Wengen holidays

How to reach Wengen

• Flight time: There are no direct flights to Wengen. Flights to Zurich, the nearest international airport, from London take about 1 hour 45 minutes.

• Transfer time: Arriving at Zurich Airport, you’ll need to take a train to Wengen, a journey of around 3 hours.

• Price: A standard one-way train ticket from Zurich to Wengen costs around CHF 75.

Best time to visit Wengen

If skiing and snowboarding are the priority, 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 Wengen, 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 Wengen’s shoulder season, when many chalets and private rooms close, as do shops, hotels, attractions, walking routes, mountain railways and cable cars, but it’s still a fantastic time for hiking some minor routes. Temperatures rise from around 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. Wengen’s mountains offer a cool escape, with temperatures between 15°C to 25°C and around 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: The primary language spoken in Wengen is Swiss German. However, the standard of English spoken in the resort is high.

• Local habits and customs: The Swiss are known for their punctuality and politeness, so being on time and respectful of local manners will go a long way. It’s not customary to tip; if you’re impressed by the service, round up your bill to the nearest franc.

• Health and safety: An extremely safe country, Switzerland has only a small force of plain-clothes federal police (Polizei, police, polizia). You must carry your passport at all times.

• Currency: Switzerland uses the Swiss Franc (CHF). Almost all Swiss banks have English-language ATMs which accept foreign debit and credit cards, and you can pay for most goods and services using plastic.

• Getting around: Wengen is car-free, so you’ll rely on the village’s small cogwheel trains and cable cars to get around - although Wengen is easily explored on foot. Single train fares within the region start at around CHF 6. The Swiss Travel Pass is highly recommended if you plan to explore other parts of the Jungfrau Region.

• 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 Wengen

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 Wengen 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.

Street food

• Bratwurst: A popular street food across Switzerland, these juicy, meat-packed sausages are typically served with a side of bread or mustard.

• Pretzels (Brezel): Sold at markets and bakeries, these soft, salty breads are just the job for a quick bite on the run.

Sweets and desserts

• Chocolate: Today, more chocolate is sold in Switzerland per head of population than in any other country. The country has a long tradition of confectioners producing hand-filled luxury chocolates for special occasions, such as chocolate-covered chestnuts in autumn and chocolate bears, which are a Bernese favourite.

• Meringues: Invented in or near Meiringen, most Emmental and Bernese Oberland villages offer their own cream-laden meringue creations.

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 Wengen

Massively popular car-free mountain resort perched on narrow shelves of pasture, this chalet-style village offers superb skiing and fine hiking.

Viewpoints and panoramas

• Trümmelbach Falls: These impressively thunderous waterfalls – the runoff from the high mountains – have carved corkscrew channels through the valley walls: a stepped catwalk leads you over the enclosed, boiling cauldrons of rushing water (up to 20,000 litres a second), which throw up plenty of spray and have eroded the rock into weird and wonderful shapes.

• Schilthorn, Mürren: For a Bond-worthy panorama, take the cable car up to Schilthorn. The revolving restaurant Piz Gloria, made famous by the James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”, offers 360-degree views of the Alps.

The best districts

• Village centre: Wengen’s charming village centre is lined with traditional Swiss chalets and colourful flower boxes.

• Lauterbrunnen Valley: It’s hard to overstate just how stunning this valley is; an immense U-shaped cleft (the world’s deepest), with bluffs on either side rising 1000m sheer, and doused by some 72 waterfalls, it is utterly spectacular.

Parks and gardens

• Wengen Flower Trail: This scenic walk takes you through colourful alpine meadows packed with wildflowers in the spring and summer months.

Day trips in the area

• Grindelwald: Tiered above the valley floor on a series of long terraces, Grindelwald is one of the most picturesque villages and popular resorts in the Swiss Alps, perfectly placed for its many visitors to take advantage of the hiking and skiing possibilities all around.

• Aare Gorge: The sheer-sided Aareschlucht is threaded through by a path that snakes for 1.4km, linking the two entrances: a series of tunnels and walkways take visitors through the spectacular feature, which narrows to only a metre in one part.

• 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.

Activities for families in Wengen

Wengen is a fantastic summer and winter destination for families, with plenty of activities to keep children entertained throughout the year.

• Sledging: Wengen offers several sledging runs, including the popular run from Männlichen down to the village.

• Hiking trails: During the warmer months, there are plenty of family-friendly hiking trails around Wengen; one of the best is the Panorama Trail from Männlichen to Kleine Scheidegg, offering gentle terrain and spectacular views.

• Jungfrau Region Adventure Park: Located nearby in Interlaken, this adventure park offers zip lines, rope courses and climbing walls, providing a fun day out for families looking for that little bit of extra adventure.

Nature and outdoor activities in Wengen

It goes without saying that the main focus of your holidays to Wengen will be the outdoors, and to that end, this is one of Switzerland's most enticing destinations.

• Hiking: Walks thread through the countryside around and above Wengen. Even simple little excursions such as down to Wengwald below the village can reveal flower-strewn meadows, romantic footpaths and stunning views out over the great chasm of the Lauterbrunnen valley. The cliff-edge Mönchblick viewpoint beyond Wengwald is less than an hour’s stroll (120m down) from Wengen, while Lauterbrunnen is an hour away.

• Skiing and snowboarding: Wengen is part of the Jungfrau Ski Region, offering over 200km of slopes for all levels - and the season is unusually long: from mid-November through to the end of April. Wengen is one of the best resorts in Switzerland for beginners. It has nursery slopes and plenty of blue runs that are very close to the village centres.

• Tobogganing: If skiing isn’t your thing, and you’re travelling with kids, tobogganing is a fun alternative. Wengen has several toboggan runs, with the Männlichen to Holenstein route being a popular choice for families.