Swiss Alps: Interlaken and Zermatt

Day by day

The plan

Times are suggestions. Opening hours and seasons change, so check before you go. Once it’s in your trip, move anything you like.

1. Day 1

   Arrive in Interlaken

   1. 10:00

      Train to Interlaken

      Getting around

      Direct trains from Zurich and Bern run along the lakes; get off at Interlaken Ost for the mountain lines.

   2. 13:00

      Stay in Interlaken

      Stay

      A town between two lakes and the hub for every train and lift in the Jungfrau region.

   3. 13:30

      Lunch: rösti

      Food & drink

      Crisp grated potatoes, often topped with cheese and a fried egg.

   4. 15:30

      Harder Kulm

      Activity

      A funicular up to a lookout over both lakes, with the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau in a row.

   5. 18:30

      Evening on the Höhematte

      Activity

      A big meadow in the center of town, with the Jungfrau glowing at the end of the valley.

2. Day 2

   Lauterbrunnen valley

   1. 08:30

      Train to Lauterbrunnen

      Getting around

      Twenty minutes into a deep glacial valley with sheer rock walls.

   2. 09:00

      Staubbach Falls

      Activity

      A waterfall dropping straight off the cliff above the village; a path leads behind it.

   3. 10:30

      Trümmelbach Falls

      Activity

      Glacier meltwater thunders through the inside of the mountain, reached by a tunnel lift.

   4. 13:00

      Lunch in Mürren

      Food & drink

      Ride the cable car up to a car-free village on a ledge facing the big peaks.

   5. 14:30

      Walk from Mürren to Gimmelwald

      Activity

      An hour downhill past farms and barns to a tiny village, then the cable car back to the valley.

3. Day 3

   Grindelwald and Bachalpsee

   1. 08:00

      Train to Grindelwald

      Getting around

      The other branch from Interlaken, to a village right under the north face of the Eiger.

   2. 09:00

      Gondola to First

      Getting around

      A long gondola ride to the high pastures above the village.

   3. 09:45

      Hike to Bachalpsee

      Activity

      About an hour each way on a wide trail to a lake with the peaks mirrored in it.

   4. 13:00

      Lunch: alpine cheese and dried meats

      Food & drink

      Eat on a terrace at First before heading down.

   5. 16:30

      Boat on Lake Brienz

      Activity

      Back in Interlaken, a slow boat across turquoise water to rest your legs.

4. Day 4

   Train to Zermatt

   1. 09:00

      Interlaken to Zermatt by train

      Getting around

      Change at Spiez and Visp; the trip takes a little over two hours through the Lötschberg tunnel.

   2. 12:00

      Stay in Zermatt

      Stay

      A car-free village at the foot of the Matterhorn, base for the rest of the trip.

   3. 13:00

      Lunch on the main street

      Food & drink

      Pick a terrace with a view up the valley to the mountain.

   4. 15:00

      Hinterdorf and the Mountaineers’ Cemetery

      Activity

      Old larch barns on stone stilts, and the graves of climbers who tried the Matterhorn.

   5. 19:00

      Dinner: cheese fondue or raclette

      Food & drink

      The classic Valais dinner after a day in the mountains.

5. Day 5

   Gornergrat and Riffelsee

   1. 08:00

      Gornergrat railway

      Getting around

      A cog railway climbs to over 3,000 m; sit on the right going up for the Matterhorn.

   2. 08:45

      Gornergrat summit

      Activity

      A ring of glaciers and more than twenty peaks over 4,000 m, with the Matterhorn alone in front.

   3. 10:30

      Walk down to Riffelsee

      Activity

      Get off at Rotenboden and walk to the lake where the Matterhorn reflects on calm mornings.

   4. 12:30

      Lunch at Riffelberg

      Food & drink

      Continue on foot to the next station and eat with the mountain in view.

   5. 15:30

      Gorner Gorge

      Activity

      Wooden walkways run through a narrow gorge carved by the glacier river, just outside the village.

6. Day 6

   Five Lakes Walk and home

   1. 08:00

      Funicular to Sunnegga, gondola to Blauherd

      Getting around

      An underground funicular and a gondola take you up to the start of the trail.

   2. 09:00

      Five Lakes Walk

      Activity

      About two and a half hours past five small lakes, several with the Matterhorn reflected in them.

   3. 12:30

      Lunch at Sunnegga

      Food & drink

      A last mountain lunch before the funicular back down.

   4. 15:00

      Train to Zurich or Geneva

      Getting around

      Both airports are reachable by train in about three and a half to four hours.