Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen in September
Steve is planning a 2-week trip to Switzerland in September 2023, with 3-4 nights in the Jungfraujoch region. He wants advice on choosing a base village, considering options like Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, or Murren, and he’s looking for 4-star accommodations to explore nearby mountain villages and sights.
- Grindelwald offers many amenities but Wengen and Murren are car-free and less crowded for a peaceful experience.
- The Swiss Travel Pass is sufficient for getting around; you don’t need a Half Fare Card if you have it.
- Look for south-facing rooms in Wengen for the best views of the valley.
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Greetings All & Happy New year !
As part of our 2 week trip in September 2023, we are planning on staying in the Jungfraujoch region for about 3-4 nites. We want to explore all of the mtn villages and sites including Wengen, First, Murren, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen as well as hiking and sight seeing of the peaks, Eiger, etc.
We initially thought of staying in Grindelwald as our base as there are a lot of ammenities, restaurants, hotel choices, shopping, etc. But we are now thinking we may be better located in either Lauterbrunnen, Wengen , Murren or another village. We will be looking for 4 star + accomidations.
I would welcome thoughts & suggestions for any of these hub locations to launch & explore from !
Many Thanks,
Steve
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Anywhere in the Jungfrau region including Interlaken is just as good as anywhere else as the are is tiny in global terms so you can get to all the villages and sites from all the places. Have you tried the accomodation links on this site?
Hi Steve
Happy New Year! In Grindelwald I would recommend the cable car to the First and do the Cliff walk and hike to Bachalpsee. The gorge at Grindelwald is also worth seeing. Kleine Scheidegg at the foot of the Eiger is also very beautiful and of course a trip to the Jungfraujoch is a must.
In September, there is unfortunately not much water at the waterfalls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, but a trip to the Trümmelbach Falls is always worthwhile! Other worthwhile excursions are: Mürren and Gimmelwald, as well as trips on Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, The Beatus Caves, Brienz, Meiringen, Giessbach Falls and Reichenbach Falls.
I hope I haven’t caused too much confusion with my suggestions. On my Youtube channel Swiss Sights you can find videos of many of the sights mentioned and get an idea of what they look like.
Martin
Hi Steve,
You won’t go wrong with Grindelwald. It is a mountain village but has all the amenities of a small town. You can various various accommodation options here: http://www.myswissalps.com/grindelwald/hotels
Wengen and Mürren are car-free villages and are less crowded if you’re looking for more peace and quiet. Lauterbrunnen is located in a valley and offers great views of the surrounding mountains but might not be to your liking if you prefer a mountain setting. But all these places are easily accessible from each other and you can plan day trips easily.
Let us know if you need more info.
Regards,
Anna
Martin,
Thanks for your reply regarding activities in the region. I was looking for suggestions for which city/village in the Jungraugh region to base my time there.
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Thanks Anna.
Hi Steve,
As 1960man said, there isn’t a bad place in the region to stay, with Interlaken (West, or Ost) being the largest and busiest. Grindelwald is smaller, but more commercialized than Wengen or Murren. Lauternrunnen being more busy than Wengen and Murren but also in the valley. Very scenic, very Swiss. Wengen and Murren are both car free and very Swiss/very scenic as well. But a bit less hectic. The only problem one may have with staying in Murren is that it is at the very end of the valley (and up on top of) and may take longer to get to other places you mentioned. A great place to spend a day getting to (either hiking/train from Grutschalp, or through Schechelberg/Gimmelwald) and the gateway to the Schilthorn if that may be on your list.
I had trouble deciding if I wanted to stay in the valley (Lauterbrunnen) and look up, or stay up (Wengen) and look down. Ultimately I chose Wengen, spending three nights there and loved every minute of it in Sept/2018. A lot of the hotels are 3 stars in the whole region with some 4 and 5 stars sprinkled in, but so many of the 3 stars are great places. Your choice obviously. Good luck with your plans and have a great trip.
Regards,
Danielsan
Danielsan,
Thanks again for your insight, especially with Montreux which is now on our radar. Now I’m trying to fine tune the stay location in Jungfraugh. Correct, we cant go wrong with any of the villages. We are down to either Grindelwald with more offerings and sunlight in the valley or Wengen above for a more quaint village experience. Since we are also staying in Lucerne, Zermatt & Montreux, I’m leaning towards something more intimate like Wengen….”looking down”.
Much appreciated !
Steve
We stayed in Lauterbrunnen and thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Hotel Staubbach, Im Rohr, 3822 Lauterbrunnen. We had a fantastic view of the waterfall from our balcony. You can’t go wrong with any choice in the Jungfrau region. Enjoy your travels.
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Hi Steve,
Not a problem.
FYI, not all hotels in Wengen have views “looking down” directly into the valley. I stayed at the Arenas-Resort Victorian Lauberhorn (at the time, just the Victoria-Lauberhorn) just outside the train station. I lucked out and was high enough to look down into the valley, but there was a huge tree impeding the view. While making accommodations (if you are going to stay in Wengen) look for the “south” facing rooms/balconies, etc. at those hotels who do boast a valley view, because not all the hotels do. The Belview-Wengen, the Belvedere, Regina, Maya Caprice are just a few that do, as well as many, many chalets. You have plenty of time to inquire/research, etc. Again, if you do choose Wengen, enjoy.
Regards,
Danielsan
Danielsan,
Again, thanks for the great intel on Wengen and views! I would have never known to ask for the south facing rooms!
Since we are party of six (3 couples), I’m having a call with everyone this weekend to go over the itinerary I’ve prepared.We’ll see which Jungfraugh village gets the vote! All in, the trip including Zurich, Lucerne, Jungfraugh, Zermatt & Montreux should be epic!
Steve
PS I think we are going solely with the Swiss Travel Pass. For this itinerary, do you think it’s necessary to add on the Half Price Card?
Hi Steve,
Getting a Swiss Half Fare Card is really not necessary if you already have a Swiss Travel Pass. The Swiss Travel Pass provides free unlimited travel on public transport and allows you to purchase mountain transport tickets at half-price. Fo most travellers, this is sufficient.
Let us know if you need more info.
Regards,
Anna
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This is the exact route we took on our Switzerland visit in 2019. While in Montreux I recommend a day trip to Gruyeres.
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Thanks Anna. Good to know.
Gruyeres looks awesome. Will def. need to plan a day trip there.
Did you get the Swiss Travel Pass for your itinerary?
Any other insights since you took the same trip? Restaurants, hotels, etc?
Thanks !
We used the Swiss Flex Travel Pass. It was very handy and easy to use.
We are not what one would call ‘foodies’ but we enjoyed Ass Bar and Pizza Nation in Zurich and pastries from Bachman in the Lucerne train station (if I recall correctly).
In regards to lodging, we stayed at Hotel Mr. Pickwick in Lucerne: view of the bridge and Golf Hotel Rene Capt in Montreux: beautiful view of Lake Geneva and the Chateux de Chillon.
We enjoyed, and recommend visits to, Meinrad’s in Zurich: cute little shop – owner makes all stuffed toys by hand; Kambly: cookie factory; Aeschbach Chocolate Factory: make chocolate bars; Top of Europe: Jungfrauch – ice tunnel; Queen: The Studio Experience and the big fork in Montreux.
Our return trip from Montreux to Zurich we made a quick stop in Bern and enjoyed viewing the clock tower.
Hope you enjoy some of these suggestions. We still talk about our trip and how much we enjoyed our experiences and the people we met along the way.
Great Intel.
Thanks !
Hi fletch182,
Is that pic of the Kapellbrucke taken from Mr Pickwick’s? (Great pics. Love rhe one of the falls also.) I stayed right next door at Hotel Des Alpes, but I closed down Mr Pickwick’s pub each night I was there. How did you like it? I am strongly considering staying there my next time around. One of the bartenders used to work in Zermatt and he gave me a short list of good places to go to 3 days later when I was going to Zermatt. Lots of fun a that pub.
Regards,
Danielsan
Hi Steve,
Yea, looks like the general consensus is to just go with the STP. From what I have seen/read on this forum, it seems that either the Half Fare card, or Berner Oberland cards and the like are best when spending most of the time in/at one or two bases for longer periods of time. The STP is just so convenient too. Hop on/off at the drop of a hat, very flexible.
Also just wanted to mention in regards to south facing accommodations, the same holds true in Zermatt also. ‘Matterhorn view’ is NOT the same as ‘mountain view’. In Zermatt, you’re surrounded by 14000 ft. peaks, so Everything is a view of a mountain. Just an FYI.
Regards,
Danielsan
Yes, that is a picture of the Kapellbrucke, from our room at Mr.Pickwick’s. (Thank you for the compliments on the pics). We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We met the manager and her boyfriend (at the time), who was a bartender. If I remember correctly his name was Raul. He was a great guy and provided exceptional service.
We heard that Hotel Des Alpes is a higher class of hotel and served breakfast, which Mr. Pickwick’s does not. We chose the lesser expensive of the two, considering both had the same view and we are mainly concerned with cleanliness & price. 😊 We would definitely stay again if we return to Lucerne.
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Again, excellent info to know when booking a hotel in Zermatt. “Matterhorn” view is shall be !
Thanks Danielsan
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