TL;DR: A 45-minute orientation walk through Interlaken, Switzerland's adventure capital set between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. This shorter tour is perfect for first-time visitors who want to get their bearings, enjoy the famous Jungfrau panorama, explore the charming old village of Unterseen, and discover the best viewpoints and adventure launch spots -- all before deciding how to spend the rest of their stay.
Tour Overview
| Duration | ~45 minutes (walking + narration) |
| Distance | ~2.5 km |
| Stops | 7 |
| Difficulty | Easy (completely flat terrain) |
| Start | Interlaken West station |
| End | Harder Kulm base station (near Interlaken Ost) |
| Best Time | Morning (08:00-10:00) for the clearest Jungfrau views; afternoons often bring clouds |
| Accessibility | Fully wheelchair-accessible; all paths are paved or well-maintained gravel |
Introduction
[Duration: 2 minutes]
Welcome to Interlaken -- and welcome to this ch.tours audio guide. Over the next 45 minutes, you are going to walk through one of the most dramatically located towns in Switzerland and discover why this little place, with a permanent population of just 5,800 people, draws over 2.5 million visitors a year.
The name Interlaken says it all: inter lacus -- between the lakes. The town sits on a narrow strip of flat land between Lake Thun to the west and Lake Brienz to the east, with the Aare River connecting the two. But the real reason people come here is not the lakes. It is what rises behind them.
Look south from almost anywhere in Interlaken, and you will see one of the most famous mountain panoramas on Earth: the Eiger, the Monch, and the Jungfrau -- three massive peaks soaring above 3,900 meters, capped with glaciers and snow, towering over the green valley floor. The Jungfrau alone stands at 4,158 meters, and you can ride a train to the Jungfraujoch at 3,454 meters -- the highest railway station in Europe. That is one of the excursions you might want to do during your stay. But first, let us get to know the town itself.
This walk is designed as an orientation -- a way to understand Interlaken's layout, find the best viewpoints, locate the key stations and adventure hubs, and discover the surprisingly charming old village that most visitors walk right past. It is shorter than a full walking tour because Interlaken is a base camp, not a sprawling city. The real adventures happen up in the mountains, on the lakes, and in the air -- sometimes literally, as you will see when the paragliders start landing in the middle of town.
One practical note: Interlaken has two train stations. Interlaken West is closer to the town center and the Lake Thun boats. Interlaken Ost is the hub for the Jungfrau region. You will start at West and finish near Ost, so by the end of this walk, you will know both.
Let us go.
Stop 1: Interlaken West Station
GPS: 46.6834°N, 7.8490°E Duration: 3 minutes
[Narration]
You are standing at Interlaken West, one of the town's two train stations. This is where most visitors arriving from Bern step off the train -- the direct InterRegio from the capital takes just 50 minutes, and it is a beautiful ride through the Bernese countryside.
Before you start walking, I want to help you get your bearings, because Interlaken's geography is simple once you understand it.
Picture the town as a long, narrow strip running east to west. To the west, behind you, is Lake Thun -- a large, deep lake that stretches 17.5 kilometers toward the city of Thun. Its shores are dotted with castles and vineyards. The boat pier for Lake Thun is right here, about a 2-minute walk from the station. If you want to take a lake cruise later -- and the Swiss Travel Pass covers it for free -- this is where you catch it.
To the east, about 2 kilometers from here, is Lake Brienz -- smaller, wilder, and famous for its intense turquoise color. That lake is accessed from Interlaken Ost station.
And to the south, connecting the two and filling your entire field of vision, are the Alps. The Jungfrau massif sits directly to the south, and on a clear day -- particularly in the morning -- the view from Interlaken is staggering.
Interlaken was not always a tourist town. It grew around an Augustinian monastery founded in 1133. The monks chose this spot because it was flat, fertile, and protected by mountains on all sides. Tourism arrived in the early 19th century, when Romantic-era writers like Lord Byron and Felix Mendelssohn began publishing rapturous accounts of the scenery. The first grand hotels went up in the 1830s and 1840s. The railway arrived in 1872. And by the early 1900s, with the completion of the Jungfrau Railway, Interlaken was world-famous.
Today, the town has reinvented itself as Switzerland's adventure sports capital. Paragliding, canyoning, skydiving, bungee jumping, white-water rafting -- if it involves adrenaline and altitude, Interlaken probably offers it. But do not worry. There is plenty here for those who prefer their adventures at a gentler pace.
[Transition to Stop 2]
Walk east from the station along Bahnhofstrasse for about 100 meters, then turn right onto the Hoheweg -- the broad, tree-lined boulevard that is Interlaken's main street. As you walk east along the Hoheweg, look to your right. You will see a vast open green park. Walk toward the middle of it. The walk takes about 5 minutes.
Stop 2: Hoheweg / Jungfrau View (Hohematte)
GPS: 46.6863°N, 7.8570°E Duration: 4 minutes
[Narration]
Welcome to the Hohematte, and what may be the most famous free viewpoint in Switzerland.
This large green park -- roughly 35 acres of flat, open grassland -- is deliberately kept clear of buildings and trees. And the reason is the view. Stand in the middle of the Hohematte on a clear morning and look south, and you are gazing directly at the Jungfrau (4,158 m), flanked by the Monch (4,107 m) to its left and the dark, forbidding north face of the Eiger (3,967 m) further left still. The peaks rise so abruptly from the valley floor that the sense of scale is almost disorienting. You are standing at 568 meters above sea level. The summit of the Jungfrau is nearly 3,600 meters above you. That is a vertical wall of rock, ice, and snow rising right in front of your eyes.
The Hohematte has been protected from development since 1860, when the local community recognized that this unobstructed panorama was Interlaken's greatest asset. That was a remarkably foresighted decision, and it is why you can stand here today and see the mountains without a single rooftop in the way.
This park also serves a very practical purpose: it is the landing zone for Interlaken's paragliders. On any warm afternoon, you will see colorful canopies spiraling down from Beatenberg and Amisbühl, circling above the Hohematte before touching down on the grass. Watching from below is free entertainment -- the pilots come in close, and the landings are surprisingly graceful. If you are tempted to try tandem paragliding yourself, flights cost CHF 180-220 and no experience is needed. The operators have offices along the Hoheweg.
The grand hotels lining the north side of the Hoheweg are among the finest in the Bernese Oberland. The most famous is the Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa, a five-star landmark that has been welcoming guests since 1865. Even if you are not staying there, the lobby and terrace are worth a peek -- the mountain view from the terrace lounge is spectacular.
Here is a surprising fact: despite its glamorous reputation, Interlaken is also one of the most internationally diverse destinations in Switzerland. You will hear Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Hindi, and Mandarin on the streets as often as German or English. The town's appeal is genuinely global, and that makes for an unusually cosmopolitan atmosphere in a place surrounded by Alpine meadows.
[Transition to Stop 3]
Continue east along the Hoheweg. After about 400 meters, you will see a large building on the left with a distinctive dome and surrounding gardens. That is the Casino Kursaal. The walk takes about 5 minutes.
Stop 3: Casino Kursaal
GPS: 46.6871°N, 7.8618°E Duration: 3 minutes
[Narration]
The Casino Kursaal is one of Interlaken's most recognizable buildings -- part congress center, part entertainment venue, part garden oasis. The name can be misleading: while it does have a small casino, this is primarily a cultural and event space, not a Vegas-style gambling hall.
The Kursaal tradition goes back to the 19th century, when Swiss resort towns built elegant leisure halls for their wealthy guests. The idea was to provide entertainment -- concerts, balls, card games, spa treatments -- in a setting as refined as the guests themselves. Interlaken's Kursaal was first established in the 1850s and has been rebuilt and expanded several times since.
The real highlight here is the garden. On the south side of the building, you will find a beautifully maintained Japanese garden -- a gift from the town's sister city in Japan. It is a tranquil spot with a pond, carefully raked gravel, and sculpted plantings. Considering the pace of some visitors' itineraries in Interlaken -- rushing between excursions, adventure bookings, and train connections -- this garden is a welcome reminder to slow down for a moment.
The Kursaal also hosts the Interlaken Festival and the Tellspiele -- an open-air theater production of Friedrich Schiller's play William Tell that has been performed here since 1912. If you are visiting in summer and want a uniquely Swiss cultural experience, the Tellspiele runs on selected evenings from late June through early September.
From the garden, look south again. The Jungfrau is still there, still enormous, still covered in ice. You will notice that the mountain's appearance changes throughout the day -- bright and sharply defined in the morning, often softened by clouds by early afternoon, and sometimes glowing pink-orange at sunset. Photographers take note: morning is your best window.
[Transition to Stop 4]
Now you are going to do something most visitors skip entirely. Turn around and walk west, back past the Hohematte, and then continue north across the Aare River into Unterseen. Cross the bridge at Marktgasse and walk into the Old Town. The walk takes about 8 minutes, and it is completely flat.
Stop 4: Unterseen Old Town
GPS: 46.6838°N, 7.8440°E Duration: 4 minutes
[Narration]
Welcome to Unterseen -- Interlaken's quiet, charming, and largely overlooked neighbor. Most visitors never cross the Aare to come here, and that is exactly what makes it special.
Unterseen is technically a separate municipality, though it has functionally merged with Interlaken. It is older than Interlaken itself -- it received its town charter in 1279 -- and its compact Old Town has a character entirely different from the tourism-oriented Hoheweg strip.
Look around you. The Marktplatz -- market square -- is a small, triangular space surrounded by traditional Bernese Oberland houses with heavy timber frames, overhanging eaves, and window boxes that burst with geraniums in summer. The Stadthaus, the old town hall, dates to 1471 and is one of the oldest secular buildings in the region. Its sturdy stone walls and wooden upper floors are a textbook example of late-medieval Alpine civic architecture.
The church on the edge of the square -- the Reformed Church of Unterseen -- was built in 1452 and is the oldest church in the Interlaken area. Its simple, whitewashed interior and modest tower are a reminder that this was once a farming community, not a glamorous resort.
Unterseen's lanes are quieter than anything you will find on the Interlaken side. Small galleries, a handful of local restaurants, a cheese shop, a bakery with excellent Bernese pastries. If you want to eat lunch like a local rather than a tourist, this is where to come. Prices are noticeably lower, and the atmosphere is genuine.
Here is something else worth knowing. Some of Switzerland's most well-known artists were drawn to this area. The painter Ferdinand Hodler -- whose monumental landscapes are icons of Swiss art -- spent time here. And the views from Unterseen back toward the mountains have been painted, photographed, and sketched by visitors for over 200 years. If you turn south from the Marktplatz and look past the rooftops, you will see why. The Jungfrau panorama, framed by the old timber buildings, is one of those views that makes you reach for your camera.
[Transition to Stop 5]
Walk back across the Aare bridge toward Interlaken. Pause in the middle of the bridge -- you are about to see the river that gives this town its unique geography. The walk takes about 3 minutes.
Stop 5: Aare / Bodeli
GPS: 46.6850°N, 7.8500°E Duration: 3 minutes
[Narration]
Pause on this bridge and look down at the Aare River. This is the waterway that connects Lake Thun and Lake Brienz -- and it is the reason Interlaken exists.
The strip of flat land you have been walking on -- the Bodeli, as the locals call it -- was formed by the Aare as it deposited sediment between the two lakes over thousands of years. That geological process created a level plain just wide enough for a town, flanked by water and backed by mountains. Inter lacus. Between the lakes.
The Aare here is wide, shallow, and fast-moving, fed by glacial meltwater from the Jungfrau massif. That turquoise color -- particularly vivid if you look toward Lake Brienz -- comes from rock flour: particles of stone ground to powder by glaciers, so fine that they remain suspended in the water and scatter light. It is the same phenomenon that gives many Swiss lakes their extraordinary colors.
In summer, the Aare is a busy waterway. Kayakers, stand-up paddleboarders, and swimmers share the river. The local tradition of floating downstream in the current is as popular here as it is in Bern, though the water is colder -- typically 14-17 degrees Celsius, depending on how much glacier melt is flowing in.
Look west from the bridge. On a clear day, you can see Lake Thun stretching toward the horizon, its surface reflecting the mountains. Look east, and the river flows toward Lake Brienz. You are standing at the geographical heart of the Bernese Oberland, a crossroads of water, mountain, and valley that has drawn travelers for centuries.
[Transition to Stop 6]
Continue east through Interlaken's center. Walk along the Hoheweg or the parallel Marktgasse toward Interlaken Ost station. The station is about 800 meters ahead. The walk takes about 10 minutes at a relaxed pace.
Stop 6: Interlaken Ost / Adventure Hub
GPS: 46.6905°N, 7.8670°E Duration: 4 minutes
[Narration]
Welcome to Interlaken Ost -- the station that connects this valley floor to the roof of Europe.
If Interlaken West is the arrival point, Interlaken Ost is the departure point for adventure. This is where the Berner Oberland-Bahn begins its climb into the mountains. From this platform, you can catch trains to Grindelwald (35 minutes), to Lauterbrunnen (20 minutes), and onwards to Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfraujoch at 3,454 meters. The journey to the Jungfraujoch -- the highest railway station in Europe -- takes about 2 hours from here and is one of Switzerland's signature experiences.
The area around Interlaken Ost is also Interlaken's adventure sports hub. Within a few hundred meters of the station, you will find the booking offices for most of the major activity operators. Paragliding, canyoning, skydiving, bungee jumping, white-water rafting, jet boating -- the adventure industry is a significant part of Interlaken's economy, and the competition between operators keeps standards high and prices relatively stable.
Walk out of the station and look up. If the weather is good, you will see paragliders circling above the town, spiraling down from their launch sites on Beatenberg and Amisbühl. The tandem flights last 15-20 minutes and cost CHF 180-220. No experience is needed -- you fly with a licensed pilot, and the views of the lakes and mountains from the air are unforgettable.
The Lake Brienz boat pier is also here, just a short walk from the station. Lake Brienz is smaller and more dramatic than Lake Thun -- steep mountains plunge directly into turquoise water, and the Giessbach Falls, a 500-meter waterfall, cascades directly into the lake. A boat ride to Giessbach is one of the most underrated experiences in the region, and it is free with the Swiss Travel Pass.
Here is a practical tip: if you are planning a Jungfraujoch excursion, consider the Eiger Express gondola from the Grindelwald Terminal. Opened in 2020, it connects Grindelwald to the Eigergletscher station in just 15 minutes, cutting about 45 minutes off the classic route via Kleine Scheidegg. The views from the gondola -- directly at the Eiger's north face -- are spectacular. The new terminal in Grindelwald is reachable by train from Interlaken Ost in 35 minutes.
[Transition to Stop 7]
From Interlaken Ost, walk north across the Aare River toward the Harder Kulm funicular station. Cross the bridge and turn left -- the station is about 200 meters along the river bank. The walk takes about 4 minutes.
Stop 7: Harder Kulm Base
GPS: 46.6930°N, 7.8590°E Duration: 3 minutes
[Narration]
You are standing at the base station of the Harder Kulm funicular, and this is where I leave you with what might be the best recommendation in this entire guide.
Harder Kulm is Interlaken's "home mountain" -- a 1,322-meter peak that rises directly above the town. The funicular, which departs from this station, covers the climb in just 10 minutes, carrying you from the valley floor to one of the most extraordinary viewpoints in Switzerland.
At the top, a viewing platform called the Zwei-Seen-Steg -- the Two Lakes Bridge -- extends out over the cliff edge. It is a steel and glass walkway that juts into the void, and from it, you look south straight at the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau, with Lake Thun spreading to your left and Lake Brienz to your right. It is a view that puts everything into context: the two lakes, the town between them, and the wall of Alps behind it all. On a clear day, it is genuinely breathtaking.
The funicular operates from mid-April to late November. A round trip costs CHF 38, with a 25% discount for Swiss Travel Pass holders. There is a panoramic restaurant at the summit with a terrace that faces the mountains, and on summer evenings, you can have dinner here and take the last funicular down around 21:30, watching the mountains turn gold in the sunset.
If you prefer to earn the view, you can hike up via a forest trail in about 1.5 hours. The path is well-marked and moderately steep, climbing through beech and spruce forest with occasional glimpses of the mountains through the trees. It is a satisfying workout with a spectacular payoff.
Whether you go up today or save it for another day, Harder Kulm is the single best way to understand Interlaken's geography. From up there, you see why this place exists, why people come from all over the world, and why the view of the Jungfrau from the Hohematte is just a preview of what the Bernese Oberland has to offer.
Closing
[Duration: 2 minutes]
That concludes your ch.tours Interlaken Highlights Walk. In 45 minutes, you have covered the length of the town, found the best viewpoints, discovered the hidden Old Town of Unterseen, and located both stations and the key adventure booking hubs. You are now oriented and ready to make the most of your time here.
Here is how I would suggest spending the rest of your stay, depending on what you enjoy.
For mountain scenery: The Jungfraujoch excursion is the headline act -- allow a full day and go early in the morning for the best conditions. Check the webcam at jungfrau.ch before committing. If budget is a concern, the train to Kleine Scheidegg (CHF 78 round trip, 25% off with Swiss Travel Pass) gets you to 2,061 meters at the foot of the Eiger for a fraction of the Jungfraujoch price.
For adventure: Book a tandem paragliding flight -- it is Interlaken's signature experience. The 15-20-minute flight over the lakes and town is unforgettable.
For lake beauty: Take the boat to Giessbach Falls on Lake Brienz. The waterfall, the historic funicular, and the Grandhotel terrace make it a perfect half-day outing, and it is free with the Swiss Travel Pass.
For a gentle walk: Head to Lauterbrunnen -- 20 minutes by train from Interlaken Ost -- and walk the valley floor beneath 72 waterfalls. It is flat, easy, and spectacularly beautiful.
And for the view: Go up Harder Kulm. You know where the funicular is now.
Thank you for walking with me. Interlaken is a small town with enormous experiences, and you are right in the middle of it all. Enjoy every minute.
Source: ch.tours | Audio Guide Script | Last updated: March 2026 | Data from MySwitzerland.com, SBB (sbb.ch), Jungfrau Railways (jungfrau.ch), BLS (bls.ch), Interlaken Tourism (interlaken.ch), Swisstopo