TL;DR: A 75-minute audio companion for the boat cruise from Interlaken Ost to Brienz across Lake Brienz (Brienzersee) -- the most intensely turquoise lake in Switzerland. Pass beneath the thundering Giessbach Falls, discover a wood-carving village with a 200-year tradition, and cruise through water so brilliantly colored it seems almost artificial. A shorter, wilder, more intimate alternative to Lake Thun.
Cruise Overview
| Route | Interlaken Ost -- Boenigen -- Iseltwald -- Giessbach -- Brienz |
| Duration | ~75 minutes (Interlaken Ost to Brienz) |
| Operator | BLS Schifffahrt (BLS Navigation) |
| Vessel | Historic paddle steamer DS Lotschberg or motor vessel |
| Swiss Travel Pass | Fully covered (free) |
| Best Seat | Upper deck, port (left) side from Interlaken for Giessbach Falls |
| Best Time | Late morning to early afternoon for the most vivid turquoise color |
Introduction
[Duration: 3 minutes | Departure from Interlaken Ost pier]
Welcome aboard this ch.tours audio guide for the cruise across Lake Brienz -- the Brienzersee -- from Interlaken Ost to the village of Brienz.
If you have already crossed Lake Thun on the ch.tours Lake Thun audio guide, you might expect more of the same. You would be wrong. Lake Brienz is Lake Thun's wilder, more dramatic sibling. While Lake Thun is wide, relatively gentle, and lined with castles, Lake Brienz is narrow, steep-sided, and intensely alpine. The mountains press close on both sides, waterfalls tumble directly into the lake from dizzying heights, and the water -- the water is extraordinary.
Lake Brienz is famous for its color. The lake has arguably the most vivid turquoise water of any large lake in Switzerland, a color so intense that first-time visitors often stop and stare in disbelief. The color comes from glacial flour -- microscopically fine rock particles ground by the glaciers high above the valley, carried into the lake by meltwater streams. These particles remain suspended in the water and scatter light in a way that produces that distinctive blue-green luminescence. The color is most intense in late spring and summer, when glacier melt is at its peak, and it varies with the light and weather -- pale jade on overcast days, electric turquoise under direct sun.
The lake itself is 14 kilometers long, up to 2.8 kilometers wide, and reaches a maximum depth of 260 meters -- deeper than Lake Thun despite being smaller. It sits at 564 meters above sea level. The Aare River connects it to Lake Thun via the flat alluvial plain on which Interlaken sits.
If you are on the paddle steamer Lotschberg, you are aboard a vessel built in 1914 and lovingly restored. It is the only historic paddle steamer on Lake Brienz, and its wood-paneled salons and brass fittings are a journey through time in themselves.
The boat is pulling away from the pier. The lake is before you.
Segment 1: Departing Interlaken Ost
[Duration: 5 minutes | 0-8 minutes into the journey]
As the boat leaves the Interlaken Ost pier and enters the lake, look behind you for a moment. On a clear day, you can see the Jungfrau, Monch, and Eiger rising above the valley to the south. These three peaks -- at 4,158, 4,107, and 3,967 meters respectively -- form the most famous skyline in the Bernese Oberland. The Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the Monch and the Jungfrau at 3,454 meters, is home to the highest railway station in Europe, reachable by a remarkable cogwheel train from Interlaken via Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen.
Now look ahead. The lake stretches eastward between two mountain walls. To your right -- the starboard side -- the Brienzer Rothorn rises to 2,350 meters. You will see it more clearly as you approach Brienz. To your left -- the port side -- the mountains of the Faulhorn chain create a continuous wall of forest and rock.
The first settlement you pass on the starboard side is Boenigen, a small village at the western end of the lake. Boenigen has a quiet beach area and is popular with swimmers in summer. The water temperature in Lake Brienz reaches about 20 degrees Celsius in August -- cold by Mediterranean standards but refreshing by Swiss alpine standards.
Notice the color of the water as the boat moves into the deeper part of the lake. The turquoise becomes more intense as you leave the shallow western end, where the Aare brings in sediment, and enter the deeper central basin. This is the color that gives Lake Brienz its reputation.
Segment 2: Iseltwald
[Duration: 8 minutes | 8-20 minutes into the journey]
On the port side, the village appearing along the southern shore is Iseltwald, one of the most picturesque small villages in the Bernese Oberland. Iseltwald has a population of approximately 400 and sits on a small peninsula jutting into the lake.
The village gained sudden international fame when a popular Korean television drama filmed key scenes on the small wooden jetty at Iseltwald in 2022. The show's global audience turned this quiet village into an overnight destination, and visitors from across Asia began arriving to photograph themselves on the jetty. The surge was so significant that the village introduced a ticketing system for the jetty to manage crowds -- a remarkable turn for a place that had been largely unknown outside Switzerland.
Beyond the celebrity, Iseltwald is genuinely charming. Traditional wooden chalets line the waterfront, fishing boats bob at anchor, and the surrounding mountains create a sense of sheltered isolation. The village has no train station -- it is served only by the boat and a narrow road -- which adds to its feeling of remoteness.
On the starboard side, opposite Iseltwald, the northern shore is steep and forested. The Augstmatthorn, at 2,137 meters, rises behind the tree line, and the ridge walk from the Harder Kulm above Interlaken to the Augstmatthorn is considered one of the finest day hikes in the Bernese Oberland -- a high route with continuous views over both lakes.
The water around you is now at its deepest and most intensely colored. If you can see the surface from above -- perhaps by leaning over the railing -- the color gradation is remarkable: pale at the very edge where the boat cuts through, deepening to vivid turquoise within a few meters, and darkening to near-indigo in the center of the lake.
Segment 3: Giessbach Falls
[Duration: 10 minutes | 20-35 minutes into the journey]
This is the highlight of the Lake Brienz cruise. On the port side, as the boat rounds a slight bend, a massive waterfall comes into view, cascading down the cliff face in a series of steps directly into the lake. This is the Giessbach Falls -- the Giessbachfalle -- one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Switzerland.
The Giessbach Falls drop a total of 500 meters over 14 stages, the lowest of which plunge directly into Lake Brienz. The falls are fed by streams draining the high mountains above, and their volume varies with the season -- a roaring torrent in late spring when the snow melts, a still-impressive cascade in summer, and a delicate veil in autumn. In winter, sections of the falls freeze into columns of ice.
The steamer will stop at the Giessbach pier, which sits at the base of the falls. If you disembark here -- and it is highly recommended -- you can ride the Giessbach Funicular up to the Grandhotel Giessbach, a magnificent 19th-century hotel perched on a terrace directly beside the falls. The funicular is the oldest in Europe still in operation, dating to 1879. The short ride costs approximately CHF 6, or it is free with the Swiss Travel Pass.
The Grandhotel Giessbach has a remarkable history of survival. Built in 1873-1875, it was one of the grand hotels of the Belle Epoque, attracting aristocratic guests from across Europe. By the late 20th century, the hotel had fallen into disrepair, and in 1979 it was threatened with demolition. A national campaign, led by the Swiss conservationist Franz Weber, raised funds to purchase the hotel and the surrounding parkland. The hotel was meticulously restored and reopened in 1984 as a heritage hotel. Today, the Grandhotel Giessbach is a protected site, and its terrace -- with the waterfall thundering past just meters away -- is one of the most dramatic dining spots in Switzerland.
Even if you stay on the boat, the approach to Giessbach is unforgettable. The falls appear suddenly from behind the trees, a white curtain against the dark rock, with the hotel perched above and the turquoise lake below. It is one of those Swiss moments that seems too perfectly composed to be real.
Segment 4: The Eastern Shore
[Duration: 8 minutes | 35-50 minutes into the journey]
After Giessbach, the boat continues eastward along the southern shore toward Brienz. This section of the lake is the most dramatically alpine. The mountains on both sides are steep and heavily forested, with occasional clearings where avalanche paths have swept the trees away. Waterfalls streak the cliff faces on both sides -- smaller than Giessbach but numerous, especially after rain or during snowmelt.
On the port side, the Oltschibachfall drops in a long, thin ribbon from the cliffs above the village of Brienz. Several more unnamed waterfalls tumble from hanging valleys on the northern shore, visible on the starboard side. In total, more than 20 waterfalls flow into Lake Brienz, giving it the highest concentration of lakeside waterfalls in Switzerland.
The water here is exceptionally clear and cold. Lake Brienz is one of the cleanest and least nutrient-rich (oligotrophic) large lakes in Switzerland, which contributes to both its clarity and its vivid color. The low nutrient content means relatively few algae grow in the water, keeping it transparent. You can see several meters into the depths -- a rare quality for a lake of this size.
The clarity has a downside, however. The low nutrient levels mean that Lake Brienz supports fewer fish than most Swiss lakes of comparable size. Fishermen have noted declining catches over the decades, and scientific studies have linked the decline to the lake's increasing oligotrophy -- partly a result of improved wastewater treatment around the lake, which reduced the nutrient input that had artificially boosted fish populations. It is an ironic outcome: cleaner water producing a less biologically productive lake. The debate over whether to allow more nutrients into the lake to support fishing is one of the quiet environmental discussions of the Bernese Oberland.
The geology of the lake basin is also notable. Lake Brienz lies in a trough carved by glaciers during the Ice Age, and the steep sides of the lake reflect the hard crystalline rock of the Aar Massif -- some of the oldest and hardest rock in the Alps, dating to over 300 million years ago. This ancient rock is why the lake shore is so steep and why the cliffs drop so abruptly to the water.
On the starboard side, the Brienzer Rothorn is now clearly visible, its summit at 2,350 meters rising above the tree line. A historic steam-powered cogwheel railway climbs from Brienz village to the summit -- the Brienz Rothorn Bahn, opened in 1892, is the only purely steam-operated cogwheel railway still running regular services in Switzerland. The coal-fired steam locomotives haul vintage wooden carriages up a gradient of up to 25 percent, and the one-hour journey to the summit is a living piece of railway history. From the top, the panorama encompasses both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, the Bernese Alps from the Jungfrau to the Titlis, and on clear days, the Swiss Mittelland all the way to the Jura.
Segment 5: Arriving in Brienz
[Duration: 8 minutes | 50-65 minutes into the journey]
The village coming into view at the eastern end of the lake is Brienz, a small community of approximately 3,000 residents that has been famous for one particular craft for over 200 years: wood carving.
The Brienz wood-carving tradition began in the early 19th century when local craftsmen started producing carved figures and decorative objects for the growing number of tourists visiting the Bernese Oberland. The art form developed rapidly, and by the mid-1800s, Brienz had become the center of the Swiss wood-carving industry. In 1884, the Swiss government established the Schule fur Holzbildhauerei -- the School of Wood Sculpture -- in Brienz, and it still operates today, training the next generation of woodcarvers in a four-year apprenticeship program. The school is now part of the Haute Ecole d'Art du Bois (Higher Education School for Wood Art) and is unique in Europe.
Walking through Brienz, you will find workshops and showrooms displaying everything from intricate figurines and relief carvings to furniture and full-scale sculptures. The craft has evolved from souvenir production to fine art, and Brienz-trained carvers are recognized internationally.
Brienz is also home to the Freilichtmuseum Ballenberg -- the Ballenberg Open-Air Museum -- located about 2 kilometers east of the village. Ballenberg is Switzerland's largest open-air museum, spread over 66 hectares, with more than 100 historic buildings relocated from across the country. Farmhouses, barns, workshops, and alpine huts from every Swiss canton have been carefully dismantled, transported, and rebuilt at Ballenberg, creating a living village that demonstrates how Swiss people lived and worked from the 15th to the 19th century. There are live craft demonstrations -- cheese-making, bread-baking, blacksmithing, lace-making -- and the setting, in a wide alpine valley with mountain views in every direction, is beautiful. Entry is approximately CHF 32, and you can easily spend half a day here. The museum is open from April to October.
Closing
[Duration: 3 minutes]
As the boat arrives at the Brienz pier, your cruise across the turquoise lake is complete.
Lake Brienz is one of those places that stays with you. The color of the water, the thunder of the Giessbach Falls, the steep alpine walls pressing close -- it is a wilder, more elemental experience than most Swiss lake cruises. This is not a lake of castles and promenades. It is a lake of waterfalls and glacial color, a lake that reminds you how powerful the natural forces are that shaped the Alps.
From Brienz, you have several options. The Brienz Rothorn steam railway departs from a station near the pier -- an unforgettable journey if you have the time. The Ballenberg Open-Air Museum is a short bus ride east. And the Brienz-Interlaken railway follows the northern shore of the lake back to Interlaken Ost in about 20 minutes, offering views you could not see from the boat.
If you are continuing your journey through the Bernese Oberland, ch.tours offers audio guides for Lake Thun, the Jungfrau region, and the GoldenPass Express from Interlaken to Montreux. The combination of Lake Thun and Lake Brienz -- one castle-rich and pastoral, the other wild and turquoise -- is one of the great paired experiences in Swiss travel.
Thank you for joining this ch.tours Lake Brienz cruise. The turquoise water will stay in your memory for a long time.
Source: ch.tours | Audio Guide Script | Last updated: March 2026 | Data from BLS Schifffahrt (bls.ch), MySwitzerland.com, SBB (sbb.ch), Swisstopo, Ballenberg (ballenberg.ch), Giessbach (giessbach.ch), Brienz Rothorn Bahn (brienz-rothorn-bahn.ch)