This submit could comprise affiliate hyperlinks. We could obtain a small fee, for free of charge to you, in case you make a purchase order. Learn Disclosure.
Mürren is an enthralling, car-free village clinging to the cliff above the Lauterbrunnen Valley of waterfalls within the Berner Oberland of Switzerland.
A one time farm village first settled within the late middle-ages, it’s now a preferred vacationer vacation spot, particularly as the bottom for the gorgeous Schilthorn Mountain Cable Means.
Positioned at 1638 meters above sea stage on the foot of the Schilthorn Mountain, Mürren is the best city of the Jungfrau area of the Swiss Alps. Count on to be amazed by panoramic views of craggy mountain peaks, and loads of alternatives for outside adventures.
When you’re planning a visit to Murren however undecided what there’s to see and do, this information is for you.
On this information, we share the highest issues to do in Mürren, Switzerland for all types of vacationers.
Whether or not you’re in search of the simplicity and pleasure that comes with leaving your automotive behind, desirous to benefit from the relaxed, small village environment or get pleasure from thrilling issues to do corresponding to climbing, exploring the waterfalls, or snowboarding – a go to to the Schilthorn Mountain and Murren is not going to disappoint!
How one can get to Mürren, Switzerland?
As talked about earlier, Murren is car-free, so getting there presents a little bit of an impediment!
Murren is situated within the Lauterbrunnen Valley within the Bernese Oberland. It’s nestled south of in style ski areas, Interlaken and Grindelwald, on the southwest wall of the valley above the city of Lauterbrunnen.
Attending to Mürren is an expertise in itself, and simply as lovely and adventurous because the vacation spot.
There are two methods to succeed in the car-free village of Mürren:
- First solution to Murren: Head to the city of Lauterbrunnen. Journey the Mürrenbahn cable line from the Lauterbrunnen Rail Station, adopted by a narrow-gauge mountain railway, the BLM Grütschalp practice, to the Murren Village Station.
- Second solution to Murren: Catch the Mürrenbahn cable line from Stechelber, which is about ten minutes from Lauterbrunner by bus or automotive.
The Stechelberg Route is alleged to be extra spectacular as a result of the cableway affords a greater view of the steep rock partitions rising from the valley.
You possibly can park and depart your automotive on the station for 2 days. Earlier than setting off, cease to look at the arrival paragliders who use the grass subject close to the station as a touchdown zone.
I boarded the cable tram to rise previous the valley cliff partitions to Gimmelwald, altering to the cable to Mürren.
I often journey by practice in Switzerland with a Swiss Journey Go.
The place to park your automotive
I used to be driving on this journey, so I parked within the Mürrenbahn Parking zone at Stechelberg. Stechelberg affords cheaper parking charges to Lauterbrunnen, and you can too catch the cable experience from there to Murren.
The parking fee is 11 Swiss Francs for one in a single day, with a reduction fee for a number of days, paid along with your entry ticket at a machine on the cable station.
As this area could be very in style, it’s possible you’ll wish to reserve your parking spot prematurely!
Issues to do in Mürren, Switzerland
1. Discover the 72 Waterfalls of Lauterbrunnen Valley
A spotlight of any go to to this Swiss area is seeing the waterfalls gushing down into the Lauterbrunnen Valley from the vertical cliff faces.
The German phrase Lauterbrunnen interprets to “many fountains,” and on this valley there are at complete of 72 waterfalls with some as excessive as 400 meters flowing 12 months spherical.
One of the best time to see waterfalls of their would possibly is late spring or summer time, when the run off from snow soften makes the waterfalls magnificent and full.
The Lauterbrunnen Valley is alleged to be one of the crucial lovely in Switzerland. It turned a UNESCO World Pure Heritage Web site in 2001.
Rumor has it that Tolkien obtained the thought for Rivendell throughout a hike from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen.
This can be a factor to do in Murren earlier than taking the cable automotive up, however you possibly can at all times experience it again down for a day tour.
2. Hike the Lauterbrunnen Valley Path to Trümmelbach Falls
For the adventurous, there’s a straightforward 2.2 mile/3.5 km a method hike from Lauterbrunnen to Trummelbach Falls passing by Staubach Fall.
The path winds by the gorgeous pastures of Lauterbrunnen Valley and previous small alps with waterfalls spilling down the sheer cliffs alongside either side of the valley. You possibly can stroll again or experience a bus.
You possibly can proceed the path to Stechelberg (4 mile/6.7km in complete), the place you may get the bus (or hike) again.
You can too get the Stechelberg Funicular, which takes you as much as Gimmelwald.
From Gimmelwald, you possibly can take one other funicular to Mürren, which is simply accessible by practice, climbing, or funicular.
Trümmelbach Falls
The distinctive Trümmelbach Falls are a “should see” pure wonders within the Berner Oberland of Switzerland.
It’s a collection of ten separate glacial falls contained in the mountain rock that empties the waters of the higher ice of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau,
On sizzling summer time days and after heavy thunderstorms, it carries as much as 20,000 liters of water per second by the slender gorge.
This distinctive attraction includes first going up contained in the mountain in an elevator after which strolling again down, partly inside and out of doors to see the spectacular waterfalls.
3. Take a look at Staubach Fall
The Staubach Fall, simply on the finish of Lauterbrunnen Village, is the best free-falling water stream in Switzerland. It stands majestic in opposition to the background of slender steep cliffs which appear to vanish into the space past.
Johann Goethe, the author of Faust, was a vacationer to the valley in 1779 and wrote a poem to the great thing about the Staubach Fall, the “Tune of the Spirit of the Waters.”
The poem begins “From heaven it comes, to heaven it rises, and down once more to the earth it should,” relating the water to the journey of the human soul.
There’s a slight detour path (about 30 minutes) that goes uphill and behind the waterfall and is simply opened through the summertime. You’ll additionally get a fantastic view of the valley from right here.
From Lauterbrunnen village, it solely takes about 10 minutes to hike to the foot of Staubbach Falls.
4. Mürrenbach Waterfall
From a top of 417 meters above Mürrenfluh, the water falls in 5 cascades. It is usually one of many tallest falls in Switzerland and is uninterrupted all year long.
You possibly can see glimpses of Murrenbach Falls from sure spots on the outskirts of Lauterbrunnen city, however essentially the most direct views of are from the Schilthornbahn cable automotive station.
The open-air lot is immediately throughout from the Mürrenbach waterfall the place a tributary runs into the Lütschine River. I didn’t have fairly sufficient time to hike to the waterfall, but it surely was well worth the stroll to really feel the sprays from up shut.
5. Have lunch at Piz Gloria on the Schilthorn Mountain Summit
One of the vital in style issues to do in Mürren is to go to Schilthorn Mountain and revel in a James Bond Brunch within the Piz Gloria.
When the cable automotive carry was being in-built 1967 with a plan for the world’s first revolving restaurant, the producers of the James Bond motion pictures have been in search of a location for the subsequent movie.
The script known as for a mountaintop lair for the villain, Blofeld, to offer for thrilling mountain sequences.
The cable firm was quick on cash and made a take care of the filmmakers.
The James Bond movie would fund among the development value and can be allowed to design the setting to suit their wants. They added a helicopter pad, which nonetheless serves because the remark deck.
The movie, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was launched in 1968, with George Lazenby as the brand new James Bond, to exchange Sean Connery, who had left the collection. (He would come again later.) The movie co-starred Diana Rigg contemporary off her run as Mrs. Peel on “The Avengers” TV collection.
The deck of the Schilthorn appears out at over 2 hundred mountain peaks, and in clear climate you possibly can see all the way in which to Lake Constance, bordering Switzerland and Germany.
Inside is the principle attraction, the revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria, which takes about 45 minutes for a full 360-degree flip of the platform. You barely discover it transferring, however the vista exterior is completely different everytime you lookup.
The brunch is a buffet, very properly ready, however not that completely different from a lodge, besides that it’s being served at 10,000 toes.
You possibly can spike your orange juice with some glowing Champagne for a little bit of James Bond sophistication. The design of the brass wall grills and lamps are holdovers from the film set.
And after a flip across the view, a go to downstairs affords a set of Bond theme reveals, a movie show for transient excerpts and a little bit of Schilthorn historical past.
Two reveals are fairly enjoyable, a helicopter you possibly can just about fly on the controls, up the mountain face, and a digital Bob Sled that places you within the motion of one of many signature sequences of the film.
Open air, if the climate cooperates, is an added Bond “Stroll of Fame” throughout the rocky crag of the mountain summit, with signposts of Bond characters, although any go to to a mountain peak in Switzerland is a little bit of the luck of the draw with climate, and time of 12 months.
You would possibly get solar, snow, or be caught in a miasma of a drifting cloud.
I used to be fortunate with the solar, till I returned to the Birg Station, midway between the village and mountain summit. It’s right here the place a component metal, half glass flooring walkway wraps across the rock face mountain for the “Thrill Stroll.”
A cloud had enveloped the cliff, so quite than a thrill stroll in white haze, I might strive later.
6. Chill out and watch the paragliders at Resort Regina
A solution to move the time stress-free, for which a car-free village is especially suited, I discovered a desk on the deck of the Resort Regina.
Enjoyable with an area Black Beer, Schwarzen Mönch, brewed in close by Gimmelwald and a vegetarian sandwich.
The paragliders have been unfurling their parachutes on a grassy slope and launching to hovering arcs, first over the village, then winding down into the valley.
I had earlier loved my very own first tandem paragliding journey within the Italian Dolomites with 360 Cortina d’Ampezzo, so I might envision the sense of freedom and thrill of hanging underneath a parachute because the world drops away.
To paraglide from Mürren, the companies can be found with Airtime-Paragliding in Lauterbrunnen. The flight ends on the Stechelberg tram station car parking zone.
7. Stroll the Skyline and Thrill Stroll
The clouds had cleared, and a stroll within the sky beckoned. It’s time for one of the crucial adventurous issues to do in Murren – the Thrill Stroll!
You’ll discover it on the half-way cease to the Schilthorn, the Birg Station.
Birg Station options the Skyline Restaurant, which is generally an out of doors terrace with a partial glass deck on the finish; and the Skyline, for mountain views that may be like standing within the clouds.
A stairway down results in the Thrill Stroll, a walkway alongside the mountain face, with sections of glass, although they left sufficient metallic stroll if strolling on glass is an excessive amount of.
Chain enclosed sections additionally permit a tightrope stroll, and a kid-sized suspended cage tunnel challenges adults to suit. Each experiences are free, included with the cable experience.
The cable to the highest of the Schilthorn from the valley is 108 Swiss Francs by 2022. It’s sixty p.c much less with a Swiss Journey Go and forty-percent low cost with a Eurail Go. Kids are half-price.
You could wish to think about non-public excursions to Schilthorn, which can supply extra comfort and a gaggle low cost fee. Listed here are three choices
Video: Schilthorn Piz Gloria and Skyline Thrill Stroll of Switzerland
See the great thing about this space within the Schilthorn video.
8. Journey the funicular to Allmendhubel
A funicular rises from the Mürren village as much as the flowery glens above on the Allmendhubel mountain, taking you to see lovely views of the Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger.
It’s a brief 4 minute journey, particularly fitted to households. The Panorama Restaurant Allmendhubel on the prime of the funicular overlooks a path of flowers in spring and snow trails in winter.
The youngsters’s Flower Park playground is simply in view of the restaurant so children can discover whereas mother & dad take some refreshing time.
The playground is especially fascinating for the rope slings, protected however impressed by surrounding peaks, and carved picket marmots, the Swiss model of a woodchuck, watching over the underground enjoyable marmot burrows.
The simple 2km Flower Path leads down by fields and forest again to Mürren. Good for households you possibly can admire over 150 alpine flowers corresponding to edelweiss, gentians and alpine roses.
9. Admire views from Jungfraujoch: High of Europe
The opposite prime attraction within the Murren area is Jungfraujoch: The High of Europe. It’s one of the crucial iconic and exquisite locations within the Swiss Alps.
Jungfraujoch is a viewing level Bernese Alps and, at an altitude of three,454 m, Europe’s highest practice station. It lies on the finish of the engineering marvel of a tunnel that cuts by the rock of the mountain ridge.
The tunnel main up from the station Eigergletscher is seven kilometers in size and was constructed between 1896 and 1912. Alongside the tunnel are home windows lower from the rock with views out to the glaciers.
Don’t miss these Jungfraujoch Sights
- The Sphinx Observatory is among the highest observatories on this planet they usually have an open viewing deck. It has panoramic views of Jungfrau and Mönch peaks, Eiger and the Aletsch Glacier.
- The Ice Palace is an ice tunnel underneath the glacier stuffed carved ice sculptures which change from season to season.
- Glacier Plateau is a well-liked photograph cease for the views over the Jungfrau and Silberhorn peaks. This viewpoint affords the very best views of the mountains of Germany and France and on the opposite aspect an unobstructed view of the Aletsch Glacier.
- Hikers can be blissful to listen to of the path by the glacier to Mönchsjochhütte or Mönchsjoch Hut , a serviced mountain hut. Watch out climbing on glaciers with out skilled native guides and remember to keep on the trail.
There are two methods to get to Jungfraujoch
- Prepare from Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald Kleine Scheidegg, the place you turn trains for the luxurious Jungfrau Railway.
- The brand new Eiger Espress tri-cable gondola from Grindelwald to the Eiger Glacier station. From Eiger, there’s a practice for the final part. That is the quickest solution to get to Jungfraujoch, reducing the journey down by 47 minutes every manner. You may get the practice down by way of Kleine Scheidegg for a special expertise.
High tip: Be sure you e-book a practice or gondola ticket prematurely, particularly through the excessive season. Do this right here.
Tickets are costly, however many will say a go to to Jungfraujoch is value it. The Swiss Go and Eurail Passes have reductions on Jungfraujoch tickets.
It might be cheaper to go to with a tour quite than by yourself, as they’ll get group reductions. That is an particularly good tip in case you are not staying in Murren or different close by areas and are coming from larger cities.
Listed here are just a few choices.
10. Eat at Venison on the Drei Berge Resort (Previously Resort Bellevue)
I had my favourite meal in Mürren at Drei Berge Resort, previously known as the Belleview Resort. Positioned a brief stroll from the central road up the hill previous the Allmendhubel Station, this restaurant options an out of doors terrace deck that appears out throughout the village.
That they had a particular supply on for a venison dish of wildhirsch (wild deer) freshly hunted by the lodge proprietor, Othmar Suter.
I’ll admit to being a fan of jäger stubli (hunter delicacies) frequent in Germany and the Alps, extra typical in Autumn.
It was a well-known dish, Venison filet in wild mushroom sauce with butter spätzle, crimson cabbage with chestnuts and caramelized pear.
Even after some making an attempt another eating places of a number of Gault Millau factors and Michelin stars, this dish was essentially the most pleasant.
11. Eat Spare Ribs at The Alpenrue, Wengen
Spare Ribs shouldn’t be a dish usually related to Switzerland, however I used to be additionally capable of pattern an area model on the Alpenrue Resort Restaurant, which is legendary for its ribs served with a decidedly giant portion of French fries.
The Alpenrue is an enthralling lodge in-built 1881, making it the oldest lodge within the car-free close by village of Wengen. To get there, you possibly can catch a practice or cable automotive and hike.
It was from right here that I took one among my favourite pictures of the Eiger at fiery daybreak.
12. Stroll the Ferrata Mürren by way of the Nepal Bridge
A preferred and thrilling expertise in Murren is strolling (or ought to I say climbing) the Through Ferrata to Grimmelwald. This path additionally requires crossing a slender, metal suspension bridge much like what you’d discover crossing ravines in Nepal.
The Nepal Footbridge sits in the midst of the two.2km hike from Murren to Gimmelwald, which is an expertise in itself.
In case you didn’t know, a ferrata is a sort of hike that’s in style within the alps, and is characterised by mounted metallic cables, rungs, and ladders connected the the cliff edge, the place brace folks can ascend and descend steep mountain sides while connected by way of a security rope.
You start the journey by clinging to the aspect of the cliff and shimmying your manner down ladders, earlier than reaching the suspension bridge.
Nestled 600 meters above the Lauterbrunnen Valley flooring, the Nepal Bridge shouldn’t be for the faint hearted.
This Through Ferrata is exclusive in that it’s downwards all the way in which to Grimmelwald. Be sure you e-book onto a tour so you may get security tools corresponding to helmet, climbing harness, and a educated information to indicate you the way it’s completed.
Convey your nerves of metal for this one!
The place to remain in Mürren: Resort Blumental
I used to be staying this time on the Resort Blumental, which takes its identify from the flowery Alpine meadow above the village.
The comfortable chalet type lodge was quiet and virtually vacant because it was early within the season. There are solely about 450 everlasting residents in Mürren, however 2,000 lodge beds, which fill within the excessive seasons of summer time and winter.
After settling in my room, which seemed out throughout a tin roof to the village, I opened the windowed door to the balcony for a contemporary Alpine breeze, and a thunderous roar started.
With the briefest warning of a thunderclap, the skies opened and a storm of hail the scale of marbles invaded the peace.
The ice stones beat upon the tin, and the rain washed in gulleys down the street from the inexperienced slopes above. The storm was transient, however I loved it in consolation from a balcony chair, simply shielded from the torrent.
I used to be happy the subsequent morning to see that the little umbrella had saved the flower field blooms. I’m now positive a typical customized of mountain life.
When you’re in search of different lodging in Murren, you need to use the map beneath to check resorts and short-term rental choices.
Finest Time To Go to Murren
One of the best time to go to Murren is in the summertime season when the alpine meadows are in bloom and the paths are dry sufficient for climbing.
The surroundings in summer time (June to October) is breathtaking, and you’ve got much less likelihood of rain in mid-summer (July and August) although it doesn’t matter what time of 12 months you go to, you have to be ready for interchangeable climate.
I had skilled the ever changeable Alps climate as quickly as I arrived in Murren.
The day I arrived, the cable experience was sunny, with only some clouds, and I used to be capable of take a stroll by the village for some photos without having for a jacket.
It’s solely about ten minutes from one finish to the opposite, and a few children have been taking part in on a big oversize backyard chess board on the street.
Then I seen an area gentleman on the sometimes Swiss picket balcony of a store, putting small gossamer umbrellas within the flower bins, which festoon the village with the colours of summer time.
I solely realized later that he was extra accustomed to the native climate forecast than I.
Inside minutes the clouds had turned gray, and I nearly made it again to my lodge earlier than the Heavens opened and a hail storm took maintain. It lasted for about 10 minutes, but it surely was mighty.
Murren additionally has a ski resort, which generally runs from December to March, and it’s a preferred space for snowboarding.
Nevertheless, due to the unpredictable climate, I might say summer time is a greater time to go as ski passes are costly for a day, and if the climate does flip unhealthy, at the least you don’t really feel such as you miss out if it’s important to duck indoors and wait it out.
Extra Journey Guides For The Alps
Pin To Save It On Pinterest
