Interlaken holidays

How to reach Interlaken

• Flight time: There are no direct flights to Interlaken. Flights to Zurich or flights to Geneva from London take between 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours.

• Transfer time: From Zurich Airport, the train to Interlaken takes around 2 hours 10 minutes. From Geneva Airport, the train takes around 2 hours 50 minutes.

• Price: The train fare from Zurich Airport to Interlaken costs around CHF 35–50. Taxis are expensive, with fares potentially reaching CHF 500.

Best time to visit Interlaken

If skiing and snowboarding are the priority on your Interlaken holidays, then the winter months are an obvious choice, while spring and summer are best for hiking and other outdoor pursuits.

• December to March: High season in Interlaken, so expect consistently large crowds and pricier accommodation, which will also need to be booked well in advance. Temperatures range between -5°C and 5°C, and you can expect consistent snow coverage on the slopes.

• April to June: April to early June is Interlaken’s shoulder season, when many hotels close, as do shops and other attractions. That said, it’s still a fantastic time for hiking. Temperatures range from 10°C to 20°C, with moderate rainfall (40–80mm) and 6–8 hours of sunshine.

• July to August: The ideal time for outdoor pursuits like hiking, mountain biking and lake swimming. Interlaken’s mountains offer a cool escape, with temperatures between 15°C to 25°C and 8–10 hours of sunshine daily.

• September to November: The second shoulder season, with cooler temperatures between 5C and 15°C, more frequent rain (70–100mm), and about 4–7 hours of sunshine. September and even October are still great times to venture into the mountains for some hiking.

Practical information

• Spoken languages: Swiss German is the main language, but English is widely spoken.

• Local habits and customs: Swiss culture values punctuality, especially when it comes to public transport. It’s also polite to greet people with a "Grüezi" (hello) or "Merci" (thank you). Tips are appreciated but not mandatory.

• Health and safety: Switzerland is one of Europe's safest countries, but it’s always good practice to stay alert in crowded places. Ensure you have travel insurance that covers outdoor activities, particularly if you plan on skiing or paragliding.

• Currency: Switzerland uses the Swiss Franc (CHF). ATMs are plentiful, and most businesses accept credit and debit cards, though it’s good to carry some cash for smaller purchases.

• Getting around: Guests staying overnight are entitled to a free Interlaken Guest Card, giving unlimited use of all local transport, and reductions on trips up the Schynige Platte and Harder Kulm. Several bike operators have mountain and city bikes for rent, including at West train station and several of the hostels.

• Electricity and plug types: Switzerland uses Type J plugs, with a standard voltage of 230V. UK travellers will need an adaptor.

• Time zone: Switzerland operates on Central European Time (CET), which is 1 hour ahead of GMT.

• Required travel documentation: UK travellers do not need a visa for stays up to 90 days. You’ll just need your passport.

Local dishes in Interlaken

Whether you’re enjoying a gut-busting meal after a day on the slopes or relaxing with a drink by a warming fireplace, you can expect lots of good old-fashioned mountain food on your Interlaken holidays.

Some typical dishes

• Fondue: A communal pot of melted cheese served with bread cubes for dipping, the classic style is a moitiémoitié (“half-and-half”), using either Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois, or Gruyère and Emmental.

• Rösti: Shredded potato formed into a large patty and fried golden brown on both sides. This can either be an accompaniment to a main course or, with the embellishment of ham, melted cheese, a fried egg and/or bacon bits, be a comfortably affordable main course.

• Raclette: A large half-round of cheese is held in front of a fire, and as it melts it’s scraped (raclé) onto a plate, and served with boiled potatoes, pearl onions and pickles.

Meat dishes

• Zürcher Geschnetzeltes: Diced veal in a creamy mushroom sauce often served with rösti.

• Saucisson Vaudois: This pork and beef Vaud sausage is famous for its delicately smoked flavour, served boiled or steamed alongside papet vaudois, a purée of potatoes and leeks.

Sweets and desserts

Swiss chocolate needs no introduction. Nusstorte is a rich, caramelised walnut tart from the nearby Engadine region, while Vermicelles is a chestnut puree dessert served with cream and meringue.

Local drinks

• Swiss wine: Switzerland’s wine industry is modest, but a couple of regions produce some impressive vintages, most notably Lavaux.

• Kirsch: The country’s most famous distilled spirit or liquor, this is a cherry spirit from Zug and around Lake Lucerne.

• Swiss beer: Beer (Bier, bière, birra) on draught (vom Fass, à la pression, alla pressione) comes as a flavourful lager-type brew, always served with a large head of foam.

Best things to do in Interlaken

Perfectly positioned as the gateway into the Oberland, Interlaken is one of the oldest resorts in the country, famed for its superb views towards the Jungfrau massif, which lies perfectly framed between two hills to the south of town.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• Harder Kulm: Take the funicular to the top of Interlaken’s local mountain for breathtaking views of the town, the lakes and the surrounding Alps.

• Schynige Platte: Reachable by a historic cogwheel train, this viewpoint offers stunning vistas of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains.

The best districts

• Unterseen: The atmospheric Unterseen district is Interlaken’s Old Town: the square fringed by Untere Gasse and Obere Gasse is particularly picturesque.

• The Kursaal: North of the Höhematte is the Kursaal, a historic congress centre that is also home to Interlaken’s casino. In the attractive park outside is a statue of the Indian filmmaker Yash Chopra (1932–2012) who shot many films in the Bernese Oberland.

Parks and gardens

• Botanischer Alpengarten: Filled with the local flora, and one of the few places where you can be guaranteed to see a genuine living edelweiss.

Historical monuments

• Schlosskirche: The renovated Schlosskirche next door to the 18th-century Schloss has clung onto its old cloister, each window of which, curiously, is of a different design.

• Unspunnen Castle: This small medieval ruin sits just outside Interlaken and offers a glimpse into the region’s history - the surrounding forest is a lovely spot for a quiet walk.

Day trips in the area

• Thun and Lake Thun: Historic town whose fine castle allows for outstanding views towards the High Alps, beautifully ranged above Lake Thun, one of the prettiest in the country, a tranquil patch of misty blue loomed over by high shoreline mountains.

• Schynige Platte: The best short trip from Interlaken – and one of the finest mountain excursions in the country – is the ride up to the breathtaking Schynige Platte at 2000m, from where perfect views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, ranged high above the valley opposite, open up.

• Lauterbrunnen Valley: Breathtaking U-shaped cleft, its high, craggy walls doused by spectacularly high waterfalls such as the Trümmelbach.

• Jungfraujoch: The train ride up to Europe’s highest station, perched at 3454m on a crag above the mighty Aletsch glacier, is easily done in a day from Interlaken.

Activities for families in Interlaken

Interlaken is a fantastic family-friendly destination, offering a thrilling array of activities that kids will love, from cog railways and funiculars to open-air theatre and lake cruises.

• Brienzer Rothorn: Switzerland’s oldest steam cog railway offers an unforgettable ride up to a viewpoint with sweeping views of Lake Brienz and the Bernese Alps.

• Funiculars: The Harder Kulm funicular (1310m) offers vistas over the town and a panorama of snowy peaks close enough to touch. Saturday afternoons see folk music and dancing at the summit restaurant. Reached by a vintage red funicular, the summit of the Heimwehfluh (669m) is often crowded with parents taking the kids around the model train exhibition and the miniature bob-run.

• Open-air theatre: Interlaken is famous throughout Switzerland for its annual staging of Schiller’s play William Tell, performed every summer since 1912 in an open-air theatre. The forest is the perfect backdrop for the cast of 250, all sporting Swiss national dress and authentic medieval uniforms. Great family fun.

• Lake Cruises: If you want to escape the mountains and get on to the water, both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz offer year-round cruises. Thun is the more picturesque of the two, overlooked by the pyramidal Niesen and the Stockhorn to the west, and the snowy peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau always in view to the south.

Free things to do in Interlaken

Interlaken may be known for its often expensive adventure sports, but plan ahead and you can still have a great time without spending a fortune.

• Hiking: The area around Interlaken is crisscrossed with hiking trails, which are of course free to access. The Höhematte Park trail is a gentle walk with views of the Jungfrau, or venture up to Schynige Platte for more challenging trails.

• Free events: In the summer, Interlaken hosts a variety of free events, including open-air concerts and traditional Swiss festivals.

• Explore Interlaken by public transport: You can enjoy stunning views on the cheap simply by hopping on local buses, which offer numerous scenic routes around the area. For example, the bus to Iseltwald takes you along the shores of Lake Brienz, with a one-way fare of just CHF 4–6.

Nature and outdoor activities in Interlaken

Interlaken is perfectly positioned as the gateway into the Oberland and its myriad activities, from hiking and tandem paragliding/skydiving to canyoning.

• Adventure sports: Hugely popular here is tandem paragliding, with tandem hang-gliding not far behind: top takeoff spots are the Beatenberg, Schynige Platte, the Niederhorn and even the Schilthorn. Tandem skydiving from 4000m or 4600m gives you up to a minute of freefall at 200 kph. Bungee jumping is also hugely popular from various vantage points around the region.

• Waterfalls: At nearly 300m - the highest in Switzerland - the delicate Staubbach falls gush over a sheer cliff like a lacy decoration on the rugged precipice. To get an up-close view, head 700m south from the station along Auf der Fuhren and Losisgräbli, from where a walkway leads up, via a tunnel, to a narrow ledge right behind the splashing curtain of water.