Where to Stay in Interlaken — Best Hotels & Neighbourhoods

Ost if your holiday is built around the mountains, West if it is built around shops and services. Every mountain train leaves from Interlaken Ost, so sleeping within five minutes of it saves you an extra twenty-minute walk in each direction every day. West has the supermarkets, pharmacies and banks, is where mainline trains from Bern and Zurich stop first, and is generally cheaper. The two stations are about 1.2 kilometres apart along a completely flat promenade, and one short train hop connects them.

Exceptionally so, and it is the main reason we recommend it as a base over the villages above. The town sits on a flat plain, the main routes are paved rather than cobbled, there are benches along the Hoheweg, and you can cross the whole centre in twenty minutes. Local buses run between the two stations, and the guest card most hotels issue usually covers them, so ask at check-in. The mountain villages are a different matter: Grindelwald and Murren are on slopes.

In clear weather, yes, and it is genuinely extraordinary. In cloud you pay roughly 235 to 240 francs return to stand inside a fogged-in building, so check the summit webcam on the morning and be willing to swap days. A Half Fare Card roughly halves it and a Swiss Travel Pass takes about a quarter off. If the price or the altitude gives you pause, Harder Kulm at 1,322 metres is ten minutes by funicular from beside Interlaken Ost, costs a fraction, and the view is glorious.

It may, and it is worth knowing in advance. You go from about 570 metres in Interlaken to 3,454 at the Jungfraujoch in under two hours with no time to acclimatise, and shortness of breath on the stairs and mild light-headedness are common. Move slowly, use the lift rather than the steps, drink water, avoid alcohol that day, and keep the visit to about ninety minutes. Anyone with a heart or lung condition, uncontrolled blood pressure or recent surgery should ask their doctor first.

Mid-June to late September is when everything runs, with the wildflowers at their best in late June. July and August are the most crowded, and the Jungfraujoch trains and Grindelwald buses can be standing-room only by mid-morning, so take one of the first departures. Late May to early June and late September to mid-October give you good conditions with far fewer people, and the autumn colour in October is lovely. Avoid November, when the region half shuts down for maintenance.

A great deal, and it is the single most important thing to check. Swiss mountain lifts close twice a year for maintenance, roughly mid-April to mid-June and mid-October to early December. In 2026 the Schynige Platte railway runs only from mid-June to late October, Grindelwald First closes from late October to late November, and the Mannlichen cableways close from late October into December. The Jungfraujoch tunnel railway itself runs every day of the year. Always check the specific lift's own dates before booking flights.