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Interlaken

Interlaken Travel Guide

Resort between Lakes Thun and Brienz, gateway to the Jungfrau for Alpine hiking.

📍 Destination Overview

Interlaken sits between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz - its name means 'between the lakes' - and is the gateway town to the Jungfrau region. From here, a cogwheel train reaches the Jungfrau, Europe's highest railway station, for cloud-level views over the Aletsch Glacier. The Harder Kulm viewpoint takes in the town and both lakes; paragliders launching from Hohematte soar above this lake-and-mountain paradise. Nearby Lauterbrunnen, the waterfall village, and Grindelwald are hiking and skiing heavens. With summer hiking and winter skiing, Interlaken is the alpine outdoors' core base.

🏔️ Region
Switzerland · Bern - resort town between two lakes
🗓️ Best Season
Jun-Sep hiking / winter skiing
🕐 Time Difference
UTC+1, -6~-7 hrs vs Beijing
💰 Currency / Language
Swiss Franc CHF / German
🕐 Recommended Duration
2-3 days - Jungfrau + hiking + lake district
🔌 Outlet / Voltage
Type J three-pin plug · 230V - Swiss-specific socket, bring an adapter

☀️ Best Time to Visit & Climate

🥾 Summer: Jun–Sep
Golden season for alpine hiking and the lake district.
Jan
❄️
3°/-3°
Feb
🌥️
5°/-3°
Mar
🌤️
10°/0°
Apr
🌷
14°/3°
May
🌸
18°/7°
Jun
🥾
22°/10°
Best
Jul
☀️
24°/12°
Best
Aug
☀️
23°/12°
Best
Sep
🍂
19°/9°
Best
Oct
🍁
14°/5°
Nov
🌥️
8°/1°
Dec
⛷️
4°/-2°

📷 Top Attractions

More Attractions →
Mystery Park
No.1 Interlaken
Mystery Park
Mystery Park is an Interlaken theme park devoted to the world's ancient enigmas, created by Swiss author Erich von Daniken of ancient-astronaut fame and opened in 2003, later continuing under the name Jungfrau Park. A series of themed pavilions tackles the pyramids, the Maya calendar, the Nazca lines and other puzzles through films, interactive displays and large-scale models, presenting bold hypotheses with theatrical flair. It is less a fairground than a playground of ideas about human civilisation. Mostly indoors, it suits rainy days and families, fills a half-day comfortably, and delights anyone partial to archaeology or the mysterious.
Theme Park
Saxeten
No.2 Interlaken
Saxeten
Saxeten is a tiny Alpine hamlet tucked into a side valley west of Interlaken, home to a few hundred people, its chalets and chapel scattered across green slopes threaded by a mountain stream. It offers Swiss countryside at its most tranquil: paths behind the village climb to pastures and woods, spring and summer carpet the hillsides with wildflowers, and in the colder months snowpeaks and seas of cloud fill the view. The valley is known for gorge canyoning and hiking, and paragliders launch from nearby ridges. Only about twenty minutes by road from Interlaken, it stays blissfully free of tourist bustle, ideal for a half-day of walking and doing nothing at all.
Old Town & Historic District
Tourist Museum
No.3 Interlaken
Tourist Museum
Housed in Interlaken, the gateway to the Jungfrau region, the Tourist Museum is one of Switzerland's oldest museums devoted to travel itself. Old posters, postcards, vintage luggage and hotel silverware trace how Alpine tourism evolved from aristocratic adventure expeditions into today's mass holiday culture over some two hundred years, with Belle Epoque travel posters as the stars of the collection. Small but dense, it is the perfect rainy-day stop and the best short introduction to why this valley became a world-famous resort.
Museum
Piz Gloria
No.4 Interlaken
Piz Gloria
Piz Gloria is the revolving restaurant crowning the Schilthorn at about 2,970 metres, made world-famous as the filming location of the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The cable car ride up via Muerren delivers a front-row panorama of the Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau on clear days. At the summit you will find the interactive Bond World exhibition and a restaurant that completes a full rotation in roughly 55 minutes, giving every table its share of the peaks. Summer hiking or winter skiing, it is one of the region's most memorable alpine experiences.
Viewpoint
Wetterhorn
No.5 Interlaken
Wetterhorn
Rising to about 3,701 metres above Grindelwald, the Wetterhorn is one of the region's most photogenic mountains. Its distinctive three-summit silhouette became an emblem of Swiss tourism posters in the nineteenth century, inspired the painter J.M.W. Turner, and its 1854 ascent is remembered as a key chapter of alpinism's golden age. Today no climbing is required: views from the village or along the First cable car line deliver its full grandeur, particularly striking at dawn and dusk, making it a classic for hikers and photographers.
National Park & Nature
Beatushohlen
No.6 Interlaken
Beatushohlen
High on the cliffs above Lake Thun, the Beatus Caves rank among Switzerland's best-known limestone caves. Legend says the hermit monk St. Beatus defeated a dragon here before settling in the grotto, a tale kept alive by the little chapel at the entrance. Inside, an illuminated walkway winds about a kilometre past underground waterfalls and fantastical stalactite formations, with roaring water and cool air throughout. Outside, cliffside paths overlook the turquoise lake. Reachable by boat or bus from Interlaken, the caves are a perfect summer escape and a family favourite.
National Park & Nature

🎯 Interlaken Experiences

Ascend the Jungfrau
A glacial palace at the Top of Europe.
Harder Kulm Overlook
Panorama of the town and both lakes.
Alpine Hiking
Trails of Grindelwald.
Paragliding
Aerial flight from Hohematte.
Lake Cruise
The blue waters of Lake Thun.
Summer (Jun-Sep) is the golden season for alpine hiking; winter (Dec-Mar) is for skiing. The Jungfrau Railway has fixed schedules and higher fares, so check ahead. Alpine weather changes fast - pack warm clothing. Switzerland is expensive.

🚌 Transport & Stays

City Transport
🚞
Jungfrau Railway
Cogwheel train to the Top of Europe
Depends on pass (reference)
🚆
Intercity Train
Via transfer at Zurich/Bern
Depends on class (reference)
🚠
Cable Car / Mountain Railway
Up to Harder Kulm and viewpoints
Depends on pass (reference)
⛴️
Lake Cruise
Lake Thun and Lake Brienz
Mostly covered by Swiss Travel Pass (reference)
Recommended Stay Areas
🚉 Interlaken town (top pick)
Between east and west stations, transport hub
🏞️ Grindelwald
Hiking base beneath the snow peaks
💧 Lauterbrunnen
Tranquility of the waterfall gorge
🏰 Spiez / lakeside
Castle town on Lake Thun
Free Consultation

Free Consultation

1-on-1 travel consultant customizes your Interlaken trip for free based on your schedule and preferences.