Bernese Oberland
Wengen Ballenberg Swiss Open Air Museum Lakes Mt. Schilthorn Water Falls Via Alpina Lauterbrunnen Valley Brienzer Rothorn
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is one of the most spectacularly beautiful regions of Switzerland and offers an endless supply on things to do and experience. It should be part of every Switzerland itinerary and is well worth a visit, especially during the summer months. The combination of snow-capped mountain peaks, fresh air, jagged rocks and lush rolling green hills will quickly fascinate you. If you like hiking you will find your "Eldorado" in the Bernese Oberland. You will be rewarded with 100% pure nature.
The region of the Bernese Oberland matches with the upper part of the Aare River and includes Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. On the shores of the lakes you will find the main towns of Thun, Spiez, Interlaken, Brienz and Meiringen. Numerous side valleys include many Alpine villages with many of them being famous tourist resorts.
Take a train or cable car to one of the many vantage points from which to view the incredible surroundings. Getting around by train, postal bus and boat in the Bernese Oberland is easy. The Berner Oberland Pass will make your travels enjoyable as you will experience all of what the region has to offer in one single ticket. You can travel freely between Bern, Lucerne, Domodossola and Gstaad. And the pass is available for three, four, six, eight or ten consecutive days. Over 60 companies are included and you can take advantage of discounts and additional benefits, with lake transportation being fully covered also.
Visitors to the Bernese Oberland will also find an endless offer of rides up onto mountain peaks or other scenic sports. Cable Cars, Funiculars, Cogwheel Trains (with and without steam) are spread out through the entire region, and some are even free with the Bernese Oberland Pass. The most famous rides include Schilthorn in Mürren, Jungfrau in Grindelwald, Schynige Platte in Wilderswil and the Brienzer Rothorn in Brienz. The Rothorn is fully covered by the pass. You can also experience the LuzernInterlaken Express and the Golden Pass Express, the latter carrying an additional reservation fee.
Destinations
Interlaken
Interlaken is good place from which to explore the central region of the Bernese Oberland. This bustling small town lays between the two lakes of Thun and Brienz. It is within less than one hour of all the famouns mountain rides including the ones mentioned just above.
Lauterbrunnen, Mürren and Wengen
It’s difficult to overstate how stunning the Lauterbrunnen Valley is. Travelers will see bluffs on either side of the valley, rising 1000m sheer and doused by some 72 waterfalls. Lauterbrunnen village itself lies on the valley floor, while the slopes above host two of Switzerland’s most appealing resorts. Mürren to the west is the transfer point for a dramatic ride up the longest cable railway in the Alps to the Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn peak. And Wengen to the east is a stop on the train line up to Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfraujoch. Both are car-free, perched on narrow shelves of pasture way above the world below, and both offer some of the best hiking and skiing to be enjoyed in the Alps.
Grindelwald
A 40-minute train trip east of Interlaken you will find the skiing and hiking center of Grindelwald. This typical swiss village is situated at the northern face of the Eiger. Unlike Wengen or Muerren over the ridge, Grindelwald is accessible by car and bus, and gets much more tourist traffic than the Lauterbrunnen resorts. From Grindelwald you can take the Jungfrau Railway up to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 metres above sea level!
Gstaad, Lenk and Adelboden
The western part of Bernese Oberland is best known for the glittering ski resort town of Gstaad, and the Simmental, with Lenk and Adelboden as main destinations. Gstaad is a one-street village, a rather charming, attractively located place full of restored weathered-wood chalets. Lenk and Adelboden both offer beautiful mountain panoramas and are very popular with the Swiss. All 3 resorts offer incredible hiking experiences, and are all stages of the Via Alpina.
Towards north visitors will find Brienz and Meiringen
Thun
Thun and the surrounding area offer a unique combination of lake and mountains. Close to both the Bernese Oberland and the Capital City of Berne it is perfect for a relaxing time in a beautiful environment. Lake Thun offers excellent wind conditions for sailing and windsurfing. Divers appreciate the unique feeling that floating in crystal-clear water offers. There is also a castle in Thun and two nearby in Oberofen and Hünegg.
Spiez
Spiez is about half way between Thun and Interlaken. It is a lakeside village with an old Castle and has its own bay where guests will find the landing, the public swimming pool and a few nice restaurants. Travelers can connect with trains in all 3 directions to the Valais, towards the Lucerne and to the Capital of Berne. Connections between Spiez and Brig only take 35 minutes through the new Lötschberg Tunnel.
Brienz and Meiringen
Brienz is a charming village on Lake Brienz and famous for its wood carving traditions. Accessible by train and boat it is the starting point for the Ballenberg Open-air Museum and the Steam Train up to Mt. Rothorn. The Luzern-Interlaken Express stops in Brienz too.
Meiringen is almost at the north eastern end of the Bernese Oberland. A pretty and small town which is well located for tourism and not nearly as busy as Interlaken. The LuzernInterlaken Express stops there also, and guests will find postal buses taking off from the train station and into all directions.
Things to do in the Bernese Oberland
Ballenberg Open Air Museum
Explore Switzerland in miniature! From spring to fall, Switzerland’s only open air museum shows historic buildings from all over Switzerland, traditional crafts and farm animals, and you can discover a vibrant floral world throughout the park like settings of this special place.
Lake Cruising
Both lakes Thun and Brienz offer formidable lake cruising which is included in your Swiss Travel Passes and the Bernese Oberland Passes. A day on a boat is priceless on a sunny day, and you fill find a restaurant on board too. The historic steam boats Bluemlisalp on Lake Thun and Lötschberg on Lake Brienz are the pride of the fleet and are remnants of the Belle Epoque.
Hiking
Beautiful walks and hikes abound in the Bernese Oberland. Walk over flowering meadows, dense forests and along mountain streams with always having gorgeous mountains in your view. There are too many hikes to mention and you will find walks and hikes in all of the destinations here presented. Many times starting in the village center and always well sign posted with the yellow arrows.
Waterfalls
Waterfalls are breathtaking natural spectacles. And travelers visiting the Bernese Oberland will see many, small and large. Melting snow and glacier water makes waterfalls the most attractive in spring and the beginning of summer. The most beautiful ones are the Staubbach Falls and the Trümmelbach Falls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, the Giessbach Falls which fall into Lake Brienz and the Reichenbach Falls in Meiringen. The Trümmelbach Falls are extra spectacular as the fall inside the rock formation.
