Interlaken

Interlaken is a small city in the Bernese Highlands region of central Switzerland. Located between two alpine lakes (Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) and Lake Thun (Thunersee)), Interlaken is a popular base camp for outdoor sports and travel in the surrounding Bernese Oberland Alps. Interlaken itself is a superb holiday destination.

Understand

 * Interlaken Tourism website

By train
Trains run every 30 min from Bern, taking just under an hour via Thun and Spiez to Interlaken West and Ost (east). Alternate trains start from Basel. From Zürich or Geneva change at Bern. Trains also run hourly from Lucerne or Meiringen via Brienz to Ost station.

By car
Follow Autoroute A8 (former N8) into the city center.

By bus

 * Bus2alps operates direct private buses from Florence, Rome, Paris and Munich to Interlaken. Timetables do vary but are busiest in February and March to cater for winter sport activities. Travel and accommodation packages are available and small and big groups are catered for.
 * FlorenceForFun provide transport by private bus and accommodation packages departing from Florence on Thursday evenings. Trips depart in November and early December then mid-January through to mid-March for Winter activities. Summer departure dates are in May, June and September.  Check the website for departure dates and a full itinerary.
 * mysterytours provides airport & city transfers.

Get around
Interlaken is small enough to get around on foot or bike. Taxis are available from either train station and most hotels. With the guest card from your hotel, you can travel around Interlaken for free (it also gives discounts to local tourist attractions). Buses around town and to Thun are available.

See

 * The Höheweg is Interlaken's main street which runs between Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost Railway Stations. On this street you will find many souvenir shops. Have a look at the "Japanese Garden", the 150-year old Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel, and don't miss the beautiful view of the famous snow-covered Jungfrau mountain from "Höhematte".
 * Jungfrau-Aletsch is a glaciated UNESCO World Heritage Site above Interlaken in the Bernese Alps.
 * Unterseen is a small old town near the Interlaken West train station. It's not as crowded as Interlaken and has several shops and bakeries (including an enormous Coop supermarket in which there is a large selection of groceries and chocolates). To get there, cross the bridge over the water near the train stop, walking in the direction facing away from Interlaken.

All year round

 * Shopping in Interlaken's souvenir shops.

Summer activities

 * Walks: Take a walk along the shores of the lake of Thun (Thunersee) or the lake of Brienz (Brienzersee). A nice, ca. 2h walk goes from West train station to "Neuhaus". It takes you along the Aare river and through the small but popular nature reserve Neuhaus at the lake of Thun. From Neuhaus, you can take a bus or boat back to Interlaken.
 * Hiking: There are plenty of great hikes in the Interlaken area. Popular nearby hikes include Harder mountain (mountain train 5 min. from Interlaken Ost station) and Schynige Platte (mountain train from Wilderswil). Hiking season runs roughly June through September.
 * Adventure sports: A whole bunch of adrenaline sports are offered through Interlaken guide groups including paragliding, hang gliding, bungee jumping, canyoning, river rafting, and rock climbing. Outdoor Interlaken is on the main street in Matten. Another great option is Alpin Raft Alpin is the original outdoor adventure company in Interlaken; the owner bought a raft in New Zealand in the late 1980s and was the first to bring white water rafting to Switzerland. He also brought canyoning to Interlaken after trying it in France. The canyoning experience with AlpinRaft is amazing.
 * Swimming: You can swim in the lakes of Brienz and Thun. The water in the lake of Thun is generally warmer (around 20°C in July/August). A popular swimming area with showers, changing rooms, a restaurant, etc. is in Neuhaus. A real insider-tip is the beautiful "Burgseeli" in Ringgenberg-Goldswil. Burgseeli is a nature reserve, where water temperatures can reach up to 27°C and you can swim among ducks and water lilies. The natural lido offers a non-swimmer pool, paddling pool, children´s playground, restaurant, changing rooms, showers, etc.
 * Sailing: Lake Thun is quite popular for sailing. You can rent sailboats and book classes in Neuhaus.
 * Boat Trip in Interlaken.jpg
 * Biking: Take an awesome mountain bike ride around the lake of Brienz (4 hours) and visit the Giessbach waterfalls on the way. Alternatively, visit Lauterbrunnen by bike (~2 hours one-way)and look inside the Trümmelbach-Waterfalls (Trümmelbachfälle).
 * Skydiving in Interlaken: Funrental Interlaken offers helicopter or plane jumps including 4000 metres in 40 seconds freefall jumps.

Winter activities

 * Ski/snowboard: Interlaken has good access to several skiing/snowboarding areas. The largest of them is the "Jungfrau winter sport region" which includes Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen, Grindelwald First and Mürren-Schilthorn. A day-pass costs Fr. 62/39/24 (adults/youth/children). Beatenberg-Niederhorn and Habkern are two smaller, family-friendly ski areas with easy lifts and slopes for beginners. A day-pass is Fr. 35/17 (adults/children). If you need to rent equipment that can be easily arranged at the SwissRentaSport shop.
 * Sledging: The best but also most challenging sledging is from the Faulhorn to Grindelwald. Take the first gondola cableway from Grindelwald and prepare for a beautiful but challenging, 2-2½h uphill hike to the Faulhorn. Enjoy the amazing view of the Alps from the Faulhorn peak before you sledge down to Grindelwald for 15 km (!) on the longest sledging run in Europe. Alternatively, several sledging runs are accessible by bus/train: Bussalp-Grindelwald (8 km), Eiger Run in Grindelwald (3 km), Niederhorn-Beatenberg (7 km), Suhlwald-Isenfluh and Habkern (4 km).
 * Cross-country skiing: A beautiful and sunny cross-country area is in Aeschiried near Spiez (about 1h by train/bus) where you have a great view on the lake of Thun. Good cross-country trails are also in Habkern/Lombach and Beatenberg.
 * Ice skating: An indoor ice rink is in Matten near Interlaken.
 * Swimming/Wellness: The Bödelibad in Interlaken offers an indoor pool with a 25 m swimming pool and a children's pool. There is also a very nice wellness facility with a sauna, steam bath, whirlpool and more.
 * Swimming/Wellness: The Bödelibad in Interlaken offers an indoor pool with a 25 m swimming pool and a children's pool. There is also a very nice wellness facility with a sauna, steam bath, whirlpool and more.

Buy
Interlaken has the highest concentration of souvenir shops in Switzerland.


 * Swiss Army Knives: Interlaken is a good place to buy Swiss Army Knives. One of the best shops is the "Swiss Knife Center" (Höheweg 125) as it stocks the full range of Victorinox and Wenger Swiss Army Knives. Other knife shops in Interlaken are "ALSCHER", "Bühler Chalet Shop", "Royal St Georges Gift Shop", "Gallerie Metropole". Most of the mentioned shops engrave text on the knife for free. Remember to pack Swiss army knives in your hold luggage when you travel by plane.
 * Watches: Interlaken has two main watch and jewellery shops: "Bucherer" and "Kirchhofer" which stock all the big traditional Swiss brands (Tag Heuer, Omega, IWC, Rolex). Alternatively, most souvenir shops sell some inexpensive Swiss-made watches like Swiss Military and Swatch.
 * Chocolate: You best buy Swiss chocolate at the Coop supermarket (one is just by the Ost train station; there is also a large Coop supermarket in Unterseen, a town right near the Interlaken West train station) where you have a very good choice of Lindt and Cailler chocolates, Toblerones, etc. at much lower prices than you'd pay in the souvenir shops.
 * Woodcarving: If you want to purchase a Swiss woodcarving, go to Brienz (about 30 minutes by train from Interlaken Ost), which is the centre for Swiss woodcarving. In Interlaken, woodcarvings can be found for example at the shops "Bazar Tivoli" and "Albert Schild".
 * Other souvenirs: Other items to purchase in Interlaken's souvenir shops are: Swiss music boxes, leather wallets and purses, cowbells, Swiss embroideries, cuckoo clocks, some inexpensive Swiss-made watches (like Swiss Military or Swatch), Switzerland T-shirts, sweatshirts, backpacks, etc.

Eat

 * If you're into Korean food there is an excellent, cheap and easy-going restaurant in a hot basement opposite Interlaken West train station. Star serves simple and good Korean food like hot pots and sweet dumplings. Prices are below average for Interlaken.
 * If you're into Korean food there is an excellent, cheap and easy-going restaurant in a hot basement opposite Interlaken West train station. Star serves simple and good Korean food like hot pots and sweet dumplings. Prices are below average for Interlaken.

Drink

 * Rugenbrau 'lager hell': the local beer and one of the best you'll ever taste as the water in the area is the cleanest in Europe.
 * For a small Swiss town, Interlaken has quite a lot of nightlife options, including one of Switzerland's three Hooters Bar & Restaurant. Most of these bars serve the seasonal tide of tourists, but off the main road, many more mellow local venues can be found. Try the Brasserie 17 (Rosenstr. 17) which has a nice summer terrace, good beer and snacks and sometimes live music.
 * The two best nightlife spots in town are Balmer's hostel and the Funny Farm, which are located fairly close to each other (both at Hauptstrasse, Matten). Balmers has a decent underground bar and dance club and the Funny Farm has great outdoor chill-out areas, including a bonfire. Both hostels have good happy hour specials, and you can kind of bounce back and forth between the two to get your drink for the best price.

Sleep
Reservations are a must during the busy summer season. Note that not all hotels are open all year round.

Connect
As of March 2022 for mobile devices, Interlaken has 4G from Salt, and 5G from Sunrise and Swisscom. Free Wi-Fi is available in many public places.

Cope

 * Internet Laundry, Marktgasse 45/ beside post.
 * Laundry for €2; per load,
 * Internet 15 minutes free,
 * Bicycle rental > €10/day,
 * Scooter rental > €20/day.

Go next

 * Lauterbrunnen is set in a sheer-sided valley, with cascading waterfalls that gave Tolkien the idea of Rivendell.
 * Gimmelwald is a tiny but picturesque hamlet perched above that valley.
 * Mürren is the resort above it, with skiing from the Schilthorn.
 * Wengen is the resort on the opposite side of the valley.
 * Grindelwald is the resort in the adjoining valley. Here you start the ascent towards Jungfraujoch.


 * Spiez
 * Thun
 * Brienz