Bern & Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland Recommendations
We recently got back from an amazing two weeks in the Swiss Alps and Italian Dolomites. I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for recommendations while we were planning this trip, so I thought I’d share mine.
We spent about a week in Switzerland, flying into Zurich and taking the train to Bern, Lauterbrunnen, and Zermatt before heading to Italy.
Bern
We arrived at the Zurich Airport in the evening, grabbed our bags and hopped right on the train to Bern. We got into Bern and walked through Old Town Bern to our home for the night, Hotel Kreuz Bern. This hotel was a good choice for the quick stay - great location in Old Town Bern, good breakfast, and luggage lockers so we could wander the city a bit before our train. The rooms were on the small side, but it was fine for just one night.
After the hotel breakfast, we stowed our luggage and wandered through Bern’s Old Town, heading toward the River Aare. I was hoping to go for a swim while we were in Bern (the Aare is the river where people swim commute to work!), but the weather didn’t work out for that. We watched the bears in the Barengraben and walked along the river. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in an old train depot that had been converted into a brewery - Altes Tramdepot Bern. We had a beer sampler - my favorite was their Helles. We also split a pretzel sandwich and spaetzle. I highly recommend the spaetzle. Or really, pretty much any spaetzle in Switzerland. We headed back to Old Town to hop on the train to Lauterbrunnen.
Lauterbrunnen
Lauterbrunnen is known for the 72 waterfalls cascading down the valley walls - it was the inspiration for Rivendell in The Lord of the Rings! We arrived at the Lauterbrunnen train station, stopped by Coop for some snacks, and walked over to our accommodation.
Photo by Greyson Howard
Where to Stay:
We rented a super cute condo with incredible views on Airbnb: Waterfall View Luxury Penthouse. We really liked staying here - the views were incredible, the beds were comfortable, the kitchen had everything we could want, and there is an in-unit washer and dryer. The location is a bit removed from the heart of town, but the walk was only ~10-15 minutes and there was a convenient bus stop right outside.
The view from our rental condo
We spend a lot of time (and some money) taking the train to Grindelwald to access our hikes. If I were to go back for a hiking focused trip, I think I would stay in Grindelwald instead of Lauterbrunnen. Before picking the Airbnb condo, we considered Hotel Glacier and Bergwelt Grindelwald.
Where to Hike:
Our first hiking day, we headed to Grindelwald First to do the easy hike to Lake Bachalspee and the harder, steeper hike beyond to Faulhorn Summit. We did this hike on a beautiful, sunny Sunday and it was CROWDED on the path to Lake Bachalspee. Things definitely cleared out past the lake, but it still was a lot more busy than a similarly difficult hike would be in Tahoe!
Lake Bachalspee and Faulhorn Summit Trails Stats:
7.52 miles
2,073 feet elevation gain
Alpine cows: hundreds
For our next day of hiking, the weather wasn’t quite as good, but we were determined to tackle the Eiger Trail from Eigergletscher to Alpiglen. We headed back toward Grindelwald, and took the gondola to the Eigergletscher Station. We grabbed to-go sandwiches from a cafe and headed out. We started out with some clouds, wind, and a bit of freezing rain, but the weather turned a bit better along the way, and we go some incredible views of the north face of the Eiger. This trail has very little climbing, but a LOT of downhill. If you have trekking poles, I’d highly recommend bringing them. The trail has great views of the valley below, and you pass a couple of waterfalls and cascades along the way. The trail ends at the Alpiglen Station where you can take the train back to Grindelwald.
Eiger Trail Stats:
4.27 miles
423 feet elevation gain
2,500 feet elevation loss
Where to Eat:
Everyone knows that Switzerland is a pricy destination, but you can save money by grabbing groceries, snacks, and premade food at Coop, the awesome local grocery chain. After hiking to Lake Balschapee and Faulhorn Summit, we had delicious food and drinks at Berggasthaus Restaurant at Grindelwald First. I had a panache (the French-speaking Swiss version of a radler or shandy) which was a perfect beverage after a hard, hot hike. In Lauterbrunnen, we had good Aperol spritzes at the Hotel Overland Restaurant. For a quick, low key but tasty dinner, we liked the slightly dive-y Horner Pub. Finally, we had great fondue and wonderful service at Restaurant Schutzen.
Other Recommendations:
Hiking was our main focus on this trip, and I found a couple of websites that were really helpful in finding hikes. For shorter, easier hikes: Swiss Family Fun. For longer epics: Journey Era. When I’m in the western US and Canada, I rely on Trailforks for route finding, but I’ve found it’s not the best in Switzerland. I downloaded SwitzerlandMobility and Swisstopo apps to supplement the VERY well marked trails. To note, Swiss trail rankings are only graded on how technically difficult the trail is - not on exertion. So a super steep, long trail that’s wide with no exposure will be rated as easy. Be sure to look at distance and elevation gain when picking a route.
For traveling throughout Switzerland, I highly recommend the Swiss Half Fare Card, which gets you half off train rides on the Swiss Rail system, as well as on many buses and some other modes of transportation for a month. If you’re staying mainly in the Jungfrau region, the Jungfrau Travel Pass might be a better option.
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