A town squeezed between two lakes
Interlaken means, literally, “between the lakes”, and the geography does the marketing for it. Lake Thun sits to the west, Lake Brienz to the east, and the town occupies the flat strip of land the Aare river carves between them on its way from the mountains. That flat strip is also why Interlaken became a resort rather than a farming village: it is the natural staging point for the Bernese Oberland, and every valley south of it — Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald, the road to Mürren and the Schilthorn — funnels traffic through here.
The town itself is small. Interlaken has around 5,700 residents, two train stations roughly fifteen minutes apart on foot, and a single long main street connecting them. It is not trying to be Zürich or Bern in miniature. What it has instead is the Höhematte, one genuinely large open meadow at its centre, and a position that makes it the obvious base for the Jungfrau region rather than a destination that stands entirely on its own.
The Höhematte: a meadow doing a lot of work
The Höhematte is a large public lawn, roughly 350 metres long, sitting between Interlaken’s two stations and bordered by its older grand hotels, including the Victoria-Jungfrau. It costs nothing to visit and there is no ticket booth to walk past — it is simply where the town breathes.
Historically it was a jousting field and later the site of the Unspunnenfest, a Swiss folk festival with wrestling and stone-throwing that still runs periodically. Today its most visible use is as a paragliding landing zone: on a clear afternoon in summer, dozens of tandem paragliders drift down out of the sky above the meadow every few minutes, having launched from the slopes near Beatenberg or Schynige Platte. Watching landings from a bench on the Höhematte, for free, is one of the more entertaining ways to spend twenty minutes in the Bernese Oberland, and it is also how most visitors first notice that paragliding here is not a niche activity but a local industry.
If you want to be one of the people landing rather than watching, tandem flights over the valley are bookable directly — an skydiving flight over the Alps from Interlaken is the more extreme version of the same view, for anyone who wants the mountains from considerably higher up.
Harder Kulm: the view without leaving town
Harder Kulm sits at 1,322 metres directly above Interlaken Ost station and is reached by a funicular that has been running, in various forms, since 1908. The ride takes about ten minutes and the return fare is roughly CHF 36 for an adult at standard rates, discounted for Swiss Travel Pass and Half Fare Card holders — check the current price before travelling, as funicular fares are revised most years.
At the top, the view is the whole reason to come: Lake Thun on one side, Lake Brienz on the other, and the Jungfrau, Mönch and Eiger lined up to the south on a clear day. There is a restaurant at the summit and a viewing platform built out over the cliff edge, which is popular enough in August that photos taken there rarely show it empty. Harder Kulm is a half-day outing at most — funicular up, twenty minutes on the platform, a coffee, funicular down — and it is the single best value-for-time viewpoint in Interlaken itself, precisely because it does not require a day trip to reach.
For a wider survey of which regional viewpoint suits which traveller, comparing Pilatus, Rigi and Titlis is worth reading before committing a full day to any one of them, since Harder Kulm is a different, shorter proposition than all three.
Getting to Interlaken from Zurich
| From | Journey time | Typical frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Zurich HB | About 2 hours | Roughly hourly, direct |
| Bern | About 50 minutes | Frequent, direct |
| Lucerne | Around 2 hours via the Brünig line | Hourly |
Trains from Zurich HB run to Interlaken Ost and are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass; without one, a standard second-class one-way fare is in the region of CHF 70–75, though the Half Fare Card cuts that roughly in half and pays for itself within a couple of long journeys. It is worth reading how the Zürich Card compares to the Swiss Travel Pass before buying either, since they solve different problems and only one of them is useful once you leave Zürich itself.
One point worth being blunt about: the Swiss Travel Pass makes the train to Interlaken free, but it does not make the mountain excursions free. Jungfraujoch, the Schilthornbahn and most other lifts in the region only offer the pass holder a partial discount, typically around 25%, not a free ride. Budgeting the lifts as a separate, significant cost is the single most common mistake first-time visitors make here — see first-time mistakes in Zurich and the region for the fuller list.
Getting around once you are there
Interlaken has two stations, Interlaken West (closer to the town centre and the lake boat pier) and Interlaken Ost (the interchange for trains into the mountains, including the line towards Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald, and the Golden Pass and Luzern–Interlaken Express services). They are about fifteen minutes apart on foot along the main street, or one stop apart by local train.
The town itself is walkable end to end in under half an hour. Local buses exist but most visitors never need them for anything inside Interlaken; they matter more for reaching trailheads or campsites slightly outside the centre. Bikes and e-bikes are widely rented and a reasonable way to cover more ground — an e-bike tour taking in the lakes, ruins and viewpoints around town covers more of the surrounding countryside in a morning than most people manage on foot in two days.
Using Interlaken as a base for the Jungfrau region
This is, realistically, why most people come. From Interlaken Ost, trains run onward into the Lauterbrunnen valley and to Grindelwald, from where connections continue up to Kleine Scheidegg and eventually Jungfraujoch itself, at 3,454 metres the highest railway station in Europe. It is a full and fairly expensive day out — return fares from Interlaken run into several hundred francs before any pass discount — and worth reading about in detail before booking, since what nobody tells you about Jungfraujoch covers the crowding and weather risk that brochures tend to leave out.
For travellers who would rather have logistics handled, an organised day trip to Jungfraujoch from Interlaken removes the ticket-timing puzzle, and a private van tour combining the St. Beatus Caves and Harder Kulm is a gentler alternative on a day when the high mountain forecast looks poor.
Beyond Jungfraujoch, Interlaken is also the base for reaching Lauterbrunnen and its waterfalls, Grindelwald, Wengen, and the Schilthorn at Mürren, all of which are best treated as separate day trips rather than crammed into one itinerary. A best mountain excursions from Zurich comparison is useful for deciding which of these actually matches your interests before you start buying lift tickets.
Lake Thun and Lake Brienz by boat
Both lakes are worked by scheduled passenger boats, and a return trip on either makes for a relaxed half-day that needs no advance booking beyond a standard ticket. Lake Brienz is the more visually striking of the two, its water an intense turquoise fed by glacial sediment, with the Giessbach Falls tumbling almost directly into it — reachable by boat and a short funicular ride up to the historic Grandhotel Giessbach. Lake Thun has more built-up shoreline and passes Spiez castle and the town of Thun itself, making it the better choice for travellers who want towns as well as scenery.
A combined outing covering St. Beatus Caves, a boat trip and lakeside time is bookable as an Interlaken cruise on Lake Thun with the St. Beatus Caves and a picnic, and the caves themselves — a network of show caves above the lake, with a waterfall at the entrance — are worth the detour on a hot day when the water itself is only good for looking at, not swimming in. Further detail on both lakes is in the dedicated Lake Thun and Brienz cruises guide.
Paragliding above the valley
Interlaken’s paragliding scene exists because the geography is close to ideal: launch sites at Beatenberg, Schynige Platte and the Allmendhubel above Mürren all look down onto flat, obstacle-free landing zones, chiefly the Höhematte. Tandem flights run daily in season, weather permitting, and typically last 15–25 minutes in the air after a short uphill transfer to the launch point.
Cancellation for wind or low cloud is common enough that booking a flight for your last full day, rather than your only day, avoids disappointment. A single tandem flight generally costs in the region of CHF 170–220 depending on operator and launch site, before any photo or video package.
It is not a cheap add-on, but it is also the one activity in this guide that people who have done it consistently describe as worth the price, which is not something that can be said of every overpriced attraction in this region — see the honest comparison in Pilatus vs Rigi vs Titlis for a case where the enthusiasm is more mixed. For a broader look at options beyond paragliding, paragliding and other adventure sports near Zurich rounds up alternatives across the wider region.
Where to eat and what it costs
Interlaken’s restaurant prices sit at the level typical of Swiss resort towns: a coffee runs CHF 4.50–5.50, a simple lunch (rösti, a sandwich, a bowl of soup) CHF 20–28, and a sit-down dinner main CHF 28–45, more at hotel restaurants directly on the Höhematte. Fondue and raclette are on most menus from autumn through spring and are priced per person rather than as a fixed dish, typically CHF 26–32 for a standard cheese fondue.
There is no reason to expect Interlaken to be cheaper than Zürich; Switzerland’s overall price level applies here too, and the town’s dependence on tourism means restaurant prices along the main street reflect that rather than local wages. Self-catering from the Coop or Migros supermarkets near both stations is the most reliable way to bring the daily budget down, exactly as it is anywhere else in Switzerland — see Zurich on a budget for the same logic applied more broadly, and the real cost of a coffee in Zurich for a sense of how little regional variation there actually is.
Where to stay
| Type | Typical price per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm bed | CHF 40–55 | Several well-reviewed options near both stations |
| Mid-range double room | CHF 150–220 | Widely available, book ahead in July–August |
| Lakefront hotel | CHF 250 and up | Views of the Höhematte or a lake, premium for location |
Interlaken West is the more convenient side for most travellers, closer to the lake boat pier and the town’s restaurants; Interlaken Ost suits anyone prioritising an early start into the mountains. Neither side adds meaningful walking time in a town this compact.
When to visit, and when the lifts close
June through September is the reliable window: lake boats run full timetables, hiking trails are clear of snow above the treeline, and paragliding operates most days. Winter brings a quieter, cheaper town and functioning ski areas nearby, covered in skiing day trips from Zurich, but some boat services are reduced.
The detail that catches people out is maintenance closures. Cable cars and funiculars in the region — including some serving Harder Kulm’s neighbouring peaks and lifts further into the Jungfrau region — routinely shut for a week or two in spring (typically April–May) and again in autumn (typically November) for scheduled engineering work. This is standard practice, not a sign anything is wrong, but it has ruined plenty of itineraries built without checking first. Always confirm a specific lift’s operating dates directly before basing a day trip around it, particularly if travelling in the shoulder seasons.
Frequently asked questions about visiting Interlaken
How do I get from Zurich to Interlaken?
Direct trains run from Zurich HB to Interlaken Ost roughly every hour and take about 2 hours. There is no need to change unless engineering works are posted on the day, in which case SBB shows the alternative route on the departure board.
Is Interlaken itself worth a full day, or just a stopover?
Half a day covers the town well: the Höhematte meadow, a walk along the Aare, and the Harder Kulm funicular. Most travellers then spend the rest of their time on excursions into the Jungfrau region rather than in Interlaken itself.
Which lake is better, Thun or Brienz?
Lake Brienz is the more strikingly turquoise of the two and has the Giessbach Falls; Lake Thun has more towns and castles along its shore, including Spiez and Thun itself. Both are served by boats from Interlaken and neither is a wasted afternoon.
Do I need a car in Interlaken?
No. The town has two train stations, Interlaken West and Interlaken Ost, and everything in the Jungfrau region is reached by train, funicular or cable car. A car adds parking costs and nothing you cannot already do by rail.
When do the mountain lifts around Interlaken close for maintenance?
Cable cars and funiculars in the region typically close for a week or two in spring and again in autumn for scheduled maintenance. Always check the specific lift’s website before building a day trip around it, especially outside July and August.
Is Interlaken cheaper than Zurich?
Restaurant meals and hotel rooms are broadly similar to Zurich, since both sit within Switzerland’s high overall price level. The main extra cost in Interlaken is the mountain excursions themselves, which are billed separately from accommodation and food.
Can I paraglide over Interlaken without experience?
Yes, tandem paragliding flights with a licensed pilot are the standard option and need no experience, only reasonable fitness for the running take-off. Flights are weather-dependent and get cancelled or rescheduled on windy or low-cloud days.
