Lauterbrunnen

Making our way up to Murren and Gimmelwald

To help plan our time in Switzerland, I had purchased the Rick Steves Switzerland Travel Guide. This guide helped us discover the best things to see while in this area of Switzerland. I highly recommend checking out his latest travel guide.

On our first full day in Switzerland we headed up the western side of the mountain to the town of Murren. We were able to walk from our apartment to the Lauterbrunnen gondola station in about 15-20 minutes. If you are coming from a neighboring town there are also parking ramps by the train station (across the street from the gondola station) to be able to park your car for the day. Of note, we did not need to park a car here, but it did appear that the ramps fill up quickly and early in the day. Check out the area’s parking website to purchase a parking spot ahead of time.

To get to Murren you need to go up the mountain on a cable car to Grütschalp and then take a train over to the town of Murren (see map below). The tickets can be purchased at the Lauterbrunnen mountain railway station the same day as you want to depart and there is a cable car leaving from Lauterbrunnen every few minutes. Of note, children ages 6-15 have a reduced ticket price and children under 6 are free.

When you purchase your tickets, make sure that you think about the route that you want to take for the day as your ticket will need to reflect your plans. If you just want to up to Murren and then back down to Lauterbrunnen then ensure you tell the ticket office this so they can get you the correct ticket. We were planning to go over to Gimmelwald (another small Alpine village) after visiting Murren, so we chose the ticket option that including going over to that village as well and then coming back to Lauterbrunnen thereafter.

Once you get off in Grütschalp, it is very straightforward to get on the train as it is literally right in front of you as you are departing the cable car. The train ride to Murren is only about 15 minutes so it is pretty quick. As you board the train, I personally would recommend sitting on the left side of the train to take in the best views of the Swiss mountains. You can see the peaks of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau as you are riding over to Murren, and they are simply breathtaking! 

The view going up on the funicular to Allmendhubel

Once we arrived in Murren, we explored the town a bit and made our way up to the Allmendhubel station. It is here that you can take the funicular railway up to an amazing children’s playground.  The kids had such as blast playing here as there are numerous fun activities to do such as a zip line, tunnels to climb through, a water labyrinth, swings and slides. We spent a good hour or two playing at the park. There is also a restaurant next to the playground where you can either dine inside or outside. They have different options for food and beverages. My wife and I were able to enjoy some coffee while the kids were playing. 

There is also an alpine flower trail that you can take that starts at the playground and loops up a hill and back down. It was a quick hike but there were some very pretty flowers and plants to view on the trail. 

To get back down to Murren you can either take a hiking trail or take the funicular. We chose the funicular as we were also planning to hike to Gimmelwald after this. We then made our way over to Gimmelwald, which is the next tiny village over from Murren. You do have the option to take a cable car over to Gimmelwald as well but we chose to hike as it was a paved road and it was all downhill so we figured the journey would be pretty manageable for the kids. On our way over to Gimmelwald, we saw multiple farms with cows, had beautiful views of the Alps and were able to see the cable car fly overhead as we were walking.

On our way down to Gimmelwald

Entering Gimmelwald

I stayed at the hostel in Gimmelwald when I backpacked through Europe previously and it so awesome to be back. Not much had changed in the 15 years since I had been there and the village was just as pretty as I remembered. As we were walking through the town, you can purchase food products from the residents. All purchases are on an honor system as you walk into their home (it feels kind of odd but it is completely ok as there are signs to do this) and open up a fridge door to buy eggs, butter, cheese and meats. There was also some fruit bread for sale at one of the homes.

We bought the bread and some cheese, butter and sausages so we could enjoy those items at dinner later that night. There is also a store called The Honesty Shop, where you can buy items on an honor system again. We found a couple souvenirs here. To buy a product in the store, all you have to do is write down the item you are purchasing on the provided form and then place the exact money in an envelope.

It was lunchtime now and we were all pretty hungry. We went to the Mountain Hostel and got some pizzas to share. This hostel is where I had stayed when I had backpacked and it was just as I remembered it which it brought back a lot of good memories. There was a playground next door to the hostel and the kids were able to play there after eating.

We made our final descent down the cable car to Stechelberg and then took the bus back to Lauterbrunnen. Overall a lot of core memories were made on our adventure up the mountain and we had an amazing day. Even though we didn’t do a whole day of hiking, which would have been hard for our youngest child, we were pleasantly surprised to see so many child friendly activities available.

Have you been up to Murren or Gimmelwald before? If so, what was your experience like? Let me know in the comments below!