Overview

The Höheweg is the core of Interlaken, and the place where you'll spend most of your time when enjoying the amenities of this alpine resort town. Running through this lovely park is a promenade lined with cafés, shops and hotels. However, the main highlights are found in the scenic mountains and valleys surrounding Interlaken. A train ride up to the top of Jungfrau Mountain is a top excursion, but other shorter gondolas and funiculars can take you to panorama viewpoints.

Höheweg

Encompassing 14 hectares right in the centre of Interlaken, between the two train stations, is this wonderful park that serves as the heart and soul of the town. Here, you can find the wonderful Höheweg promenade, a pleasant walking strip flanked by hotels, cafés, shops and gardens. As you walk along this promenade, inspiring views of Jungfrau Mountain accompany you every step of the way.

Unterseen

This small village on the quiet side of the Aare River makes an excellent afternoon outing to visit the marvellous parish church built in 1280 by Berthold von Eschenbach. With its iconic Gothic tower dating to 1471, this church is one of the most photographed images in the region, and when you get there you'll understand why.

Tourism Museum of the Jungfrau region

Switzerland's first regional tourism museum highlights the evolution and development of tourism in the Bernese-Berland region of the Alps over the past 200 years. It's actually quite interesting to see what passed for tourism two centuries ago as Interlaken is one of the oldest travel destinations in Europe. A handful of photos, relics and memorabilia fill the displays.

Jungfraujoch

This sublime mountain that dominates the vista in Interlaken can be accessed by Europe's highest train, and is one excursion not to miss. It's expensive, but worth every euro. Travelling along the highest tracks in Europe, visitors get special views of the Mönch, the Jungfrau, and the Eiger Wall. The train cars are safe and comfortable and the scenery spectacular.

Eispalast and Sphinx Terraces

A bonus of taking an extraordinary train ride on the Jungfraubahn is what waits at the terminus. The Eispalast (Ice Palace) is a network of permanent ice tunnels carved from one of the slowest-moving sections of the glacier. It's a surreal environment and definitely worth a visit. Also onsite is the Sphinx Terraces observation deck. From here you can look over the saddle between the Mönch and Jungfrau peaks into Aletsch Glacier, Europe's longest.

Alpine Garden

This unique collection of more than 500 types of alpine flora is located on the Schynige Platte. You get there by taking an interesting cog-wheel train from Wilderswil up to the 1,967m plateau. Besides the beautiful gardens full of Edelweiss, there's a lovely and easy two-hour loop hike called the Panoramaweg, as well as the trailhead to Grindelwald-First, one of the finest hikes in the Alps.

Harder Kulm

The easiest alpine excursion from Interlaken is this funicular ride that departs from Interlaken East and takes passengers up to a lookout spot at 1,301m. The trip takes just 15 minutes to reach the top, but the views of Interlaken, its two lakes, and the Bernese Alps are still very impressive. There's even a good restaurant at the top.

Schloss Thun (Castle Kyburg)

Although it's now a historic museum, this former castle in the town of Thun along the shores of Lake Thun is worth a visit. Built in the 12th century, the structure is itself a fantastic piece of architecture but inside there is an impressive collection of medieval weapons, armor, tapestries, and all kinds of other period memorabilia. The town of Thun is also a wonderful place to explore.

Overview

Interlaken is an outdoor lover's paradise. Nestled in a tight Swiss alpine valley surrounded by two lakes, a river and endless mountains, there are enough outdoor activities to keep you busy all summer long. The water provides fun in the warm months, while the mountains inspire hikers and adventure sports fans all year round. You can get as hardcore or as leisurely as you like in Interlaken, and a full range of tour outfitters are waiting in town to help you plan your activities.

Lake tours

Interlaken is named for the two lakes that lie in its valley: the Thun and the Brienz. A great way to see the valley from a unique perspective is by taking one of the boat cruises that run daily from April to October, before the lakes freeze. On Lake Thun, the four-hour trip passes several historic villages, and Lake Brienz even has a steamship in its fleet.

Horseback riding

Horse lovers will be thoroughly impressed by the bridle paths that run between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. The scenery both on the ground and in the airy distance rarely fails to inspire, and the Voegeli Riding School in Unterseen will provide both the horses and the guides or even basic riding lessons.

Golf

It isn't hard to imagine the scenery that awaits golfers on the famous Interlaken-Unterseen course. From every hole there is something new to distract you from your swing, but it's worth it just to be out on one of Switzerland's true alpine golf courses. The course is only open from April to October.

Water sports

With two lakes and a river, Interlaken offers plenty of water-based activity all year round. The lakes are ideal for summer windsurfing, sailing, rowing and fishing. There are rental shops along the lakes and tour companies in town. In the winter, the lakes are popular for ice-skating.

Adventure sports

As in most European alpine resorts, there is a wide range of action adventure sports for those in need of an adrenaline boost. Outfitters in Interlaken can take you paragliding, hang gliding, bungee jumping, rock climbing, canyoneering, and rafting on the river. There are endless excursions to choose from and plenty of qualified and experienced guide companies to help arrange them.

Hiking

The Swiss Alps are one of the world's greatest places to hike. Its network of trails is legendary, and walking in the mountains is a favourite pastime of the Swiss so you can be sure of well-maintained trails and plenty of signposts. Easy walks can be found along the banks of Lake Thun or Lake Brienz, as well as the Aare River. Alpine hikes of all difficulty levels and lengths literally surround Interlaken and can be easily accessed by cable car or train.

Skiing and snowboarding

During the long winter months, Interlaken serves as the gateway to some of Switzerland's best skiing and snowboarding. There are a dozen ski resorts within striking distance of Interlaken, most of them easily reached by train. Even better, spend a few nights at a resort right on the mountain for ski-in, ski-out convenience.

Dining and shopping

Nearly every visitor to Interlaken ends up eating at their hotel since every hotel has at least one restaurant, and most of them are quite good. This is the main reason there are so few independent restaurants in Interlaken. Even so, there are a handful along the Höheweg promenade and you can always pop into any hotel and enjoy a great Swiss meal. Service charges are included in every bill so no extra tipping is needed.

The food found in Interlaken's restaurants is overwhelmingly Swiss or continental. There are a few ethnic cafés worth trying, but in general you're going to see a lot of cheese, fondue, and other classic Swiss dishes.

Cheese plays a huge role in Swiss cuisine, and the alpine regions are where most of the 100 varieties originate. Interlaken is well-supplied with the stuff, so if you enjoy unique cheeses you'll be in heaven. The speciality here in fondue is Gruyère and Vacherin cheese melted with white wine, Kirsch and garlic. It's a real treat, if somewhat fattening.

Raclette is another popular form of cheese consumption. This speciality involves heating up various cheeses in an open oven, then scraping off thin slices and serving them with bread and wine. Pork sausages of several kinds are also readily available on most menus such as beinwurst, engadinerwurst, landjäger and leberwurst.

Check out the Höheweg promenade for the best concentration of private restaurants and rustic cafés. There are also plenty of bars and pubs along the Höheweg that serve typical Swiss pub fare along with strong beers and Swiss wine.

Since Interlaken is the hub of civilisation in the remote Oberland region, there is a decent selection of shops to browse if you feel like spending some more money. Most of the shops are found along the Höheweg and tend to focus on souvenirs and sports equipment. In fact, Interlaken boasts the highest number of souvenir shops of any Swiss town.

Being a major resort destination, however, Interlaken also boasts a few good Swiss handicraft shops. Besides the Höheweg promenade, the area around the town's West train station has a cluster of decent shops. For an authentic Swiss creation, check out Heimatwerk Interlaken, an Interlaken fixture that has been in business for more than a century. It stocks only items made in Switzerland, especially in the Oberland region.

Some of the traditional items you can buy in Interlaken include Swiss embroidery, leather goods, cow bells, cuckoo clocks and woodcarvings. The Oberland region is particularly known for its woodcarving, and the nearby town of Brienz is the centre of Swiss woodcarving. Another ubiquitous item for sale is the Swiss Army knife while Swiss chocolate always makes a good buy.

There is plenty of excellent food in Interlaken, but nearly every remarkable restaurant is located in one of the hotels. Venture along the Höheweg promenade and you'll find the remaining dining options in this popular resort town. Swiss cuisine dominates most menus, but there's also some great Thai, Mexican and Indian food to be had.

Overview

Since there's no airport at Interlaken, most visitors arrive by train or car. Trains run daily from Zurich, where Switzerland's largest airport is situated, and Bern. Otherwise, rent a car and make a scenic drive yourself. Interlaken is small enough to walk everywhere but taxis are handy for getting to the more distant attractions.

Airports

There is no airport at Interlaken so if you insist on flying into the Oberland region, the nearest one is located in Bern. The Bern-Belp Airport handles a small number of direct international flights from European cities like London, Rome and Munich but there are no transatlantic or Asian services available.

Shuttle buses and taxis provide the transport from the airport, which is 10kms from the city centre, to either Bern itself or the train station, where you can catch a connecting train onwards to Interlaken. Cars can also be rented at the airport in Bern.

The other air option to get to Interlaken is to fly into Zurich's Kloten International Airport, which is much larger than the one in Bern. It is Switzerland's largest airport and the most popular gateway to the Alps so it is fairly easy to find a direct flight from nearly every region of the world.

From the airport in Zurich you can take a taxi or a direct train to the Zurich Hauptbahnhoff, the main train station in the city. From this train station you can catch a train that runs directly to Interlaken, with departures leaving several times each day. If you want to fly straight to Interlaken, Zurich is the better choice as it has more air service and trains run right from the terminal, eventually taking you to Interlaken.

Public transportation

The most common way to get to Interlaken is by train. There are two train station at either end of town: Interlaken East and Interlaken West. Nearly all the trains stop at both stations, but the westerly station is closer to the centre of town. There are several trains daily from Zurich and Bern, the two main travel hubs closest to Interlaken, as well as Geneva.

Long-distance buses run by Bus2alps also arrive regularly from major cities across Europe such as Paris, Rome, Munich and Florence. If you rent a car, the drive to Interlaken is both easy and incredibly scenic. From Bern, simply take the N6 to Spiez, then turn east in the N8, which runs to Interlaken.

Interlaken is compact enough to easily get around using your feet or a bike. If you want to get out and explore more of the surrounding area, renting a scooter, motorcycle or a small car is ideal. The regional bus system is also convenient for reaching outlying towns and villages. Interlaken's bus station is located on Areckstrasse 6.

There are taxis in Interlaken though they are only useful to help get you and your baggage from the train station to your hotel or to take you to destinations well outside of the town. The fares are fairly expensive but taxis are a convenient means of visiting some of more distant attractions.