Top Things to Do in Interlaken
15 must-see attractions and experiences
Interlaken sits in one of the most audacious geographical positions of any town in Europe — pinned between two glacial lakes, Thunersee to the west and Brienzersee to the east, with the snow-capped triumvirate of Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau presiding over everything from the south. The town's name is no marketing invention; it is Latin for "between the lakes," and that physical reality — water at your flanks, Alps at your doorstep — defines every hour you spend here. For anyone building an interlaken itinerary from scratch, the sheer density of excellent experiences within a 30-kilometer radius is almost disorienting. What separates Interlaken from other Alpine resort towns is its range. A single day can move from subterranean wonder to vertiginous ridge walk to Renaissance church without any sense of contradiction. The town itself is compact enough to navigate on foot or by bicycle, organized around the long, flat Höhematte meadow that is the social and spatial heart of the destination. Interlaken weather shapes the experience significantly: summers (June through August) deliver long days, warm valley temperatures, and the full drama of thunderstorms rolling across the mountains; winters transform the region into a quieter, frost-bright world where the peaks stand in sharp relief against cobalt skies. Both seasons have their partisans, and both reward the prepared traveler. First-time visitors often underestimate how much the town rewards deliberate pacing. The impulse to reach the highest cable-car terminus immediately is understandable, but Interlaken's genius lies in the layering — the Roman-era caves at the lakeshore, the 12th-century monastery ruins, the art museum tucked between hotels, the nature reserve where migratory birds congregate in the river delta. Whether you have a single day or a full week, what follows is the definitive account of every significant attraction the region offers, organized to help you use every hour well.
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Our top picks for visitors to Interlaken
St. Beatus-Höhlen, Swiss Caves
Natural WondersCut into the limestone cliffs directly above Thunersee, the St. Beatus-Höhlen are among the most extensively developed show caves in Switzerland, with nearly a kilometer of illuminated passageways open to visitors. The cave system is threaded by an underground stream that drops through a succession of stalagmite chambers — some cathedral-scale, some intimate — before emerging at the cliff face as a small waterfall. According to local legend, the Irish missionary St. Beatus drove a dragon from these caves in the 6th century; the geological record is more prosaic but equally compelling, showing formation processes spanning hundreds of thousands of years.
Staatsstrasse 30, 3800 Sundlauenen, Switzerland · View on Map
Jungfraujoch Sphinx Observatory
Notable AttractionsAt 3,454 meters above sea level, the Jungfraujoch Sphinx Observatory occupies the saddle between the Mönch and Jungfrau peaks, reached by a rack railway that burrows through the rock of the Eiger itself. The Sphinx — named for the terrace observatory that juts from the ridge like a surveying instrument — offers an unobstructed panorama across the Aletsch Glacier, the longest in the Alps, stretching 23 kilometers into the distance like a slow-moving river of compressed centuries. This is the kind of view that recalibrates your sense of scale permanently.
Eigergletscher-Jungfraujoch, 3818 Grindelwald, Switzerland · View on Map
Höhematte Park
Natural WondersThe Höhematte is a 14-hectare meadow running through the center of Interlaken that has been kept deliberately free of development since the late 19th century — a notable act of civic restraint that created the town's defining visual corridor. From benches along its perimeter, visitors have an uninterrupted view southward to the Jungfrau massif, a composition that has been photographed millions of times without ever losing its authority. The meadow hosts paragliders landing after flights from the Beatenberg ridge, outdoor concerts in summer, and the quiet daily life of a town that has made peace with the fact that it sits inside a postcard.
Höhematte, 3800 Interlaken, Switzerland · View on Map
Yash Chopra Statue
Notable AttractionsFew intersections of two national cultures are as affectionate as the one commemorated by this bronze statue near the Höhematte. Yash Chopra, the Bollywood director whose films — Dil To Pagal Hai, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge — used the Bernese Oberland as a recurring backdrop, is credited with introducing Switzerland to an entire generation of Indian travelers. The statue, erected in 2016, captures him in characteristic pose — camera in hand, the Jungfrau implied behind him — and has become one of the most photographed spots in Interlaken for visitors from South Asia.
Höheweg 71, 3800 Interlaken, Switzerland · View on Map
Staubbachfall
Natural WondersDropping 297 meters in a single free-falling column, Staubbachfall in the Lauterbrunnen Valley is one of the highest uninterrupted waterfalls in Europe, its spray dispersing into a fine mist — Staubbach means "dust stream" in Swiss German — before the water reaches the valley floor. Goethe saw it in 1779 and wrote a poem; Byron and Shelley both recorded their impressions. The fall is visible from the village of Lauterbrunnen below, but the experience transforms completely when you take the path behind the cascade, passing through the rock into a chamber where the water curtain hangs a few meters from your face.
Losisgräbli 419, 3825 Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland · View on Map
Thrill Walk, Birg
Natural WondersAt 2,677 meters on the Schilthorn massif, the Thrill Walk is a 200-meter-long exposed path bolted directly into the cliff face above the Birg cable-car station, incorporating glass-floored sections, rope bridges, and sections where the only thing between you and a 1,000-meter drop is a steel cable and whatever composure you can maintain. It is not a walk for those who discover mid-route that they have a problem with heights — assess honestly before you start. For those who proceed, the views across the Lauterbrunnen Valley toward the Jungfrau are earned in the most literal sense.
Schilthornbahn AG, Lengwald 301, 3824 Stechelberg, Switzerland · View on Map
OUTDOOR - Interlaken Base
Outdoor ActivitiesOUTDOOR is the region's most established adventure sports operation, running from a central base in town and offering tandem skydiving, white-water rafting on the Lütschine and Aare rivers, canyoning in the Grimsel gorge, and bungee jumping from the Stockhorn cable car. The 4.8-star rating across over 2,000 reviews reflects an operation that takes safety seriously without domesticating the experience — guides are technically certified and invested in the outcome. For visitors who have arrived in Interlaken specifically to find out what their nerve threshold is, this is the logical starting point.
Industriestrasse 17, 3812 Wilderswil, Switzerland · View on Map
First Cliff Walk
Notable AttractionsThe First Cliff Walk is a 45-meter cantilever walkway extending from the First summit station above Grindelwald at 2,168 meters, with sections of the path built in open steel framework over a sheer drop into the valley below. The surrounding panorama takes in the Eiger's north face, the Wetterhorn, and on clear days the full Bernese Oberland range. What distinguishes this from other viewpoint installations is the sense of genuine suspension — you are not standing at the edge of a platform but moving through space that the mountain has not sanctioned.
First 2, 3818 Grindelwald, Switzerland · View on Map
Brienzersee Lakewalk
Natural WondersThe lakewalk along the northern shore of Brienzersee — the eastern of Interlaken's two lakes, well-known for the extraordinary turquoise opacity of its glacier-fed water — runs from Interlaken Ost station toward the village of Brienz over approximately 16 kilometers of maintained path. The color of the water shifts through the day from pale jade in morning light to a deep viridian in afternoon shadow, the result of suspended glacial flour that refracts light at wavelengths no photographic filter can accurately replicate. The walk passes boathouses, small fishing communities, and sections of old forest where the path narrows to a trail.
Unnamed Road 3806, 3806 Bönigen, Switzerland · View on Map
Naturschutzgebiet Weissenau
Natural WondersThe Weissenau nature reserve occupies the delta where the Lombach river meets the eastern end of Thunersee, a transitional wetland of reedbeds, flooded meadows, and willow groves that is one of the most significant bird staging areas in the Swiss Mittelland. Over 200 species have been recorded here, including several that are increasingly scarce elsewhere in Central Europe. The reserve is deliberately under-marketed relative to the Alpine attractions nearby, which means visitor numbers remain low enough that the wildlife behaves naturally.
Weissenaustrasse, 3800 Unterseen, Switzerland · View on Map
Historic Sites
Ruine Weissenau
Historic SitesAdjacent to the nature reserve at the edge of Thunersee stand the remains of a medieval fortification that once controlled the strategic land bridge between the two lakes — the same geographical position that makes modern Interlaken what it is. The ruins are modest in scale but historically resonant: the site dates to at least the 12th century and formed part of the territorial infrastructure of the Augustinian monastery that gave the region its administrative shape. The stonework is not extensively interpreted on-site, which suits the contemplative character of the surrounding wetland.
3800 Unterseen, Switzerland · View on Map
Natural Wonders
St. Beatus Waterfall
Natural WondersDistinct from the cave complex that shares its name, the St. Beatus Waterfall emerges from the cliff face at the entrance to the St. Beatus-Höhlen cave system and falls directly to a ledge above Thunersee. The waterfall is visible from the lake far below and audible before the cave entrance comes into view on the approach path. At full snowmelt flow in late May and June it becomes a powerful feature; in late summer it settles to a more refined thread of white against the gray limestone.
3800 Beatenberg, Switzerland · View on Map
Family Attractions
Alpine Wildlife Park Interlaken
Family AttractionsSituated on the wooded slopes above town, the Alpine Wildlife Park is a free-admission enclosure where indigenous Swiss species — ibex, chamois, red deer, marmots, and Alpine birds — are kept in large naturalistic enclosures. The park serves a genuine conservation function as a sanctuary for animals that cannot be released into the wild, and the close-range viewing of species that are elusive in their natural habitat has real educational value. The setting within mature spruce and fir forest, with views toward the Jungfrau emerging between the trees, gives it a quality that purely zoo-formatted facilities rarely achieve.
Brienzstrasse 1, 3800 Interlaken, Switzerland · View on Map
Cultural Experiences
Reformierte Schlosskirche
Cultural ExperiencesThe Reformed Castle Church — properly the Reformierte Schlosskirche — stands on a slight rise above the western end of Interlaken's main street, its 14th-century tower marking the point where the Augustinian monastery once organized the valley's spiritual and economic life. The building that stands today is a hybrid of medieval stonework, 16th-century Reformation austerity, and 19th-century restoration, but it retains the spatial dignity of its origins. The interior is notable for its carved choir stalls — among the finest surviving examples of late-medieval Swiss craftsmanship accessible outside a national museum — and for the quality of the silence it maintains even when Hauptstrasse is at full tourist capacity.
Schloss 7, 3800 Interlaken, Switzerland · View on Map
Monastery and Interlaken Castle
Immediately adjacent to the Schlosskirche, the remains of
Schloss 1, 3800 Interlaken, Switzerland · View on Map
Planning Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Summers (June through August) deliver long days, warm valley temperatures, and the full drama of thunderstorms rolling across the mountains; winters transform the region into a quieter, frost-bright world where the peaks stand in sharp relief against cobalt skies. Both seasons have their partisans, and both reward the prepared traveler.
Booking Advice
Book tandem skydiving at least 72 hours in advance during July and August; slots fill quickly and weather cancellations mean rescheduling demand accumulates rapidly. For Jungfraujoch, book the first train of the day from Interlaken Ost to reach the summit before the bulk of day-trippers — the difference in crowd density between 9am and 11am is stark.
Save Money
The Swiss Travel Pass covers the first portion of the Jungfraujoch journey and reduces the ticket price meaningfully; a valid regional pass also covers the boat from Interlaken's Westbahnhof pier to the Beatus landing stage at no extra cost.
Local Etiquette
Sunday morning services at the Reformierte Schlosskirche at 10am are conducted in Swiss German and are open to respectful visitors.
Book Your Experiences
Guided tours, tickets, and activities in Interlaken