12 Best Things to Do in Lauterbrunnen (and the Villages Above It)
12 Best Things to Do in Lauterbrunnen (and the Villages Above It)
Lauterbrunnen packs an absurd amount into one narrow valley. Waterfalls that fall from the sky. Villages you can only reach by cable car. A revolving restaurant where they filmed James Bond. You could spend a week here and still leave with a list. Here are the 12 things worth building your days around — roughly in the order you'd want to tackle them, and if you'd rather follow a fixed plan, our four-day valley-to-summit plan sequences them for you.
1. Stand Beneath Staubbach Falls
Start with the one you can see from the train. Staubbach Falls drops 300 metres straight off the western cliff, one of the highest free-falling waterfalls in Europe — for sheer waterfall density, only the fjord country around Bergen rivals it — and it's a 10-minute walk from the station. Free.
From April to November, a tunnel path climbs up and behind the cascade, so you end up standing inside the spray looking out through falling water. Allow 30 to 45 minutes and expect to get lightly soaked. Bring a shell and put your phone somewhere dry.
2. Go Inside the Mountain at Trümmelbach Falls
Here's the one that surprises people. Trümmelbach isn't a single drop you photograph from a bench — it's ten glacier-fed waterfalls thundering inside the mountain, carved into the rock and reached by a cliff lift and a network of gallery walkways.
It's about 3 km up the valley (PostBus 141 from the station), CHF 14 (~$16) to enter, open April to November, 9AM to 5PM. The walkways are permanently wet, so wear grippy shoes and leave the sandals at the hotel. Allow an hour. It's louder and stranger than you expect, in the best way.
3. Ride Up to Car-Free Mürren
Take the cable car to Grütschalp, then the panoramic BLM mountain train along the cliff edge to Mürren — about CHF 12 (~$13) one way, covered by most rail passes. Mürren has no cars. None. Just cowbells, chalets, and a front-row view of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau across the valley.
Wander the lanes, grab lunch at Restaurant Stägerstübli (älplermagronen with apple sauce, ~CHF 24 / ~$27), and photograph the big three from the rail platform at golden hour. It's the single most photogenic village up here, and that's a competitive field.
4. Reach the Top of Europe at Jungfraujoch
The headline act. Jungfraujoch is the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 metres, reached by cog railway to Kleine Scheidegg and then the Jungfraubahn tunnelling straight through the Eiger. Up top you get an Ice Palace carved into the glacier, the 3,571-metre Sphinx observatory, and the Aletsch Glacier — Europe's longest — stretching away below.
It's a full day and about CHF 210 (~$235) return, though a Jungfrau or Swiss Travel Pass discounts it. Go early, dress warm even in July (it's near freezing up there), and only commit if the webcams are clear. This is not a view you want to buy in cloud.
5. Walk the Männlichen Panorama Trail
If you do one hike, do this one — though our full Lauterbrunnen hiking guide maps a dozen more once you're hooked. From car-free Wengen, ride the cable car up to the Männlichen ridge, then walk the near-level 1.5-hour Panorama Trail to Kleine Scheidegg. The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau sit in front of you the entire way, and the path barely climbs.
It's free — you pay only for the lifts — and snow-free from June to October. Sturdy shoes and a wind layer, and you're set. For scenery-per-effort, nothing in the valley touches it.
6. Do the Birg Thrill Walk on the Way to Schilthorn
The Schilthorn cable car climbs from Stechelberg to Piz Gloria, the 2,970-metre revolving restaurant where they filmed On Her Majesty's Secret Service (~CHF 108 / ~$120 return). The rotating floor and the James Bond World exhibit are fun. But the real thrill is one stop down.
At the Birg mid-station, a cliff-hugging steel walkway with a glass floor and a tunnel crawl hangs you out over the drop — included free with your ticket. Honestly? Skip lingering too long at the summit and spend your energy on the Thrill Walk instead. It's the bigger adrenaline hit.
7. Escape the Crowds in Gimmelwald
Fewer than 130 people live in Gimmelwald, and it's the antidote to a busy summit day. This tiny car-free hamlet is all wooden barns and honesty-shop fridges where you take a wedge of local cheese and leave your coins in a tin.
Get there by bus 141 to Stechelberg and the short cable car hop up, or walk the 45-minute cliff path down from Mürren. Have a beer at the legendary Mountain Hostel bar, buy some Alpkäse, and enjoy the fact that almost nobody else has bothered to come.
8. Cross to Wengen for the Valley Balcony
Wengen is the other car-free village, perched across the valley on a sunny shelf below the Männlichen ridge. The Wengernalpbahn cog railway gets you there in 15 minutes for about CHF 7 (~$8) each way. It's quieter than Mürren, with balcony-like valley views and a genuine lived-in feel.
Use it as a launchpad for the Männlichen cable car and the panorama trail, or just spend a slow afternoon in its small shops and cafés watching the valley drop away beneath you.
9. Watch the Base Jumpers on the Valley Floor
Lauterbrunnen is one of the most famous base-jumping spots on Earth, and you don't have to jump to enjoy it. Walk the flat, free path along the valley floor toward Stechelberg and look up — on any decent-weather day you'll see jumpers stepping off the cliffs and parachutes blooming against the rock.
It's a gentle, meadow-lined walk past cow pastures and a dozen ribbon waterfalls. Ideal for a rest day, an evening stroll, or acclimatising legs before a bigger hike.
10. Day-Trip to Grindelwald First and Bachalpsee
Over the ridge sits Grindelwald, beneath the Eiger's monstrous north face. Take the BOB and change at Zweilütschinen (~CHF 11 / ~$12, or free with a pass), then the Firstbahn gondola to First at 2,168 metres (~CHF 32 / ~$36 return).
Up top, the free First Cliff Walk by Tissot cantilevers out over the drop, and an easy 6 km round-trip leads to Bachalpsee, a lake that mirrors the Schreckhorn and Wetterhorn on a still morning. Snow-free from late June. One of the best day hikes in the whole region.
11. Cruise Turquoise Lake Brienz from Interlaken
When you want a break from altitude, drop down to Interlaken (20 minutes on the BOB, ~CHF 8 / ~$9 or free with a pass) and take a BLS steamer across Lake Brienz. The water is an almost unreal glacier-fed turquoise, and the boat glides past Iseltwald and the Giessbach Falls — if that shade of Alpine lake is your thing, Annecy across the French border does turquoise just as vividly.
Cruises are covered by the Berner Oberland Pass. Pair it with the Harder Kulm funicular (CHF 38 / ~$42 return) for a two-lakes view from the cliff-edge bridge, and you've got a full, restful day at lake level.
12. Try a Tandem Paraglide Over the Valley
For the big splurge, launch off the cliff and float down over Staubbach Falls. Airtime and Skyline Paragliding run tandem flights for around CHF 180 (~$200), and the view of the waterfall-lined trench from the air is like nothing you get on foot.
Book a day ahead and check the wind forecast — flights only run in the right conditions. The Airtime Café in the village doubles as the booking desk, and it's a good spot for a CHF 5 coffee and a slice of cake while you wait for your slot.
Pro Tip
Two moves save you the most money and hassle. First, buy a rail pass before you arrive — a Berner Oberland Pass or Jungfrau Travel Pass covers most of the cog railways and cable cars and cuts fares by 25 to 50 percent. Doing this valley on single tickets is how budgets die.
Second, skip driving up to the villages — Mürren, Wengen and Gimmelwald are all car-free anyway. Park in the big Lauterbrunnen station garage (~CHF 15 / ~$17 a day) and take the train. And use the SBB Mobile app for live departure times: Swiss trains run to the minute, and a two-minute connection at Interlaken Ost is completely normal, so know your platform before you step off. Do the Coop grocery run on Saturday, because Sunday everything closes — plan around it and the valley runs like the clockwork it's famous for.
