Guides · Interlaken
10 Best Things to Do in Interlaken
By Tomas Achmedovas · CEO and co-founder
CEO and co-founder
If you're mapping out the best things to do in Interlaken, you've picked the right basecamp. Wedged between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland, this small Swiss town of about 5,600 people punches far above its size because three of the country's most famous peaks - Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau - rise straight out of its backyard. In 2026 the town is busier than ever with high-altitude railways, lake steamers, and paragliding launches all running from a walkable core you can cross in twenty minutes.
What makes Interlaken different from other Alpine hubs is the range of what you can pull off in a single trip. In one day you can ride a cogwheel train to 3,454 metres, drop 800 metres under a tandem paraglider, then eat fondue at lake level by dinner. Distances are short, trains run to the minute, and almost every attraction on this list is reachable without a rental car.
This Interlaken travel guide covers ten attractions I'd actually send a friend to - the Jungfraujoch and Harder Kulm classics, both lakes, the mountain villages of Grindelwald and Mürren, plus a couple of oddities like the St. Beatus Caves and Trümmelbach Falls that most rushed itineraries skip. Prices, transit lines, and timing notes are current for the 2026 summer and winter seasons.
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1Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe (3,454 m)
The Jungfraujoch sits at 3,454 metres on the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau, and it's home to the highest railway station in Europe. The trip from Interlaken Ost runs via the Berner Oberland-Bahn to Grindelwald Terminal, then the Eiger Express gondola to Eigergletscher, and finally the historic Jungfrau Railway through a tunnel cut into the north face of the Eiger in 1912. Up top you get the Sphinx Observatory at 3,571 m, the Ice Palace carved into the Aletsch Glacier, and views over the largest glacier in the Alps. Expect to spend around CHF 240 for a return ticket with a Swiss Half Fare Card in 2026; without it, you're closer to CHF 480. Bring a jacket - it's often below freezing even in July. For background see Wikipedia.
2Harder Kulm - Top of Interlaken (1,322 m)
Harder Kulm is the easy win of the ten - a 10-minute funicular ride from Interlaken Ost drops you at 1,322 metres with a straight-on view of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau lined up like a postcard. The Two Lakes Bridge lookout juts out over the valley so you get Thun on your left, Brienz on your right, and the town squeezed between them. Return tickets run about CHF 38 in 2026, or roughly CHF 19 with a Half Fare Card. There's a Swiss-style restaurant at the top (the Harder Kulm Panorama Restaurant) that opens seasonally from late April to late November. If you have the legs, a marked hiking trail runs down to Unterseen in about two hours through the forest.
3Schilthorn - Piz Gloria (2,970 m)
The Schilthorn is the peak James Bond blew up in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), and Piz Gloria - the revolving restaurant at the summit - was actually built for the film. The cable car system has been fully renewed for 2026 with the new Schilthornbahn 20XX gondolas, cutting the trip from Stechelberg to the summit to under 30 minutes. From the top at 2,970 metres, on clear days you can see over 200 peaks including Mont Blanc and the Black Forest in Germany. A return ticket from Interlaken via Lauterbrunnen and Stechelberg is around CHF 108 with a Half Fare Card in 2026. The Skyline View platform and Thrill Walk built into the cliff face at Birg (halfway up) are worth stopping for on the way down.
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4Lake Thun boat cruise
Lake Thun (Thunersee) stretches 17.5 km west from Interlaken to the town of Thun and is the darker, bluer of the two lakes. BLS runs boats year-round from the Interlaken West pier, including the historic 1906 paddle steamer Blüemlisalp on select summer days. A full round-trip to Thun and back takes about four hours and costs around CHF 76 with a Half Fare Card in 2026 - Swiss Travel Pass holders ride free. Along the way you pass Oberhofen Castle (worth a stop for the moated tower jutting into the water) and Spiez Castle on its vineyard-covered peninsula. Bring a picnic and grab a seat on the sun deck; the on-board restaurant is fine but the views deserve your full attention.
5Lake Brienz cruise and Giessbach Falls
Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) is the smaller, more turquoise of the two lakes - the colour comes from glacial silt flowing in from the Aare River. The star stop is Giessbach Falls, a 14-tier cascade dropping about 500 metres down the north shore. From the boat pier, the historic Giessbach funicular (running since 1879, the oldest in Europe) climbs to the Grandhotel Giessbach where a network of trails takes you right behind the falls. Boat return to the Giessbach stop from Interlaken Ost is about CHF 44 with a Half Fare Card in 2026; the funicular adds around CHF 7. If you continue on to Brienz village at the far end, you can catch the Brienz Rothorn steam railway (May to October) up to 2,244 metres for a proper Old-World experience.
6Paragliding over Interlaken
Tandem paragliding is what Interlaken is known for outside the mountain crowd, and the reason is geography - the valley floor is flat and wide, with two lakes as a horizon and Alps on three sides. Most tandem flights launch from Beatenberg at around 1,600 metres and land on the Höhematte meadow in the middle of town. A standard flight runs 10-15 minutes in the air (25 minutes for the higher launches) and costs about CHF 210-260 in 2026 depending on the operator and altitude. Skywings, Paragliding Interlaken, and Twin Paragliding all have solid safety records. You need zero experience - your pilot handles everything, you just run five steps off the hill and enjoy the ride.
7St. Beatus Caves (St. Beatushöhlen)
The St. Beatus Caves are a limestone cave system carved into the cliffs above Lake Thun, named after a 6th-century Irish monk who legend says drove a dragon out of them to live there himself. About one kilometre of the cave is developed with lit walkways, waterfalls, and stalactite chambers - the guided path takes around 75 minutes and stays around 8°C year-round, so bring a layer. Entry in 2026 is roughly CHF 22 for adults; combined lake-boat-plus-cave tickets are available from the BLS pier. Outside the caves, a small museum covers the geology and the monk's story, and a footbridge leads out to a viewpoint over the lake. The season runs mid-March through early November.
8Höhematte meadow and Interlaken town centre
The Höhematte is a 14-hectare protected meadow in the middle of town that has been preserved unbuilt since 1864 - the story goes that 37 local citizens bought it outright to keep hotels from filling in the Jungfrau view. Today it's where paragliders land, where you'll see cows grazing 200 metres from a five-star hotel, and where the Alphorn festival happens each August. The Höheweg promenade runs along its north edge past the historic Victoria Jungfrau (built 1865) and the horse-carriage stand. Ten minutes on foot gets you to the old wooden covered bridge over the Aare in Unterseen, whose old town dates to 1279 and has some of the best-preserved timbered houses in the Bernese Oberland. It's free, always open, and the best sunset spot in the valley on a clear evening.
9Trümmelbach Falls
Trümmelbach Falls is a set of ten glacier-fed waterfalls hidden inside the mountain wall of the Lauterbrunnen valley - the water is meltwater from the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau, and it moves through the falls at roughly 20,000 litres per second in peak summer. What makes it different from a regular waterfall is that you take a funicular built inside the rock in 1913 up to the middle level, then walk through galleries and tunnels cut through the mountain to see the cascades from the inside. It's loud, misty, and the temperature drops sharply - bring a jacket even in July. Entry in 2026 is around CHF 14 for adults. The falls are open April through mid-November; they close in winter because the water freezes.
10Grindelwald and First (2,168 m)
Grindelwald sits at 1,034 metres in the shadow of the Eiger's north face, and it's the launchpad for First - a summit ridge at 2,168 metres reached by a 25-minute gondola from the village centre. Up top you have the First Cliff Walk (a metal walkway bolted onto the cliff face, free with your lift ticket), the First Flyer zipline (800 metres at up to 84 km/h, about CHF 32 extra), and the trailhead for the classic hike to Bachalpsee lake (an easy 1-hour walk each way, arguably the most photographed lake in the Alps). Return gondola from Grindelwald in 2026 is about CHF 38 with a Half Fare Card. In winter, First becomes a ski area linked with Wengen and Männlichen via the Jungfrau Ski Region pass.
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CEO and co-founder
Tomas is the co-founder and director of trip1, an European company specializing in reservation services. He launched the company in 2025 with a focus on building scalable, efficient operations.
10 Best Things to Do in Interlaken, Switzerland - FAQ
The Jungfraujoch at 3,454 metres, Harder Kulm's view of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, and a boat on Lake Thun or Lake Brienz with a stop at Giessbach Falls. Add a tandem paraglide down to the Hohematte, the Schilthorn's revolving Piz Gloria, Trummelbach Falls inside the rock near Lauterbrunnen, and the Bachalpsee walk from Grindelwald First.
On a clear day, ride to the Jungfraujoch early, since the round trip takes most of the day. To stay close instead, take the 10-minute funicular up Harder Kulm, walk the Hohematte and the old town of Unterseen, and spend the afternoon on a Lake Brienz boat to Giessbach Falls. Book paragliding for the morning, when the air is calmest.
Yes, for the highlights. Spend one day on the Jungfraujoch, ideally the clearer one, and the other on Harder Kulm, a lake cruise and the town. Four to five days lets you add the Schilthorn, Grindelwald First, Trummelbach Falls and the St. Beatus Caves. Trains run to the minute and almost every sight is reachable without a car.
Its setting between two lakes and three famous peaks. The town sits between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, with the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau rising behind it, and it is the base for the railway to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe. It is also known for tandem paragliding, with flights from Beatenberg landing on the Hohematte meadow in town.
On the Schilthorn summit, at 2,970 metres above Murren. Piz Gloria is a revolving restaurant that appeared in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969); the film crew found it partly built and helped pay to finish it. Reach it by cable car from Stechelberg via Murren, and stop at the Skyline View platform and Thrill Walk at Birg on the way down.
Yes, if the weather is clear. You stand on the saddle between the Monch and the Jungfrau, with the Sphinx Observatory, the Ice Palace and views over the Aletsch Glacier. If the summit webcam shows cloud, go to the Schilthorn or First instead. Seat reservations are mandatory until 31 October 2026, and it is often below freezing at the top, even in July.
