40 Best Things to Do in Interlaken 2026: Ultimate Activities Guide

40 Best Things to Do in Interlaken — The Ultimate 2026 Activities Guide for Adventure Sports, Mountain Railways, Lake Excursions, and Bernese Oberland Exploration

By Travel Tourister | Updated Sep 2026

Interlaken is Switzerland’s most activity-dense destination — a small town of 5,500 permanent residents that functions as the primary gateway and service hub for the Bernese Oberland’s extraordinary landscape, simultaneously hosting Switzerland’s most concentrated adventure sports industry (paragliding, skydiving, canyon swinging, white-water rafting, and canyoning all operating from Interlaken bases), the mountain railway network that provides access to the Jungfraujoch (Europe’s highest railway station), Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Mürren, Wengen, and Schynige Platte, and two Alpine lakes (Lake Thun and Lake Brienz) whose steamer services provide the most scenic lake transport in the Bernese Oberland. The best things to do in Interlaken span completely free experiences (the Höheweg Jungfrau view at dawn, the Unterseen village walk, the Aare River path between the two lakes) through moderate investments (the Harder Kulm funicular for the two-lake panorama, Schynige Platte for the alpine botanical garden, Lake Brienz steamer to the Giessbach Falls) to the significant alpine splurges (the Jungfraujoch round trip, tandem skydiving above the Bernese Alps, the First Cliff Walk above Grindelwald).

What makes Interlaken’s activity landscape specifically compelling is the extraordinary ratio of world-class experiences to travel effort — staying in Interlaken provides simultaneous access to the Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe, 3,454m), the Lauterbrunnen Valley (Switzerland’s most dramatic waterfall valley), Grindelwald (Eiger north face at close range), and Mürren (car-free cliff village with the finest Jungfrau view from any inhabited terrain) all within 30–60 minutes by existing public transport covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. No other base in Switzerland provides this density of world-class destinations within this radius at this logistical accessibility. This guide covers the 40 best things to do in Interlaken organized by category — mountain excursions, lake activities, adventure sports, cultural experiences, and free activities — with practical details for 2026 visitors.

For complete guides, see our Best Places to Visit in Interlaken 2026, Best Restaurants in Interlaken 2026, Best Places to Visit in Switzerland 2026, and Switzerland Travel Guide 2026 guides.

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Quick Overview: 40 Best Things to Do in Interlaken

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🏔️ Mountain Excursions

1. Ride to the Jungfraujoch — The Top of Europe

Cost: CHF 145–195 full ticket; 50% Swiss Travel Pass discount on Jungfrau Railway section | Transport: BOB train Interlaken Ost → Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen → Kleine Scheidegg → Jungfraujoch | Duration: Full day | Season: Year-round | Depart: By 7:30–8 AM for Good Morning Ticket

The Jungfraujoch — Europe’s highest railway station at 3,454 meters, accessible from Interlaken Ost by the mountain railway sequence (BOB + Wengernalpbahn + Jungfrau Railway) in approximately 2 hours — is Switzerland’s single most celebrated visitor experience and the Bernese Oberland’s definitive excursion. At the summit: the Aletsch Glacier (23 kilometers, the longest in the Alps, visible from the outdoor Sphinx terrace), the Ice Palace (carved within the glacier itself), and the Sphinx Observatory platform (3,571 meters — the highest accessible public viewpoint in Europe without mountaineering). The railway ascent through the Eiger’s interior (tunnel bored through the mountain between Eigergletscher and the summit, with viewing windows cut into the north face) is as extraordinary as the summit itself.

Practical planning: The Good Morning Ticket (discounted for first departures from Kleine Scheidegg — check jungfrau.ch for current 2026 pricing and availability) saves CHF 20–30 and delivers summit arrival before the main visitor flow. Weather check (summit webcam at jungfrau.ch/en-gb/planning/webcams) the evening before is essential — a cloudy summit produces an expensive cloud experience. The Grindelwald-via-Eiger Express route (faster than Lauterbrunnen route, using the new Eiger Express gondola) or the Lauterbrunnen-Wengen route (more scenic, passing through more varied landscape) provide different ascending experiences — many visitors specifically choose the Lauterbrunnen route ascending and the Grindelwald route descending for maximum variety.

Insider tips: The brief 5-minute stop at the Eigerwand (Eiger Wall) station (inside the tunnel, where a window in the Eiger’s north face provides a downward view to Grindelwald 2,000 meters below) occurs automatically during the railway ascent — positioning near the window in the last carriage provides the clearest view from this genuinely vertiginous position.

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2. Hike the Lauterbrunnen Valley and Trümmelbach Falls

Cost: Swiss Travel Pass covers BOB to Lauterbrunnen; Trümmelbach Falls CHF 13 | Transport: BOB train Interlaken Ost → Lauterbrunnen (22 min) | Duration: Full day | Season: Year-round; best May–October | Best Time: Spring (maximum waterfall flow)

The Lauterbrunnen Valley day — arriving by BOB train, visiting the Trümmelbach Falls (the most important single stop, 10 minutes south of the village by bus or 25-minute walk), walking the valley floor toward Stechelberg (the Staubbachfall — 297 meters of free-falling water — visible overhead throughout the walk), and ascending by cable car to either Mürren (western wall) or Grütschalp for the Mürren rack railway — creates the most varied single valley day in the Bernese Oberland.

The Trümmelbach Falls specifically: ten glacial meltwater waterfalls inside the mountain, accessible by a tunnel lift system and illuminated walking paths — carrying 20,000 liters of water per second at peak flow, the noise genuinely overwhelming in the narrow lit tunnels. This is genuinely extraordinary and genuinely not preparable-for by photographs or descriptions.

Insider tips: The Trümmelbach Falls are most powerful in May–June (spring snowmelt at maximum — the difference between peak flow and late-summer minimum is visible and audible) and most accessible in June–September (the tunnel paths remain open throughout the season but winter closure applies). Arriving specifically before noon (the valley’s afternoon thunderstorm season means clear morning conditions are more reliable for the outdoor valley walk components).

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3. Take the First Cliff Walk in Grindelwald

Cost: CHF 36–42 (First gondola from Grindelwald); Swiss Travel Pass covers BOB to Grindelwald | Transport: BOB Interlaken Ost → Grindelwald (35 min) + gondola → First (25 min) | Duration: Half day | Season: May–October

The First gondola to the First station (2,168 meters, approximately 25 minutes from Grindelwald village) and the subsequent First Cliff Walk (a metal walkway bolted to the cliff face, including glass-floored sections extending over the void and the “First Flyer” zip-line option as an additional activity) provides the Bernese Oberland’s most exposure-oriented viewpoint experience accessible without full mountaineering commitment. The cliff walk’s specific character (standing on a metal platform attached to a cliff face with the Eiger north face directly across the valley and the void below visible through the glass floor sections) creates a physically and visually dramatic experience that enclosed summit viewpoints don’t replicate.

Additional First-area activities: the First Flyer zip-line (CHF 29, a 800-meter zip-line from the First Cliff Walk area to the gondola station), mountain biking (bike rental available at First, various trails descending toward Grindelwald), and the Bachalpsee hiking trail (45 minutes from First, a high-altitude lake with Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau reflection in calm conditions).

Insider tips: The Bachalpsee (the small lake above the First gondola station, 45 minutes’ walking on a marked trail) provides the Grindelwald area’s most celebrated single reflection photograph — the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio reflected in the lake surface on calm mornings creates a specifically complete mountain composition that the First Cliff Walk’s exposed viewpoint provides differently. Combining the cliff walk and the Bachalpsee lake walk in a single First station visit creates the most complete 3-hour First area experience.

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4. Explore Mürren at Dawn

Cost: Swiss Travel Pass covers BOB to Lauterbrunnen; cable car/rack railway extra CHF 15–20 | Transport: BOB → Lauterbrunnen → cable car to Grütschalp → rack railway to Mürren | Duration: Half day | Best Time: Early morning for village quiet and mountain clarity

Arriving in Mürren (1,650 meters, car-free, accessible only by the cable car-and-rack-railway sequence from Lauterbrunnen) on the first morning connections — arriving in the village before 9 AM — delivers the specific experience of a car-free cliff village before the day-visitor influx: the silence of a pedestrian-only community at altitude, the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau directly across the Lauterbrunnen Valley at eye level from the main village path, and the morning light on the snow-covered peaks in conditions of maximum clarity.

The Schilthorn cable car (continuing above Mürren to 2,970 meters, CHF 50–65 one-way from Mürren) extends the Mürren visit to a complete mountain excursion — the Piz Gloria rotating restaurant, the James Bond interactive experience, and the 360-degree panorama (including the Bernese Alps, the Valais peaks, and on exceptional days Mont Blanc and the Black Forest) constitute the Schilthorn’s specific appeal.

Insider tips: The Mürren Allmendhubel (the small funicular above the village center, ascending to a flower meadow at 1,934 meters in approximately 4 minutes, CHF 12 return) provides the most immediately accessible elevated view of the Lauterbrunnen Valley from above Mürren — the Nordwand Hike (departing from Allmendhubel, traversing the slope above Mürren toward Grütschalp with the Eiger north face directly visible across the valley throughout the walk) is the finest single hiking route accessible from the Mürren area for visitors with 2–3 hours and appropriate footwear.

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5. Ride the Schynige Platte Rack Railway

Cost: CHF 50–65 return | Transport: BOB to Wilderswil (adjacent to Interlaken Ost, 5 min) + Schynige Platte Bahn (50 min to summit) | Duration: Half day | Season: June–October

The Schynige Platte Bahn (operating since 1893, the original rolling stock maintained and operational alongside newer additions) provides one of Switzerland’s most historically atmospheric rack railway journeys — ascending from Wilderswil through progressively dramatic terrain, with the two lakes appearing below and the Jungfrau massif emerging above, to the 1,967-meter summit where the Alpine Botanical Garden (600+ mountain plant species in natural habitat, maintained by the University of Bern since 1929) and the summit restaurant terrace await. The panorama from the Schynige Platte ridge (both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz visible below, the Jungfrau-Mönch-Eiger directly across) represents the finest topographical overview of the Bernese Oberland’s double-lake geography available from any accessible viewpoint.

Insider tips: The Schynige Platte-to-First hiking trail (6 hours, high-altitude ridge walk to the First gondola station above Grindelwald — one of the Bernese Oberland’s most celebrated multi-hour ridge hikes) allows combining the Schynige Platte rack railway ascent with a Grindelwald descent via First gondola in a complete mountain traverse day. This circuit requires a full day (depart Interlaken by 8 AM, arrive First gondola by 4–5 PM) and appropriate footwear and fitness level, but represents one of the most rewarding single hiking days available from Interlaken.

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6. Hike the Männlichen Ridge Walk

Cost: Swiss Travel Pass covers BOB + Wengernalpbahn to Männlichen; gondola from Grindelwald to Männlichen CHF 35–40 | Duration: Half day | Season: June–October | Distance: 6 km (Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg)

The Männlichen Ridge Walk (6 kilometers from the Männlichen gondola station at 2,230 meters to Kleine Scheidegg at 2,061 meters, approximately 1.5–2 hours one-way) is the most consistently recommended single day hike in the Bernese Oberland — a marked, panoramic ridge path with the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau triumvirate filling the entire southern view throughout the walk, the Grindelwald valley visible below to the right and the Lauterbrunnen Valley to the left, creating a sustained panoramic exposure unavailable on any other Bernese Oberland trail of comparable accessibility and moderate difficulty level.

Insider tips: The Männlichen-to-Kleine Scheidegg direction (walking from Männlichen west to Kleine Scheidegg, then descending by Wengernalpbahn rack railway or hiking further to Wengen or Lauterbrunnen) provides a logical circuit from Interlaken: BOB to Grindelwald → Eiger Express to Männlichen → ridge walk to Kleine Scheidegg → Wengernalpbahn to Lauterbrunnen → BOB back to Interlaken. The entire circuit uses Swiss Travel Pass-covered transport with only the Eiger Express gondola requiring an additional payment.

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🏄 Adventure Sports

7. Tandem Skydive over the Bernese Alps

Cost: CHF 290–380 (tandem, from approximately 4,000 meters above Interlaken) | Operators: Multiple (Skydive Switzerland, Alpin Raft, and others operating from Interlaken Ost area) | Season: May–October | Book: Essential — 1–3 days ahead minimum

Tandem skydiving over Interlaken (freefall from 4,000 meters above the Bernese Oberland, the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau visible during the 60-second freefall, landing in the Bödeli plain with both lakes visible below during the parachute canopy phase) provides the most specifically dramatic aerial perspective on the Bernese Oberland’s mountain-and-lake geography available to non-pilots. The specific combination of the Bernese Alps’ concentrated visual drama (the three 4,000-meter peaks, the two lakes, and the compressed mountain landscape visible simultaneously from altitude) makes Interlaken-area skydiving among the most scenically extraordinary available globally rather than merely in Switzerland.

Practical considerations: The weather window (clear visibility to the Alps required — the operator assesses conditions and may reschedule if clouds obscure the mountain views that justify the experience) means booking with flexibility for rescheduling provides better probability of the full-visibility experience. Most Interlaken operators allow same-day rescheduling with 24-hour notice for weather, reducing the risk of an overcast jump.

Insider tips: The morning time slot (operators typically offer morning and afternoon jumps) provides statistically better mountain visibility than afternoon (when valley haze builds) — specifically requesting a morning slot when booking maximizes the clear-Jungfrau-during-freefall probability.

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8. Paraglide over the Bernese Oberland

Cost: CHF 170–220 (tandem paraglide with certified instructor) | Launch: Various sites above Interlaken (Beatenberg and Grindelwald primary launch points) | Landing: Bödeli plain, Interlaken | Duration: 20–40 minute flight | Season: May–October | Book: Yes, 1–2 days ahead

Tandem paragliding from the Beatenberg ridge above Interlaken (launching from approximately 1,200 meters, thermaling over the Bödeli plain, and landing near the Höheweg with the Jungfrau view available throughout) provides a specifically gentle and sustained aerial perspective on Interlaken’s landscape — the longer flight time (20–40 minutes, compared to skydiving’s 60-second freefall) and the thermal soaring character (rising on warm air columns rather than ballistic descent) creates a different relationship with the landscape than skydiving’s dramatic intensity.

The Bödeli landing zone (visible from the Höheweg promenade — watching paragliders circle above Interlaken and land on the open Höhematte meadow is itself a free spectator activity) and the experience of soaring above the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau backdrop with both lakes visible create the most complete Interlaken aerial experience at a substantially lower price point than skydiving.

Insider tips: The Interlaken paragliding operators (several are based near Interlaken West station, with pickup service from hotels) maintain a consistently high safety standard — Switzerland’s regulatory requirements for tandem paragliding instructors are among Europe’s most stringent, making operator selection primarily about price and communication style rather than safety certification.

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9. White-Water Rafting the Lütschine River

Cost: CHF 90–120 (guided rafting, including equipment and transportation) | Multiple operators | Duration: 2–3 hours on the water | Season: May–September | Book: Yes, several days ahead | Level: Suitable for beginners (Grade III–IV, operator-assessed)

The Lütschine River (flowing from the Bernese Oberland’s glaciers through the Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald valleys before joining the Aare at Interlaken) provides the Bernese Oberland’s primary white-water rafting environment — a river whose glacial meltwater character (cold, powerful in spring and early summer, and consistently flowing) and the specific canyon sections of its lower course create Grade III–IV conditions appropriate for guided beginner rafting. The rafting experience’s specific character (the Bernese Alps visible above the river canyon walls, the glacial water’s transparency allowing visibility of the river floor, and the rapid character that varies significantly with seasonal water level) makes this different from standard lowland rafting in a way that the mountain context specifically provides.

Insider tips: May and June specifically provide the most powerful water conditions (snowmelt at maximum — rapids running at their fullest, the most exhilarating conditions for experienced rafters but also the most physically demanding for beginners). July–August provides more manageable conditions as snowmelt reduces — operators assess group experience levels and match water conditions to group capabilities.

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10. Canyoning in the Saxeten Valley

Cost: CHF 110–160 (guided canyoning, full equipment provided) | Multiple operators | Duration: Half day | Season: June–September | Book: Yes | Level: Beginner-friendly routes available

Canyoning (descending water-carved gorges by swimming, rappelling, sliding, and jumping — with a certified guide and full wetsuit, helmet, and harness equipment) in the Saxeten Valley above Interlaken provides the most complete multi-element adventure activity available from Interlaken. The specific Saxeten canyon (narrow water-carved limestone gorge with pools, slides, and rappelling sections of 3–15 meters) and the Bernese Oberland’s other canyoning environments (the Chli Schliere, the Zulg, and various other guided canyon routes) collectively make Interlaken the most established canyoning center in Central Europe.

Insider tips: The beginner canyoning routes (specifically the lower sections of the Saxeten Canyon and the Chli Schliere introduction routes that operators offer as first-time experiences) are genuinely accessible without any prior outdoor experience — the wetsuit and water temperature management, the rappelling technique demonstration, and the operator’s route selection all adapt to the group’s experience level. The commitment required (getting completely wet in glacial-temperature water, jumping from ledges into pools, and rappelling in confined spaces) is the primary determining factor in suitability rather than physical fitness level.

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🚢 Lake Activities

11. Lake Thun Full Steamer Circuit

Cost: Included Swiss Travel Pass | Transport: BLS steamers from Interlaken West | Duration: 3 hours return (Interlaken–Thun–Spiez–Interlaken) | Season: May–October full fleet; year-round reduced

The Lake Thun full steamer circuit (from Interlaken West, eastward across the lake to Thun town, then stopping at various lakeside communities before returning — or specifically alighting at Spiez for the Schloss Spiez castle, then reboarding the return steamer) provides the most complete Lake Thun experience. The lake’s specific character (azure-blue, the Bernese Alps on the southern shore, lakeside castles and villages on both shores, the historic BLS steamer vessels) and the complete absence of cost for Swiss Travel Pass holders create one of Switzerland’s finest all-included excursion values.

Insider tips: The BLS Belle Époque steamer Blüemlisalp (the oldest operational BLS steamer on Lake Thun, a 1906 paddle steamer restored and operating on special excursion departures — check bls.ch for current 2026 schedule) provides the most historically atmospheric steamer experience on Lake Thun. The specific departure days and times for the Belle Époque schedule require advance checking and represent the most sought-after single Lake Thun steamer experience.

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12. Swim in Lake Brienz at Iseltwald

Cost: Free | Transport: BLS steamer or PostBus from Interlaken (30 min) | Season: June–September (water approximately 18–22°C in summer) | Best Time: Morning before visitors

Lake Brienz’s turquoise-emerald water (the specific coloration from glacial meltwater minerals — a vivid green-blue that differs markedly from Lake Thun’s deeper blue and from most Alpine lake colors) is most directly experienced by swimming in it rather than viewing it from a steamer deck. Iseltwald village (the BLS steamer stop on Lake Brienz’s southern shore, famous from Korean drama “Crash Landing on You”) provides the most accessible swimming access — the lake’s clear water (visibility of several meters), the specific turquoise color surrounding a swimmer in the water, and the mountain landscape visible above the lake surface from the swimming position create an experience that lakefront walking cannot replicate.

Insider tips: The lake’s morning character (typically still and mirror-calm before afternoon winds develop, the specific emerald color most vivid in direct morning sunlight at low angles) makes morning swimming the most photogenically and experientially complete version — arriving at Iseltwald before 9 AM provides both the best light and the minimum visitor competition for the famous jetty and the surrounding swimming area.

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13. Cycle Around Lake Brienz

Cost: CHF 20–35/day (bike rental from Interlaken); route free | Distance: 35 km circuit | Season: April–October | Best Time: Morning (calmest surface, clearest light) | Difficulty: Easy to moderate

The Lake Brienz cycling circuit (35 km complete, primarily flat with some moderate ascents on the southern shore section) provides the most physically engaging complete lake-level engagement with the Bernese Oberland’s turquoise lake. The northern shore (from Interlaken to Brienz town — 14 km, flat, on dedicated cycling infrastructure) passes through the lakeside villages of Ringgenberg and Niederried, with the lake’s turquoise character visible continuously and the Giessbach Falls visible across the lake from the northern shore at the midpoint. The return via the southern shore (Brienz to Iseltwald — 12 km, slightly more varied terrain) passes through the Iseltwald peninsula with the specific lake-color views the village is famous for.

Insider tips: The Brienz town side of the lake (the eastern end) provides access to the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum (3 km from Brienz by bus or 5 km cycling — the museum’s setting in the rolling hills above the lake creating an easy extension to a Brienz day), the Brienz Rothorn Bahn (a steam-powered rack railway ascending to 2,350 meters from Brienz town — one of Switzerland’s last operational steam-powered mountain railways, check brienz-rothorn-bahn.ch for current 2026 schedule and pricing) as optional extensions to the lake cycling circuit.

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🎭 Cultural and Relaxed Activities

14. Walk the Höheweg Promenade at Dawn and Dusk

Cost: Free | Best Time: Sunrise (alpenglow) and pre-sunset | Duration: 30–45 minutes each direction | Year-round

The Höheweg’s most rewarding visits are its earliest and latest — the dawn walk (arriving at the Höhematte meadow approximately 30 minutes before sunrise to observe the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau alpenglow, the pre-sunrise reddening of the snow-covered peaks before direct light reaches the valley) and the evening walk (the peaks catching the last warm directional light approximately 30 minutes before sunset, the color transitioning from gold through orange to the mountain’s characteristic evening shadow-and-highlight). Both events are free, require only the will to be present at specific times, and consistently exceed photographic documentation in experiential impact.

Insider tips: The Jungfrau’s specific alpenglow character (the summit’s white snow turning deep orange-red before the color fades with sun clearing the eastern horizon) is most visible from the central Höhematte section of the promenade, approximately midway between the two Interlaken stations — the open meadow’s absence of intervening buildings provides the most unobstructed low-angle view of the mountain’s upper sections where the alpenglow first appears.

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15. Visit the Touristik-Museum der Jungfrauregion

Cost: CHF 5 | Location: Obere Gasse 26, Unterseen | Hours: Tuesday–Sunday, May–October | Duration: 45 minutes

The Touristik-Museum der Jungfrauregion (Tourism Museum of the Jungfrau Region), in a historic Unterseen building, covers the history of Bernese Oberland tourism from the earliest Grand Tour travelers of the 18th century through the Victorian era’s railway-and-hotel transformation of the region to the contemporary adventure sports and mountain railway era. The collection (historical photographs, Grand Tour-era travel artifacts, early hotel registers, and the specific memorabilia of 200 years of organized tourism in one of Europe’s most visited landscapes) provides historical context for what the surrounding landscape’s transformation from isolated farming valley to global tourism destination involved across generations.

Insider tips: The museum’s historical photographs (19th-century images of the Höheweg before the grand hotels, the early Jungfrau railway construction photographs, and the Victorian-era tourist portraiture from the first mass-tourism generation) provide the most specific single historical engagement with Interlaken’s tourism heritage available at any price point in the region.

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16. Attend a Swiss Folklore Evening

Cost: CHF 30–60 (various formats, some including dinner) | Multiple operators, hotels | Season: May–September | Book: Yes

The Swiss folklore evenings operating from various Interlaken hotels and the Kursaal (a structured evening of Swiss folk music, alphorn performance, Ländler dancing, and Swiss culinary traditions — the specific combination that Swiss tourism has used to present traditional culture to international visitors since the Grand Tour era) provide a deliberately tourist-facing cultural experience that nonetheless contains genuine content of the Alpine folk tradition. The alphorn performance (the characteristic long wooden Swiss instrument, producing harmonics that carry across mountain valleys and that traditional Alpine communities used for communication across terrain) and the flag-throwing (Fahnenschwingen — a Swiss folk sport using large flags in choreographed swinging movements) represent specifically Swiss folk traditions with genuine historical roots rather than invented tourism theater.

Insider tips: The Kursaal (Casino) performances (check current 2026 schedule at the Interlaken Kursaal) and the various hotel-organized folklore evenings offer different formats — the dinner-included formats (typically CHF 55–90) provide the most complete evening while standalone performance tickets (CHF 30–40) allow attendance without the meal commitment for visitors who prefer flexibility.

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17. Explore the Grindelwald Glacier Gorge

Cost: CHF 8 (entry to the Gletscherschlucht gorge trail) | Transport: BOB train to Grindelwald (35 min) + short walk | Season: May–October | Duration: 1 hour

The Grindelwald Glacier Gorge (Gletscherschlucht — a narrow canyon carved by glacial meltwater from the former extent of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier, now largely retreated but still visible above the gorge as a remnant ice mass) provides a specifically intimate geological experience — walking through a water-carved limestone canyon with near-vertical walls 2–5 meters apart, the carved rock surfaces, spiral water-channel formations, and the sound of the meltwater stream creating a dramatically enclosed environment quite different from the open mountain panoramas that constitute most Bernese Oberland experiences.

Insider tips: The Grindelwald Glacier Gorge combined with the First gondola (a 15-minute walk from the gorge entrance to the First gondola base station) creates an efficient Grindelwald half-day — gorge walk first (morning, cooler temperature, best light in the narrow canyon), First gondola and Cliff Walk after (the gondola’s elevated views contrasting completely with the gorge’s enclosed character) — using two entirely different environmental experiences within the same half-day visit.

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18. Photography at Bachalpsee — The Eiger Reflection Lake

Cost: CHF 36–42 (First gondola from Grindelwald); Swiss Travel Pass covers BOB | Access: 45-minute marked trail from First gondola station | Season: June–October | Best Time: Early morning, calm conditions

The Bachalpsee (a high-altitude lake approximately 45 minutes’ hiking above the First gondola station at 2,168 meters, accessible on a well-marked trail) provides the Bernese Oberland’s most celebrated single landscape photograph — the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau triumvirate reflected in the lake surface on calm mornings, with the Wetterhorn completing the right-side of the composition. The lake sits at 2,265 meters in open Alpine terrain above the First station, surrounded by the high-altitude flora that peaks in July–August.

Insider tips: The Bachalpsee reflection (requiring calm wind conditions — most reliably present in the early morning before approximately 10 AM when valley thermals begin generating wind at altitude) rewards the first-gondola morning departure (arriving at First before 9 AM) with both clear mountain visibility and the calm-surface reflection that the photograph requires. Afternoon visits (when wind typically disturbs the surface and haze builds over the peaks) consistently produce less photogenic conditions regardless of equipment quality.

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🎿 Winter Activities

19. Ski the Jungfrau Ski Region

Cost: CHF 72–90/day (area lift pass); Swiss Travel Pass provides significant discounts on regional train connections | Mountains: Grindelwald-First, Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg, Mürren-Schilthorn | Season: December–April | Best Time: January–March

The Jungfrau Ski Region (connecting the three main ski areas — Grindelwald First, Männlichen-Kleine Scheidegg, and Mürren-Schilthorn) provides one of Switzerland’s most scenically extraordinary ski environments — the Eiger north face directly above the skiing on the Kleine Scheidegg slopes, the car-free village skiing of Mürren (the Schilthorn’s skiing beneath the revolving restaurant in a landscape of specific dramatic beauty), and the First area’s variety of slopes with consistent snow quality from the high-altitude terrain all combine in a ski region whose scenery exceeds most comparably-sized Swiss ski areas regardless of terrain rating.

Insider tips: The Mürren-Schilthorn ski area specifically (accessible from Interlaken via the Lauterbrunnen-Grütschalp-Mürren connection, requiring slightly more transport logistics than the Grindelwald areas) provides the finest skiing scenery available in the Jungfrau region — the Schilthorn’s high-altitude terrain (2,970 meters peak) and the specific Lauterbrunnen Valley views from the Mürren-area pistes create a skiing environment whose visual character is specific to this area and unavailable on the more easily-accessed Grindelwald slopes.

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Official Resources

• Interlaken Tourism — Official Guide — Official Interlaken tourism resource for activities, adventure sports operators, and trip planning.
• Jungfrau Railways — Official Tickets — Official Jungfraujoch, First, Männlichen, and Schynige Platte railway information and tickets.
• Outdoor Interlaken — Adventure Sports — Curated guide to Interlaken’s adventure sports operators and booking.

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About Travel Tourister Travel Tourister’s destination specialists have experienced Interlaken’s full activity range — from Jungfraujoch first-train ascents and Lauterbrunnen Trümmelbach Falls visits through First Cliff Walk mornings and Männlichen ridge walk panoramas to tandem paragliding Höheweg landings and Lake Thun Schloss Spiez steamer excursions — to deliver the most practical and honest guide to the best things to do in Interlaken for every type of 2026 visitor.