Things to Do at Lake Thun (Thunersee)
Complete Guide to Lake Thun (Thunersee) in Interlaken
About Lake Thun (Thunersee)
What to See & Do
Oberhofen Castle (Schloss Oberhofen)
Eight kilometres west of Interlaken, Oberhofen squats on the waterline like a fairy-tale illustration someone dropped and never bothered to retrieve. The castle has stood here since the 13th century, but the towers you'll photograph today are 19th-century romantic restoration—pure stage-set charm. Inside, the Historical Museum Bern has staged rooms from several eras: a Turkish smoking lounge, neo-Gothic salons, and a 16th-century chapel so small it punches above its weight. The lakeside garden—ancient plane trees, water licking the lawn—can outshine the rooms on any clear afternoon.
The BLS Lake Steamers
Built 1906, the Blümlisalp still plops across Lake Thun like a toy. Sounds touristy—until the Alps slam the horizon and a cold Rugenbräu lands in your fist. Then it makes sense. Boats link Interlaken West to Thun town, pausing at every lakeside village; a day pass lets you leap on and off. Morning sailings stay quiet. Light on the peaks? Better before noon. Speed? They don't.
Spiez Castle and Vineyard
Spiez grabs you. You step off the boat for twenty minutes—two hours vanish. The medieval castle perches on a promontory above the lake, ringed by the northernmost significant wine-producing vineyards in Switzerland—Pinot Noir, mostly, which loves this sheltered basin. The castle chapel is Romanesque and quietly notable. Below, the little bay and its swimming area turns busy in July and August, yet the vineyard terraces above stay calm enough that you can usually claim a bench with an unobstructed view of the lake and the Niesen.
Thun Old Town
Thun isn't a layover before Interlaken—it's the destination. The old town demands a proper look. Those covered walkways above the shopping streets—you're walking through someone's living-room corridor—rank among Switzerland's strangest pedestrian experiences. The arcaded Hauptgasse and the market square below the castle hill still hold a medieval coherence that tourism hasn't completely sanded away. Climb the castle for a clear view over the lake toward the Alps on good days. Those four-cornered towers photograph as well as anything on the water.
Beatenbucht and Beatenberg Funicular
Beatenbucht hides on the north shore—a small bay where St. Beatus Caves punch clean through limestone cliffs. Underground waterfall. Millennia in the making. Tourist trap? Sure. Still knocks you sideways. The main chamber delivers every time. Above the bay, a funicular hauls you to Beatenberg. Long ridge village. Lake views for days. Clear days? Jungfrau massif stares back. The hiking stays uncrowded even in peak season. Nobody knows why.
Practical Information
Opening Hours
The lake never closes—shoreline access is free, 365 days. Oberhofen Castle unlocks mid-May to mid-October, 11am–5pm (Sundays 10am); shut Mondays. Thun Castle keeps the same seasonal window. BLS ferries sail full schedule April–October, then cut back for winter. Beatenberg funicular climbs year-round, pausing only for early-spring maintenance.
Tickets & Pricing
CHF 68. That single price for a BLS lake boats day pass—Tageskarte—gives you the entire lake. Don't bother if you're just hopping; single segments cost CHF 10–30 based on distance. Swiss Travel Pass holders ride free. Crunch the numbers: three lake days and the pass has already paid for itself. Oberhofen Castle entry runs CHF 14 for adults, CHF 7 for children. Thun Castle—Historisches Museum Thun—charges CHF 10. St. Beatus Caves demand CHF 22 adults, CHF 12 children. Summer crowds are real; entry is timed, so book ahead.
Best Time to Visit
Late May through early July—this is it. Snow still caps the peaks and the views punch you in the gut. Crowds haven't peaked. Water temperature rises enough for swimming. August is the busiest month by some margin. The lake is beautiful but ferries fill up fast. Lakeside restaurants turn chaotic at lunch. September tends to be underrated. The light shifts. Tourist pressure drops. Vineyards around Spiez take on some colour. Winter is quiet to the point of loneliness in some villages. Thun town stays lively. Snow-capped reflections on the lake on still mornings are hard to argue with.
Suggested Duration
Skip the train loop—one-way by boat is the smartest move if you want to see more than one castle. Most visitors still loop: train to Thun, boat east with a stop at Spiez or Oberhofen, then train back to Interlaken. That is a comfortable 6–8 hour day. Hiking the ridge from Beatenberg down to Interlaken? Budget a full day and an early start.
Getting There
Things to Do Nearby
Brienz—the other half of the Interlaken lakes—runs a deeper turquoise while Thun stays blue-green. Go north. The Ballenberg Open Air Museum sits right on the shore, and it delivers Swiss rural history minus the fluff. Easy pair with a Thun day when you're staying in Interlaken.
The funicular above Interlaken East rockets to 1,322 metres—boom, both lakes lock into a single frame. The restaurant up top? Fine. Just fine. The view is why you came. Forty minutes door-to-door if you're folding it into a lake day.
40 minutes southeast of Interlaken by train, Grindelwald sits directly beneath the Eiger's north face. This is the launch point for the Jungfraujoch railway. Busy? Absolutely. The valley itself is beautiful—no apologies needed. The hiking infrastructure is extraordinary. Pair it naturally with Lake Thun if you're staying two or three nights.
Kandersteg, south of Spiez, sits up a deep valley and hasn't been fully remade for tourism. The Oeschinensee above town—a glacial lake you reach by chairlift or a steep hike—delivers the region's most spectacular sight. Meanwhile, the village stays quieter than anything around Interlaken.
1,669 steps. That is the longest staircase funicular on earth, climbing the pyramid-shaped peak that rules the western end of Lake Thun. Most visitors ride; almost no one walks the maintenance staircase. From the 2,362-metre summit you see both Thun and Brienz lakes behind you and the high Alps ahead. Each spring a tiny cult charges up in the annual staircase run.