Central Europe
Two valleys split by a single ridge of the Bernese Alps: Lauterbrunnen's 72 waterfalls and the valley that inspired Rivendell, and Grindelwald under the north face of the Eiger. The James Bond lookout, the highest railway in Europe, and the best mountain views I have ever woken up to.
The Jungfrau region, from Grindelwald under the Eiger to the peaks and gondolas of the Bernese Alps, captured on my trip.
I rented a car and spent a week driving across Switzerland, and the stretch I keep coming back to is the Jungfrau region, two valleys separated by a single ridge of the Bernese Alps: Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. I stopped in both, rode the cable car up to the James Bond lookout above Lauterbrunnen, and spent the night in Grindelwald under some of the best mountain views I have ever woken up to. If you make me choose, Grindelwald wins, but you would be wrong to skip either.
Things to Do
Start in Lauterbrunnen, a village sitting on the floor of a glacial valley so steep it looks unreal, with the Staubbach Falls pouring almost 300 metres down the cliff right behind the houses. From the valley, ride the cable car up to the Schilthorn and its revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria, the James Bond lookout with 360-degree views of the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Do not miss the Trümmelbach Falls either, a set of ten glacial waterfalls hidden inside the mountain that you reach through a tunnel. Then cross the ridge to Grindelwald, the bigger and livelier base, sitting directly under the north face of the Eiger. From here you can ride the Jungfrau Railway up to the Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe, or take the newer Eiger Express gondola, walk the First Cliff Walk suspended off the rock, and, my personal highlight, ride the Pfingstegg toboggan run: a 725-metre track you take down the mountain at up to 40 kilometres an hour, with the Eiger filling the sky the whole way.
The Valley That Inspired Rivendell
Lauterbrunnen is known as the Valley of 72 Waterfalls, and the number is not marketing: meltwater pours off the vertical cliffs on both sides all summer long. The star is Staubbach Falls, one of the highest free-falling waterfalls in Europe at 297 metres. Its name means "dust brook," because the water breaks into mist long before it reaches the ground. Goethe stood beneath it in 1779 and wrote a poem about it. More than a century later, in 1911, a 19-year-old J.R.R. Tolkien hiked through this valley, and it is widely believed to have shaped his vision of Rivendell, the elven refuge in The Lord of the Rings. Look up at the sheer walls and the falling water and it is not hard to see. The valley's other secret is the Trümmelbach Falls, ten glacier-fed waterfalls carving corkscrew gorges inside the mountain, draining the ice from the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau at around 20,000 litres a second. They were invisible until a tunnel was cut into the rock in 1877.
The Revolving Restaurant Where James Bond Blew Up a Mountain
The cable car ride I took above Lauterbrunnen climbs to the Schilthorn, a 2,970-metre summit crowned by Piz Gloria, the first revolving restaurant in the Alps. It owes its fame to one film: the 1969 James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service, in which the summit plays the mountaintop lair of Bond's nemesis Blofeld. The production actually helped pay to finish the restaurant, gave it the name Piz Gloria, and blew it up on screen in the finale. Today the restaurant still turns slowly through a full rotation while you eat, there is a Bond exhibition called Spy World, and a Thrill Walk bolted to the cliff at the station below. The views run to more than 200 peaks, with the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau lined up across the valley.
The Highest Railway in Europe
Rising on the other side of the valley is the Jungfraujoch, at 3,454 metres the highest railway station in Europe, marketed with good reason as the Top of Europe. Getting there is the real feat. The Jungfrau Railway opened in 1912 after sixteen years of construction, and most of its route runs through a tunnel blasted straight through the Eiger and the Mönch, with a stop partway up where windows cut into the Eiger's north face look out onto the glacier. At the top you stand among permanent snowfields, an ice palace carved into the glacier, and a view down the Aletsch, the longest glacier in the Alps. Speaking of that north face: the Eiger's Nordwand is one of the most notorious climbs in mountaineering, a nearly 1,800-metre wall that has killed dozens of climbers since the first attempts in the 1930s. From Grindelwald you look straight up at it.
Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen: which is better?
Both are worth a stop, and plenty of people base in one and day-trip to the other. Lauterbrunnen is the more dramatic to look at, a narrow valley floor hemmed in by waterfalls, and it is the gateway to the car-free villages of Wengen, Mürren, and Gimmelwald clinging to the cliffs above. Grindelwald is bigger, has more to do, more places to eat and stay, and sits in a wider, sunnier bowl with the Eiger looming right over town. I stayed a night in Grindelwald and the view from the room alone made the case: for me it is the better base. If you only have time for one and you want waterfalls and quiet, choose Lauterbrunnen. If you want mountains, activity, and a real town, choose Grindelwald.
Best Time to Visit
Summer, roughly June through September, is peak: every cable car and trail is open, the waterfalls are at full flow, and the high alpine is accessible. It is also the busiest and most expensive. I went in early October and it was close to ideal, thinner crowds, the first dusting of snow high on the peaks, and the larch turning gold, though some seasonal attractions like the Pfingstegg toboggan run close by late October. Winter turns the region into a major ski destination. Spring can be hit or miss, with many mountain lifts still closed into May.
Where to Stay
I stayed in Grindelwald and would do it again: the town has the fuller range of hotels and the mountain views are hard to beat, especially anything facing the Eiger. It is also the more convenient base if you want to do the Jungfraujoch or ski. Lauterbrunnen itself is smaller and quieter, and a good pick if you want to be under the waterfalls, while the tiny car-free villages above it, Wengen and Mürren, trade convenience for total alpine calm and some of the best views in the region. Wherever you land, book well ahead in summer; this is one of the most popular corners of the Alps and the good rooms go early. Compare options here:
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Getting Around
I drove, and a rental car is great for seeing the wider country, but know that inside the Jungfrau region the mountains do a lot of the work for you. Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen are both easy to reach by car or by train from Interlaken, but the high-altitude excursions, the Jungfraujoch, the Schilthorn, the cliffside villages, are reached only by cog railway and cable car, not road. Parking in the villages is limited and not cheap. If you are relying on trains and lifts, look at the Swiss Travel Pass or the Half Fare Card, which cut the cost of nearly every train, bus, and cable car, because individual mountain tickets here add up fast. Wengen, Mürren, and Gimmelwald are car-free, so you park below and ride up.
What Most Visitors Miss
Most people do the Jungfraujoch and a photo of Staubbach Falls and move on. The misses: the Pfingstegg toboggan run above Grindelwald, which almost nobody outside of families rides and which was the most fun I had in the region. Trümmelbach Falls, the glacier waterfalls hidden inside the mountain, far less visited than the falls you can see from the road. The car-free hamlet of Gimmelwald, quieter and more real than its famous neighbor Mürren. And the walk between the cliff villages, the trail from Mürren toward Grütschalp with the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau in front of you the whole way, which costs nothing and beats most of the paid viewpoints.
Is Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen better for first-timers?
Both are excellent. Grindelwald is the larger, livelier base with more hotels, more to do, and the Eiger right over town. Lauterbrunnen is smaller, quieter, and more dramatic, ringed by waterfalls and cliffs. Many visitors base in one and day-trip to the other; the two are about 30 to 40 minutes apart.
What is the James Bond mountain in Switzerland?
The Schilthorn, above Lauterbrunnen, and its revolving summit restaurant Piz Gloria, which appeared in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. You reach it by cable car from Stechelberg via Mürren, and there is a Bond exhibition and a cliff walk at the top.
How high is the Jungfraujoch?
The Jungfraujoch sits at 3,454 metres and is the highest railway station in Europe. The Jungfrau Railway, opened in 1912, climbs to it through a tunnel bored through the Eiger and Mönch.
Do you need a car in Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen?
Not really. Both are easy to reach by train from Interlaken, and the mountain excursions run on cog railways and cable cars, not roads. A car helps for exploring the rest of Switzerland but is not needed within the Jungfrau region itself.
When is the best time to visit the Jungfrau region?
June through September for full access to trails and lifts and the best weather. Early autumn is quieter, with golden larches and first snow on the peaks. Winter is prime skiing; spring is unpredictable, with some lifts still closed.
