Highlights
* Jungfraujoch – snow and ice are guaranteed on the «Top of Europe» at 3454 m, the ultimate excursion destination in the Bernese Oberland.
* Eiger north face – one of the most spectacular and difficult faces to climb in the world; successfully climbed for the first time in 1938.

* Eiger Trail – mountain tour imparting an ‘Alpinist’ feel: starting from the Eiger glacier station, the route sticks closely to the rock along the foot of the Eiger north face and leads down to Alpiglen.
* Gletscherschlucht (Glacier Gorge) – at the village end of Grindelwald lies the wildly romantic, thunderous glacier gorge with its glacial mills and striations as well as the pink and green marble blocks, through which a path leads over man-made footbridges and through rock galleries and tunnels.
* First (2168 m) – over 100 km of hiking trails as well as 50 km of ski pistes and a toboggan run can be found on the south-facing, not overly steep First slope.
* Männlichen (2229 m) – gentle walking and winter sports terrain with a link to the nearby Kleine Scheidegg and with the perfect panorama across the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
* Pfingstegg – at 1391m is the lookout post of Grindelwald and offers a unique vista across the valley floor.

Top Events

* World Snow Festival – during the course of a week, Swiss and international teams of artists hew and construct figures and sculptures from metre-high snow blocks that have been provided (January).
* “Velogemel” World Championship – every year a world championship on snow bikes takes place in Grindelwald, a speciality to Grindelwald (February).
* Snowpenair – Snow Openair, always held at the end of the winter season on the Kleine Scheidegg (March).
* Landart Festival – short-lived works of art are placed on the landscape using natural, local materials (June).
* Spring Mountain Festival – held annually on the Männlichen near Berghaus, with dances in traditional costumes, folk music and flag throwers (June/July).

How to get there
Public Transport: Direct trains run daily from numerous European cities to Interlaken. From here, direct connections take you in 35 minutes to Grindelwald. Daily train connections from neighboring countries to Interlaken.
By car: National roads (Autobahnen) lead from Basel, Geneva or Zürich via Bern to Spiez. From here, well constructed national and cantonal roads lead via Interlaken to Grindelwald.
Other/Air: The international airports Zürich-Kloten, Geneva-Cointrin and Basel Mulhouse have direct train connections to Interlaken – Grindelwald. Bern-Belp Airport is connected to the rail system via airport taxis.

Thanks to its magnificent vista and the glacier which once reached right into the basin, Grindelwald attracted its first guests – primarily the English – from the end of the 18th century onwards. The actual breakthrough of Alpinism occurred in the mid 19th century, and local mountain guides climbed the peaks of the region with English tourists. The first ascent of the Eiger, the most difficult of Alpine mountains took place in 1858 (the north face only in 1938).

Road and railway construction made Grindelwald much more accessible towards the end of the 19th century, which in turn also heralded the onset of winter tourism. The first cableway in the Alps was built here in 1908 on the Wetterhorn. And in 1912, a railway reached the Jungfraujoch via Kleine Scheidegg; today the «Top of Europe» still remains Europe’s highest railway station and a world-renowned excursion destination within permanent snow and ice.

Summer
There are 300 km of walking trails around Grindelwald. The high-altitude walk from Grindelwald-First along the Bachalpsee to the Faulhorn mountain hotel and then on to the Schynige Platte ranks among the most beautiful hikes of the region. An easy walk with fantastic views of the three, world-famous mountains of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau leads from the Männlichen up onto the Kleine Scheidegg.

Winter

The two ski regions of First and Kleine Scheidegg – Männlichen – Wengen offer 160 kilometres of pistes with around 30 lifts reaching up to an altitude of 2500 m. The Schilthorn near Mürren, also part of the Jungfrau region ski arena, even reaches 2971 metres. But the most spectacular piste of the region is without doubt the Lauberhorn piste near Wengen, popularised by the World Cup circus.

Choose from 80 kilometres of winter walking trails with views across seven four-thousand-metre peaks and majestic glaciers, as well as 60 km of toboggan runs, including, at 15 km, one of the longest toboggan runs in the Alps from the Faulhorn into the valley. Naturally Grindelwald also has many further winter sports on offer.

This does mean, however, that you’re much more likely to hear British English in the lift queues and restaurants than Swiss German, and it also means that the prices can be kept high without massive investment in the infrastructure – beware horrendous queues for the morning gondola and unmanned, unprepared drag lifts.

Having said that, the queues once you’re up are not too bad, and there’s plenty of artificial snow being pumped in the early season. And the views of the Wetterhorn and Eiger in the afternoon sun are quite special.

First is a wonderful place to go hiking in Summer. You can choose different kinds of hiking routes. The most easy one is from First to Bachalpsee. It takes about 45 minutes one way and you can see the perfect invert image of Jungfrau from Bachalpsee.

Getting there

By train, Grindelwald is reached in around half an hour from Interlaken Ost, and then from the station you’ll have either a walk or a shuttle bus to the lifts. The “Snow and Rail” tickets from the SBB include, as always, return train travel and a day’s lift pass.

From Zurich by train, you need to change in Bern and Interlaken, with a total time of around 2h50m, plus a walk or a shuttle bus to the lifts, making it a bit far (and pricey) for a day trip.
By car from Zurich, it’s a long but scenic run through Luzern and over the Brünig pass to Interlaken, and then up the Grindelwald valley, taking around 2 hours. Parking is a bit problematic in the centre of Grindelwald, you might have to use the park-and-ride car parks outside the centre.

At 3454 m a.s.l., the Jungfraujoch is arguably the highest train station in all of Europe. Snow and ice are guaranteed but so is a good time: The Sphinx Terrace with its fantastic view onto the Aletsch Glacier, the Ice Palace and the Walking Plateau for walks in eternal snow are attractions that are open year round.

Kleine Scheidegg – Eiger North Face

At the foot of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains with a top-tier view of the Eiger North Face, the Kleine Scheidegg is a meeting point for mountain climbers and hikers from everywhere in the world.

Schynige Platte – Paradise of Nature

The Schynige Platte is a classic among alpine excursions. With its nostalgic cogwheel train, interesting and well-groomed hiking trails and a botanical Alpine garden, it offers something for everybody.

Grindelwald – First

A brief 20-minute aerial cable-car brings passengers from Grindelwald to the First.

From here, you can admire the alpine peaks and set out on hikes on the 100 km long trail network.

Schilthorn – Piz Gloria

There is no better place to fully appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the Swiss Alps than from the summit of the 3000 m high Schilthorn, which you reach in 20 minutes by cable car from Mürren. Just imagine yourself comfortably installed in our revolving restaurant, and enjoy more than 200 mountain peaks slowly passing in front of your window.

Swiss Pass, Swiss Flexi Pass and Swiss Youth Pass holders: ride free till Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren. From there, enjoy a 50% discount to the Kleine Scheidegg, the Schynige Platte, the Schilthorn and to the First. On the route between Kleine Scheidegg and Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe you get a 25% discount. Swiss Card holders: enjoy a 50% discount on all the routes of the railways and cable cars of the Jungfrau region. No seat reservations possible for individual passengers.

Routes:
Interlaken East – Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald – Kleine Scheidegg – Jungfraujoch
Wilderswil – Schynige Platte
Grindelwald – First
Lauterbrunnen – Mürren – Schilthorn