While staying in Bern, we knew that we wanted to use one of our four days in town to see the mountains nearby. We did a little research and discovered that there were some car-free mountain-top villages only accessible by cable car. This sounded like a fun adventure, so we started looking into the logistics. We almost gave up and picked something else because the planning was a bit overwhelming and the trip was going to be very expensive. In the end, we decided to go anyway and make it our one day trip in Switzerland. Even though the trip sounded complicated, it ended up being fairly easy once we figured out exactly what to do.
How to Get to the Cable Car
The day was a series of short treks on various types of trains and busses. Thankfully you don’t have to purchase all of the tickets separately. The journey from Bern to Interlaken (and back) was included in our Europe rail pass, but if you don’t have one of those, it would be a separate fare (just under $20/person based on the SBB timetables). Once in Interlaken, you can go to the ticket office and purchase your ticket for the rest of the journey for about $100 per person (with a Eurail discount). This ticket covers all of the rest of your transportation for the day, including all cable car stops.
Here is the exact itinerary we followed, using our Europe Rail pass and the combined ticket from Interlaken.
- From Bern, we took the Swiss InterCity rail to Interlaken.
- From Interlaken, we took the Regio rail to Lauterbrunnen.
- From Lauterbrunnen, there are a couple of ways to continue up the mountain – we took one way up and the other way down.
- Going up, we took the bus to Stechelberg.
- From Stechelberg, you can get on the cable car and hop on and off at the various village stops as you please. We stopped in Gimmelwald, Mürren, and Schilthorn.
- On the way back down, we took the cable car from Shilthorn to Mürren.
- Then we took a downhill train from Mürren to Grütschalp.
- Then we took a final cable car from Grütschalp to Lauterbrunnen.
- Going up, we took the bus to Stechelberg.
- Finally, we traveled back to Interlaken and Bern the way we arrived.
Word of advice: In Interlaken, stop and get some snacks like this little variety pack of Swiss cheeses!
Gimmelwald
Gimmelwald is the most dreamy place I’ve ever been. When I think quintessential Swiss village, this is it, hands down. It is surrounded by a stunning mountain range, filled with Swiss chalets, and coated with fluffy, beautiful snow in the winter. No cars are allowed in this village, and there were hardly any other tourists in the village while we were there during off-season. I definitely want to go back in the spring or summer in the future and rent a room at a chalet to see this village at a different time of year, when it’s filled with dairy cows, flowers, and blue skies.
We stopped for a hot bowl of soup and homemade bread at the hotel restaurant – the only open establishment in the village during this time of year.
View from our table!
Schilthorn
Schilthorn is the highest summit in this part of the Bernese Oberland. Usually you can see a breathtaking, panoramic view of the mountain range at this stop, but unfortunately for us, it was overcast and cloudy by the time we got up there. We still tried to make the most of it. There is a rotating restaurant called Piz Gloria at the cable car stop, so even though we had just eaten lunch at Gimmelwald, we decided to get coffees and ice cream (even though it was really snowy and cold outside!) and sit for a bit. Another interesting part of visiting Schilthorn is the James Bond theme. Piz Gloria was featured in the James Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, filmed in 1969, and the restaurant really plays up the theme. While a little cheesy, it was fun to see the little (and not-so-little) 007 details!
The view we would have seen on a clear day!
The entrance to the women’s restroom!
Once we finished sitting and gave up on hoping that the clouds would go away, we decided to brave the cold and go outside for some pictures of the outside of the restaurant and the surrounding winter wonderland!
Then it was time to make our way back down the mountain via cable car. Here is a glimpse of our view out of the cable car. It was beautiful!
Mürren
On the way back, we stopped at Mürren to take a walk through the village and catch the train down to Grütschalp. The walk ended up being much longer than we thought, but it was a beautiful journey through the snow. We got to see lots of ski lodges and chalets filled with locals and tourists alike. Ski season was definitely in full swing!
When we finally reached the train station, we got into a cute, vintage train car and waited for it to begin its descent to Grütschalp.
And from Grütschalp, we took one last (very steep!) cable car down to Lauterbrunnen.
Interlaken
We then took the train back to Interlaken. Even though we were exhausted, I really wanted to take a quick walk through Interlaken just to see it.
And then, we hopped back on the train back to Bern!
It was obviously a long journey, but it was so worth it – even though we couldn’t see the panoramic view at the top of Schilthorn. My favorite moment of the day was our short time in Gimmelwald, and I highly recommend spending the most time at that spot on your journey. Just follow the steps I mention above, and the trip won’t be as crazy as it seems. Definitely make this a day trip on your next trip to Switzerland!
Our time in Switzerland was part of a 2.5 month trip across Western Europe. Click here to check out all of my posts from this adventure!
{Thanks for reading! Want to know a little more about me? I’m a CPA learning how to balance a career with frequent travel while planting roots at home in Austin, TX. When I’m not exploring my home city with my husband Daniel or cuddling with our chubby orange cat Banana, I’m probably planning, packing, traveling to, or daydreaming about our next adventure. After all, my travel mug collection is never complete. If you have wanderlust too, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat (emilya89), or subscribe to my blog!}
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