Sarnen

Sarnen is the capital of the canton of Obwalden and sits on the shore of Lake Sarnen. Sarnen is an ideal starting point for numerous excursions by train, car or bike (including to the Bernese Oberland, Lucerne or Engelberg); a variety of sports can be practised here or in the immediate vicinity.

Understand
The town is surrounded by mountain chains and a protected bog can be found nearby. In 2018, it was home to 10,000 people, many of whom commute to Lucerne for work.

By car
The highway A8 passes by Sarnen. It can be reached from Lucerne in just under 30 minutes and from Interlaken in around one and a half hours.

By train
Tow train lines lead to :
 * The Luzern-Interlaken Express stops hourly from Lucerne (20 min) as well as Meiringen (50 min), Brienz (1 hr 10 min) and Interlaken Ost (1 hr 30 min).
 * The S5 is a slower train to Lucerne (30 min) but with two hourly connections.

By bike
The national Veloroute 4 Alpine panorama route runs through the center of Sarnen.

See

 * Sarnen is home to 10 sites that are Swiss heritage sites of national significance. These include three religious buildings; the Ossuary of St. Michael, the parish church of St. Peter and Paul, the Church of St. Martin. Two houses and a tower, the double house am Grund and Grundacher and the Hexenturm are on the list. The remainder of the list contains the Cantonal Rathaus, the musical collection of the Frauenkloster, the Landenberg armory and the State Archives of Obwalden. The entire small city of Sarnen, the hamlet of Ramersberg and the Kirchhofen area are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.