Where to stay in Interlaken
Sleep up the valley, not on Interlaken's strip: Lauterbrunnen suits most first-timers, Grindelwald the hikers, and car-free Wengen or Mürren anyone chasing the quiet and the views.
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In short
Where to stay in Interlaken
For a first trip, base in Lauterbrunnen rather than Interlaken town: it is 20 minutes by train from Interlaken Ost, sits under the Staubbach Falls, and puts you on the lines to Wengen, Mürren and the Schilthorn. Choose Grindelwald if you want resort comforts and the Eiger Express, Wengen or Mürren for car-free calm above the valley, and a hotel beside Interlaken Ost only if you are arriving late or chasing an early Jungfraujoch start.
The short version
- Best all-rounder: Lauterbrunnen.
- Best value with character: a guesthouse in Lauterbrunnen village rather than a Grindelwald resort hotel.
- Best atmosphere: car-free Wengen or Mürren on their cliff terraces.
- Best for hikers and resort comforts: Grindelwald under the Eiger.
- Avoid using central Interlaken near Höheweg as your default base; it is flat and built-up, not where the scenery is.
Best areas to book
Lauterbrunnen
££ mid-rangeThe single best first-trip base: a valley-floor village under the Staubbach Falls, 20 minutes by train from Interlaken Ost, with direct cog railways up to Wengen and the cable car to the Schilthorn from nearby Stechelberg. Rooms are limited and book out weeks ahead in July and August, but you wake to cliffs and waterfalls instead of Interlaken's watch shops.
Best for: First-timers, scenery, hikers, photographers
Grindelwald
£££ premiumThe larger resort village under the Eiger north face, with the most hotels and restaurants in the region and the Eiger Express gondola onto the Jungfraujoch line. Busier and dearer than Lauterbrunnen, but the apres, the choice of rooms and the easy access to the high trails make it the comfort pick for a hiking week.
Best for: Hiking bases, resort comforts, winter sports
Wengen
£££ premiumCar-free terrace village above Lauterbrunnen, reached only by the cog railway, with balcony views straight across to the Jungfrau. Quieter than the valley floor and a short ride below Kleine Scheidegg for the Jungfraujoch train, though everything you bring has to come up by rail and there is no late-night life.
Best for: Couples, quiet stays, car-free calm
Mürren
£££ premiumThe highest and most isolated of the car-free villages, perched at 1,650m on the cliff opposite Lauterbrunnen and reached by the Schilthorn cable car or the funicular from Grütschalp. It has the best balcony panorama in the region and the Schilthorn on its doorstep, but it is the longest haul from Interlaken Ost and the smallest village for dining out.
Best for: Views, Schilthorn-first stays, real quiet
Central Interlaken (by Interlaken Ost)
££ mid-rangeFlat, built-up and lined with chain hotels and watch shops along the Höheweg, but unbeatable for changing trains, late arrivals and a dawn Jungfraujoch start, since every mountain train leaves from Ost. Book to Ost, not the West station. Choose it for pure logistics, with the Hohematte park and the Harder Kulm funicular as the only real reasons to linger in town.
Best for: Late arrivals, transit nights, convenience
Lakeside (Spiez and Thun)
£ valueThe Lake Thun towns on the rail line into Interlaken, with castles, vineyards and lower room rates than the mountain villages. They trade the high-Alpine setting for cheaper, quieter nights and a 20-30 minute train back to Interlaken Ost, which suits a longer stay or a budget that the Jungfrau villages strain.
Best for: Value, longer stays, lake scenery
The simple choice
If you are booking in a hurry, filter for Lauterbrunnen first, then compare Grindelwald only if Lauterbrunnen is full or you want a bigger resort. That one rule keeps most first-timers out of the common trap: booking a convenient-looking hotel on Interlaken's Höheweg and then spending the whole trip on trains to reach the scenery they came for. Whichever village you pick, book a hotel near its station and to Interlaken Ost rather than West, because Ost is where every mountain train begins.
In July and August the valley villages sell out weeks ahead and rooms are at their dearest; book early or look at Spiez and Thun on the lake for both space and a lower rate.
Safety and altitude
Switzerland has one of the lowest serious-crime rates in Europe, so the where-to-stay risks here are not about which street is safe; GOV.UK flags petty theft on trains and the mountains themselves as the real concern. For booking, that means thinking about altitude and access: Mürren and Wengen at over 1,600m and 1,200m can feel cold and thin-aired on arrival, and a car-free village means carrying luggage from the station, so pack light if you sleep up high. Check avalanche and weather conditions before any winter or high-trail plans (GOV.UK).
Budget vs splurge
The cheapest beds are the Lauterbrunnen campsites and Interlaken hostels, where a dorm runs roughly CHF 45-60 (about £40-£53), or a lakeside room in Spiez or Thun. A valley double in Lauterbrunnen is the sensible middle, while Grindelwald, Wengen and Mürren carry resort premiums for the views. Remember the real Interlaken cost is not the room but the mountain railways, so a few francs saved on a far-out hotel are quickly lost in extra valley fares; staying on the line you will use most days is the genuine saving.
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