and Mürren on the cliffs above.
• Grindelwald — the larger mountain village in the other valley, under the north face of the Eiger, with cable cars to First and the Eiger Express.
• The Jungfraujoch — the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau, with the highest railway station in Europe and the great Aletsch glacier below.
• The lakes — Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, with boats, castles, villages and waterfalls along their shores.

Where to stay, and what each area costs you

Interlaken is the practical base, with the trains to every valley and the most hotels; the mountain villages are the memorable one, with the peaks outside the window and quiet evenings. Many visitors split the stay.

Prices are high all year and peak in summer and in the winter ski season around Christmas and February. Overnight guests receive a guest card with free local buses and discounts.

Compare these areas against your priorities

Getting there, and getting around

Interlaken is about an hour from Bern by train, two hours from Zurich and its airport, and two hours from Lucerne over the Brünig pass. Its two stations, West and East, are a short walk apart; trains into the mountains leave from the East station.

In the mountains, everything runs on rails and cables: the trains to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, the rack railways to Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg, the cable cars to Mürren, the Schilthorn and First, and the boats on both lakes. A car is useless above the valley floors.

• Compare the regional passes and the Swiss travel pass before buying single tickets: the excursions are very expensive at full fare, and the passes cover or discount most of them.
• Book the Jungfraujoch for the clearest day, and check the summit webcam on the morning you go.
• At the top, at nearly three and a half thousand metres, walk slowly and drink water: the altitude can cause headaches.
• Wengen and Mürren are car-free; leave the car at Lauterbrunnen, where parking is paid.

The peaks, the valley and the lakes

The Jungfraujoch is the classic high trip: a rack railway from Kleine Scheidegg tunnels through the Eiger and the Mönch to a station on a glacier saddle, with an ice palace, a plateau of snow and the Aletsch glacier, the longest in the Alps, flowing south. The trip from Interlaken takes around two hours each way, or less with the Eiger Express cable car from Grindelwald; give it a whole day and the clearest sky.

• Lauterbrunnen — a valley of sheer cliffs and waterfalls, the Staubbach falling nearly three hundred metres beside the village.
• Trümmelbach Falls — glacier water thundering through corkscrew gorges inside the mountain, reached by a lift in the rock; open in the warm months.
• The Schilthorn — the summit with a revolving restaurant above Mürren, reached by a chain of cable cars from the valley floor.
• First and Grindelwald — a cable car to an alpine meadow with a cliff walk and the path to the Bachalpsee lake.
• The Männlichen–Kleine Scheidegg walk — an easy, famous path under the north faces of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
• Lake Brienz and the Giessbach falls — a turquoise lake, a waterfall in tiers above an old grand hotel, reached by boat and funicular.

How eating works here

The Bernese Oberland eats mountain food: cheese from the summer pastures, potato cakes, melted cheese in a pot, and meringues with thick cream, said to have been born in a village of the region. The mountain restaurants and huts serve the classics with the view.

Lunch from noon and dinner from seven, earlier in the mountain villages. The supermarkets of Interlaken are the cheapest way to eat, and a picnic on a mountain bench is the best meal of the day.

• Service is included in prices: rounding up or a few francs is enough.
• The currency is the Swiss franc; cards are accepted almost everywhere, even in many mountain huts.
• Alpine cheese is sold at the dairies and huts, from the summer pastures.
• Book dinner in the car-free villages, where restaurants are few.

Where to eat in Interlaken, and what to order

The Oberland's table is built on cheese and cream: meringues with thick cream, the hard cheese of the summer pastures, potato cakes and melted cheese in a pot. Eat in a mountain restaurant with the view, and picnic the rest of the time.

• Meringue

  What to order

  Meringues with thick cream

  Large, crisp meringues served with thick double cream, sometimes with berries. The village of Meiringen, east of Lake Brienz, claims to have given them their name, and every café of the region serves them.

  Check it on Wikidata

• Berner Alpkäse

  What to order

  The cheese of the summer pastures

  A hard, spicy cheese made in the summer from the milk of cows grazing on the high pastures, with a protected name, aged for months and the oldest for well over a year. The oldest is shaved into thin curls, and the dairies and mountain huts sell it by the piece.

  Check it on Wikidata

• Rösti

  What to order

  The potato cake

  Grated potatoes fried in butter into a crisp golden cake, served with an egg, bacon or melted cheese. It is the classic lunch of the mountain restaurants, after a morning's walk.

  Check it on Wikidata

• Käsefondue

  What to order

  Cheese fondue in a mountain restaurant

  A pot of melted cheese with white wine, kept warm at the table, with cubes of bread to dip on long forks. It is a dish for sharing after a day outdoors, best in a mountain restaurant in the cold months.

  Check it on Wikidata

Things that change the trip

1. 1Compare the passes before buying tickets: the mountain trips are very expensive at full fare.
2. 2Keep the Jungfraujoch for the clearest day, and check the webcam that morning.
3. 3Go up early: mornings are clearer and quieter.
4. 4Sleep at least one night in Wengen or Mürren.
5. 5Pack warm clothes and sunglasses for the summits, even in summer.
6. 6Picnic from the supermarket: eating out is very expensive.