Where to Stay in the Jungfrau Region: Grindelwald vs Lauterbrunnen and Other Villages Compared

Are you trying to decide where to stay in the Jungfrau Region for your upcoming trip to Switzerland? With so many charming Swiss villages to choose from, it can feel overwhelming to pick the right base. 

In this episode, we simplify that choice and help you find the location that best suits your travel plans.

I'm joined by local expert James Wilson, a resident of Wengen, who brings years of firsthand experience in the Bernese Oberland. Together, we explore five of the most popular destinations in the region: Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, Wengen, and Mürren. You'll get clear, honest insights into what makes each village unique and who it's best suited for.

We cover the key differences between each town in the Jungfrau Region, from the vibrant hub of Interlaken to the quiet charm of Mürren. You’ll hear which places are best for stunning views, easy access to transportation, or a more tranquil stay. We also share our personal recommendations for hotels and accommodation, and where to eat. 

The episode highlights popular day trips, scenic rail routes, and top-rated Swiss mountain excursions, plus helpful advice for those interested in hiking in the Jungfrau Region. You'll also get practical Swiss travel tips, including when to book your stay, what to expect once you're there and why you should consider purchasing a Swiss rail pass.

If you're planning a Switzerland travel experience that includes majestic scenery, efficient transportation, and unforgettable excursions like a Lake Brienz cruise, this episode is a must-listen. Let us guide you to the perfect spot to call home for your stay in the heart of the Alps.

Safe travels,

Carolyn

👉 Show notes - Episode 133

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Transcript

Carolyn Schönafinger: 0:00

Welcome to the holidays to Switzerland podcast. If you're planning a trip to Switzerland, this is the podcast for you. I'm your host, Carolyn schonerfinger, the founder of holidays to switzerland.com and in each episode, my expert guests and I share practical tips to help you plan your dream trip to Switzerland, you'll get helpful advice about traveling around Switzerland, and hear about the most popular destinations, as well as some hidden gems, and we'll introduce you to plenty of wonderful experiences that you can enjoy as part of your Swiss vacation. Each episode is packed with expert tips, itinerary ideas and inspiration to help make your Swiss Vacation Planning easy. So let's dive in rutsi. Welcome to this week's episode. I think it's fair to say that most folks who are planning their first visit to Switzerland will include a stay in the Jungfrau Region in their itinerary. This is a stunningly beautiful and quite famous part of Switzerland, so it's not surprising that it's one of the most visited regions in the country. But having added the Jungfrau Region to their travel plans, deciding which of the towns or villages they should base themselves in can be overwhelming to many people. So who better then to tell us about the differences between the main towns and villages in the region than a local? I've invited Wengen based James Wilson, back to the podcast to give us a deep dive into what services you'll find in each location, how to get there, where to stay and where to eat, and who, in his opinion, each location is best suited to if you've been wondering whether to stay in Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen, vengen or Muran, what James shares with us today will help you to choose The base that's best for you. Welcome back to the podcast, James, thank you very much for joining us today to talk to us about the beautiful Jungfrau Region, which you call home. So maybe you could tell everyone listening a bit about yourself, or introduce yourself first and tell us about your background and how you came to be living in beautiful vengen.

James Wilson: 2:25

Oh, good morning, Carolyn, thanks for having me along as always. Very kind of you. Great to be here. Yeah, I came to be in the Jungfrau Region just under nine years ago when I moved to Switzerland with my previous job, which was based in Zurich. But I was lucky enough to be able to choose where I lived and then just commute to the office two days a week. And I chose vengen because it was a place that was very close to my heart for previous reasons, and we settled there as a family. And since then, I started up my own company, Swiss tailor made, which is how you and I came into contact back in 2021, and I think when you move to the Jungfrau Region, wherever about in the Jungfrau Region, that is, you tend to stay in such a beautiful place, as you well know. And this is my home now. So very, very proud to call it home as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 3:14

Yeah, I bet it's certainly would be a magnificent place to live. I'm sure the times I get to visit there on holiday? Yeah, I can certainly imagine what living there and waking up to those views every day would be like,

James Wilson: 3:27

Yeah, it's amazing. And you know, you never take them for granted, either. That's the other thing you see that I've see the Jungfrau every day of the week or several times a day, and you never tire of looking at it. Yeah,

Carolyn Schönafinger: 3:38

absolutely. One of the questions that I hear very frequently. I get emails about this all the time, and it's a topic that comes up very often in my Facebook group, the Switzerland travel planning group is, where should I stay in the Jungfrau Region? Where do I base myself? There's five sort of main towns, and I think people are often confused about what the differences are. You know, does one give them better access to the various mountain excursions, etc? So the reason I invited you on today is for you to share all your local knowledge, and we can go through those five different towns and villages, and hopefully, at the end of this episode, give people some you know, clarity on what basis is best for them. So let's start with the biggest town, and probably the hub for the whole region, which is Interlaken.

James Wilson: 4:36

I mean, in response to your question, Carol, and it's a very difficult question to answer, because it's such a great region, and also because one perhaps myth, which I can help to clarify, is that even though there are, as you say, five different villages or five main towns within the Jungfrau Region, they are actually very close to one another. Switzerland is actually a very small country, so getting between each of. Five is actually very easy because of the great transport system we have here. So as I'll go through some of the questions and the five different towns will also maybe become apparent is how well they are all linked anyway, with the trains and the cable cars and gondolas. So that may also help people realize that actually they're all good.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 5:19

Yeah, they're very good point. They are all, as you say, very well connected, and you can't really choose a bad option, let's be honest. I mean, wherever you choose to stay, you know, the magnificent attractions of the Jungfrau Region are right on your doorstep anyway. But as I said, we will start with Interlaken. Perhaps you can give us a bit of an idea for those folks that are listening who haven't been to Switzerland before, or haven't been to the region, Whereabouts is Interlaken, and what are some of the things that we should know about

James Wilson: 5:49

it? Okay? Well, Interlaken is in a wider region called the bernaroberland. It lies between two Lakes, Lake Brienz and Lake tun, both really beautiful lakes. Both have Lake cruises available to enjoy across each of them. I think the altitude of Interlaken is around about seven, 800 meters above sea level. And that really is, I suppose, the gateway to the Jungfrau Region. That's, I suppose, the best way to describe it. It's an hour south of Bern on the train, not directly south, but in a southerly direction. So half hourly services from Bern most people are coming from that direction in order to get to the unfair region. The best way to get here, of course, is by train, but you can also drive. Another way of reaching Interlaken is over the bruenig line. If guests are here on holiday and joining the scenic Rail Journeys, you have the Lucerne Interlaken Express, which is also a two hour journey from Lucerne, again in the southerly direction, and an absolutely fantastic way to arrive in Interlaken the town itself, I think population is around about 6000 in central Interlaken itself, and about 20,000 in the wider area. So it's quite heavily populated as far as the Jungfrau Region is concerned, but for most international travelers, even though we consider Interlaken to be very busy and lots going on, it's actually a very quiet and quaint place most of the time as well. So and there's all sorts to do down there, I think when it comes to restaurants, for example, you are spoiled for choice. There's a lot of hotels down there as well. So regardless of the budget that people may have, there is accommodation for everybody. A couple of recommendations, the hotel metropole, which right in the center of town. You can't ever lose yourself if you're staying at the metropolis. The first thing you see from anywhere in the village and the view from the top of the Metropole is absolutely sensational. Food up there is great also, and a very lively bar. And the hotel Interlaken, which is closer towards Interlaken off station, is a really nice four star hotel, family owned and run. And perhaps a surprise tip would be both in terms of the standard of accommodation, but also the food on offer is the youth hostel right next to Interlaken off station, again, if you're on a budget and you're maybe pushed for time, also grabbing something to eat the youth hostel. If you're about to go elsewhere in the Jungfrau Region, or you're heading back towards burn or Lucerne, the youth hostel is a fantastic place to go and have some lunch. It's brilliantly located, and the food is excellent, and that's actually where a lot of the locals go for their lunch too. Yeah, I'm

Carolyn Schönafinger: 8:19

glad you mentioned that because I've actually eaten there a couple of times. And sometimes, you know, when I'm heading to the station, I'll, if I'm a bit early, I'll just stop in there and have a coffee. There's some beautiful tables and chairs that you can sit out on the footpath or the pavement for our North American listeners. So it's a really nice atmosphere. And as you say, right next door to the train station, yeah,

James Wilson: 8:41

it's a great place, and it's just down by Interlaken off there's lots going on there as well. I think the point about Interlaken certainly, if you were trying to decide which of the five towns we've mentioned, why would you stay in Interlaken? I suppose my advice would be to stay in Interlaken. If you're someone who is trying to see as much of the region as possible in the shortest amount of time. Gives you access to everywhere else within Switzerland, but also within the Jungfrau Region. It is the place to go if you do want to rush around, let's say, and see as much as you can in maybe just a couple of days.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 9:16

Now, there are two railway stations in Interlake and aren't there? Interlaken, Austin, Interlaken west. So what should visitors need to know about those two different stations?

James Wilson: 9:27

Well, the two different stations are either end of town, so when you're coming in from the burn direction and you're staying towards Interlaken West, you get off at Interlaken West is arguably closer to all the shops and the main restaurants, I suppose, and it's also closest to a town on the other side of the river, unto Zayn, which is a kind of unknown gem. I suppose, if you're visiting Interlaken, you should also go to unto zayan, even though it's a separate town completely by name. It's just a five minute walk from Interlaken West Station, and it's beautiful. So. So if you were to walk from Interlaken west to Interlaken, Austin, you're literally going through the center of Interlaken. And that's actually a really nice walk to do. Perhaps, get off at West if you're connecting with the train that's leaving from Aust. Jump off at West and have a walk through town. If you've not got too much to carry, or you're traveling without luggage that day. That's a really good route to take in order to see what you need to see in Interlaken, off stations at the other end of town, a bit further out of the I suppose, the main hub of the town, but again, only a short walk, and it's all along the flat as well. That's probably a good point to make Interlaken west to Interlaken, Austin, or vice versa, as a walk. It's perfectly flat. So anybody can do that, especially on a nice day. It's great to walk through town and see all the paragliders landing in the middle of town, for example, as they do again going back to OST station. Once you're at OST station, that then gives you access to the Jungfrau Region. So any onward journey to Wengen, Lauterbrunnen, grindlevart, you would do that taking a train from Interlochen OST, rather than West

Carolyn Schönafinger: 11:01

and it being Switzerland, of course, those two stations are also connected by very frequent bus services as well. So if someone does arrive at one station and need to get to the other station and they don't want to walk, they can catch a bus, of course. So always convenient in Switzerland. So what are some of the highlights or the main attractions of Interlaken?

James Wilson: 11:25

Well, the village itself is, as I've said, It is full of things to do. So if you want to go shopping, you want to have find some really great restaurants that you have everything you need there. And one of the really good excursions from Interlaken is the harder com excursion. Now that's, I suppose, the local mountain, just a short ride by funicular from just outside Interlake and OST station is the ride up to harder com from where you have, certainly, on a clear day when the weather's good, you have an absolutely incredible view across both of the lakes, and then directly heading South, you have the famous trio of mountains, the Eigen Monk and the Jungfrau harder com is, I suppose, if you had one quick excursion to do in the morning or an afternoon whilst you're an Interlaken, that's the one you would do, no question. And the view from up there is absolutely spectacular. I'd also recommend, I did mention previously that sits between two lakes. So you have regular boat trips, especially from the spring onwards, on both Lakes, Lake Brienz and Lake tune I suppose again, if people are pushed for time and they wanted to do a lake cruise, but they would only want to do one of them, then I would probably say Lake Brienz just has the edge over Lake tunn. As far as it being, I think it's slightly more beautiful. They're both absolutely stunning. But I would say, if you were only doing one, do late, pre ends, that would be my recommendation. And then, other than that, of course, when it comes to excursions, if you are based in Interlaken, then we can then go into the rest of the Jungfrau Region. So that would be your one of your other excursions. You would then travel from Interlake and Azure base, heading up the latter Brennan Valley or down towards Grindelwald. And from there, as you know, you have access to all the other stuff, which we'll go on to, I'm sure. Yeah,

Carolyn Schönafinger: 13:10

absolutely okay. So that's a pretty good overview of Interlaken. There's plenty of shops, plenty of restaurants and plenty of accommodation options there. So if someone is, as you said, they want to try and see as much as of the region as they can in a very short space of time. Interlaken is a great base. What about the next largest town in the region, Grindelwald?

James Wilson: 13:33

Well, yeah, that's the next largest town, and it's slightly higher up again using the Iger Express. That's probably what most people going to Grindelwald are going to do at some point. They may be there for a week. They may just be there for a day, but a lot of people, if they're not doing the hiking, they're going to go there and see the young Frou yacht. My tip, I suppose, choose Grindelwald as your base. If you were on a really, you've got you're short of time, you would definitely probably stay in Grindelwald, if you were just in the region to see the Jungfrau yacht, because you can get up there so quickly now, using the new gondolas the igra Express from Grindelwald terminal, that would be my hot tip.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 14:09

Okay, and what about perhaps listen on things to see or do around Grindelwald? Do you have any tips

James Wilson: 14:17

there? Well, I think there's some really great hikes, actually. And what you do find with Grindle is certainly in the summer months in the village, because of the access to the young Fauci the village gets really, really busy. So take yourself up to things steg, for example, which is, I suppose, a lesser known excursion. From there, you have some absolutely amazing hikes, and most of which are doable for the majority of people as well. I think, I mean, you know, Carolyn, whilst everything looks really steeper and everything you know may seem to be quite a technical hike for a lot of people, actually a lot more of the mountain is more accessible than you think. As long as you're sensible with your footwear and you're a relatively good fitness one great tip for a short but very. Enjoyable hike. Take the cable car up to Fink steg and then walk to the hut at Bear egg for a late morning breakfast. It's a strenuous hike towards the end for a few people, but the view of the glacier once you get there is extremely rewarding, and you can actually do that excursion with the cable car included easily within the space of the morning or afternoon. So that would be my tip. Go up to fingerspeak, and if you're not up for the height, you're at least then above the village, the view from the cable car is spectacular. And you're also perhaps avoiding some of the crowds, which we do get in the in the high season, summer months. Okay,

Carolyn Schönafinger: 15:36

that's a great tip. Now, I was lucky enough to stay in Grindelwald recently, just in January. So I've got a couple of accommodation recommendations and a couple of restaurant recommendations as well, but then I'll ask you for yours. So for me, I stayed in the beautiful four star superior glacier hotel and restaurant, which was just absolutely beautiful, and it has a lovely Wellness Center. There magnificent view from the balcony, looking straight out over the Iger. So that was amazing. And we also stayed so we came back to Grindelwald twice, actually, and on the first visit, we stayed at some lovely apartments called chalet carve and this is a family owned building that has three separate two bedroom apartments. Again, magnificent views. So they're definite recommendations from me. What about you? Have you got any places there that you particularly like?

James Wilson: 16:30

Yeah, I have two on my list, and luckily, they don't match yours. That's not a bad thing. It just gives our listeners more choice. But the first one I would recommend, again, it's family run. I think that's always very important. If you can find somewhere, family run the Croydon post, which is four star. Family run hotel directly opposite the main station in Grindle vault. Not only is the hotel great and the location is perfect, of course, but the owner family and the Son, Benny, he also runs the kitchen. He's the head chef as well, and his food is sensational. So really warm. Family welcome, plus family cooked food in their restaurant. Perfect location within the village. That would be my first tip. And then the other one, which I also really enjoy, again, perfectly located by the train station, is the five star Shri Hof. That's a lovely hotel. You literally fall off the train and you're there. Great food, great accommodation. And as with pretty much, I mean, I can't think of anywhere in grinderval that doesn't have an amazing view. That's probably another thing that people may ask you. Carolyn, you know, where's the best place to stay in grinder up with the best view? I think probably that's an impossible question to ask, because absolutely everywhere has a good one.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 17:39

Yeah, absolutely, yeah, some great tips there for dining as well the glacier Hotel and Restaurant. Yeah, the food there was magnificent. And we also had a really lovely lunch at Barry's restaurant, which is at the Iger selfness hotel. They had, like, a meal of the day, two courses and a drink. And I think it was something like, you know, 20 franc or something. It was, excellent food. So that's a great option. And the hotel central Walter, also quite near the station, had some delicious meal there as well. So that's Grindelwald. Any other tips about visiting Grindelwald? Well,

James Wilson: 18:18

again, it's so difficult to kind of summarize what there is to do there, because you have cable cars from grindlevit, you have the trains, you have the post busses, which go up the mountain as well. I suppose what you can also mention for grundle, as well as access to the Jungfraujoch, the V barn, which I the new igra Express, is part of the right hand gondola in the whole V barn project is also takes you up to manliken, which is the ridge between Wengen and Grindelwald. So we talked earlier about the train from Interlaken to Grindelwald. Well, actually you can still access Grindelwald from Wengen, for example, and that manlike is a great excursion. Most of the traffic is going up to the Jungfraujoch on the igra Express. But if you jump on the other gondola and just fancy a really nice view, again, with an amazing view of AIGA monk and young Jungfrau, with a nice restaurant at the top, which is where you and I met the last time you're over here. That's a really nice excursion to less people, less crowded, but the views are spectacular.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 19:15

Yeah, they absolutely are okay. So now we're going to talk about, well, for years and years, it's been my favorite Village, my favorite place in Switzerland, Lal to brunin, because I first visited here on my first trip to Switzerland, which was, yeah, I'm showing my age now, but probably about 35 years ago, and as soon as I entered the village, was like, Wow. I was just blown away by the beauty, and that's just kept drawing me back time and time again. So on most trips to Switzerland, I stay at Lauterbrunnen, and the winter trip was the exception, when I stayed in Grindelwald, which I absolutely loved. But Lauterbrunnen, it's drawing me back again. I think next time I might be back there. Yeah. So I'll let you give the listeners a bit of a overview of laukabanon. Well,

James Wilson: 20:06

yeah, it's one of those places where most people, perhaps will have seen photos of it before they arrive. But when you're off the train with waterfall background this time, and the cliffs and the valley stretching out into the distance, it really does take your breath away. I mean, I can't think of a more beautiful valley in the whole world than the Lauterbrunnen Valley. It blows you away location wise. It's, again, just a 20 minute or so train ride from Interlaken Ost direct train, and then you're off the train, and then you are in the village. It's a long High Street, the far end of which from the station, you find the famous style back falls, and that's the first thing you need to do when you get to lauterbrunn off the train, walk down the high street, which, as you know, in itself, is beautiful. It's extremely quaint. It's it's probably not changed at all, really, since you had your first ever trip there. And that's, I think, where its charm lies. It will always look like it does now, but once you get to the end of the village and you start to see the waterfalls, they are as impressive as you think they're going to be. Once you get there, you can actually take a walk right up into the cliff face itself and walk behind where the water is flowing. And it's so impressive. I think the village itself, whilst you're drawn to the waterfalls. Take time to walk through the village. There are loads of quaint little bakeries, cafes, restaurants, hotels down there. It's just a beautiful place. It can get very busy in the summer, for obvious reasons. So if you're going to spend time in Lauterbrunnen, and you have to do that, and you're going to go and need to stand by the waterfalls. Try and go as early as you possibly can. Certainly if you're visiting in, let's say, end of June, July, August, early September, it's busy during the day, and in the afternoon it can be very, very busy. So go first thing, and that's going to give you the best experience of the waterfalls and the village before the crowds arrive later in the day, but you can't come to the Jungfrau Region and not spend some time down there, because it is as stunning as you think it's going to be. In fact, it's much more stunning than you can ever imagine. Yeah,

Carolyn Schönafinger: 22:12

absolutely. And I think perhaps that's probably one of the reasons why I enjoy staying in lauterbrunn so much, because in the late afternoon, all those day trippers disappear. They go back to Interlaken or ban or Zurich or wherever, and then the village is like, it's not empty, but it, you know, there's hardly any people there. And every night, we tend to just go for a bit of a stroll around alongside the river. There's a beautiful walking trail thing. It's called the panorama VIG, and it's just so tranquil walking around there in the evening when all the day trippers have left. So that's one of the things I love about Lauterbrunnen. There's not a lot of hotels in the village. I mean, it's quite small, and a lot of the hotel as you said, Nothing much has changed for a very long time. So there's no big new, modern, fancy hotels in Lauterbrunnen. But do you have any recommendations where you would suggest people stay if they're looking for a hotel? There's

James Wilson: 23:12

the hotel silverhorn, which is just set back from the station, actually, behind the cable car station, which takes you up to Gruppe, which we'll come on to. But I think that's when, when people talk about lauterbrunn and they're staying in a hotel, that tends to be people's recommendation. As you say, there's not many hotels, so there aren't that many to choose from. But another tip would be, if, certainly, again, for those who are on a bit of a tighter budget, there's some great campsites down in lauterbrunn, and again, location wise, for a campsite, you couldn't find a more beautiful campsite if you tried. So there is, again, something for everybody. Hotel, silverhorn is closer to the station, and at the far end of the village, towards the falls, you have the campsite. So there is plenty of choice down there. One thing I would recommend people do, those certainly looking to stay and base themselves overnight in Lauterbrunnen, book early for the summer months. It does get booked very, very quickly. So if you are coming this coming summer, I'd certainly book your accommodation now, if you haven't done already, because it does get very busy down there.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 24:15

Yeah, absolutely. And I can attest to that because it's we're recording this late March, and I've just booked something for October, and it was quite difficult to find something. So yes, booking early is a very good idea. I did want to just mention something too about the camping grounds that you mentioned. I've stayed in the camping Jungfrau quite a few times when we used to travel, when our children were small and accompanying us on trips. We stayed at the camping ground often, and it was wonderful, perfect location, great view, as you said. And the restaurant there is amazing restaurant, vaidstuble, I think it's called magnificent food. But again, if you're visiting in summer, definitely make a reservation, because. Because it does book out very quickly. It does

James Wilson: 25:02

it does this. Yeah, we don't want to, I don't want to put people off. But yeah, as you say, Carolyn, it's the summer months is becoming extremely popular, whether it's, yeah, whether it's a lunchtime reservation or a hotel reservation, get yourself booked in early and so then you're avoiding disappointment. What

Carolyn Schönafinger: 25:20

sort of traveler would you recommend to stay at Lauterbrunnen?

James Wilson: 25:24

It's a good question, because Lauterbrunnen, even though it's separate from the other villages, it's so close to both murin and Wengen. Anyway, I would say those who were traveling on a stricter budget would probably choose Lauterbrunnen. I think you do have the more extensive range of the camping accommodation, and the hotels in Lauterbrunnen itself are very reasonably priced, assuming you get in early enough. So because of its location, directly between Wengen and Murren, if Wengen and muri were two highlights that you wanted to explore whilst you were on your trip to Switzerland, then Lauterbrunnen would be a good choice, because it's directly in the middle of the two and as we've said, it's such a nice place, especially when the crowds have gone late in the afternoon, it's almost like you have the place to yourself.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 26:09

Yeah, definitely. And I've also got some recommendations for apartments in Lauterbrunnen. They don't actually have names, because they're all privately owned and but I'll put the links to them in the show notes for this episode, right? So now it's time to move on to your hometown, vengen. So please tell us why we should be staying at vengen when we come to the Jungfrau Region.

James Wilson: 26:33

Well, this is the hardest one to talk about, for obvious reasons. It's a beautiful village. The views are incredible. It's just a nice place to spend time, whether you're on holiday or whether you live here. It's just a great place. How do we get here? Well, I think one of the advantages of vengen is when you arrive in vengen, you've actually experienced a scenic rail journey of only 10 minutes, which also blows your mind, because it's a very steep climb up the left hand side of the valley as you're looking south from Lauterbrunnen. It winds its way up to the plateau on which Wengen sits, an altitude of 12 150 meters. And the view down the Lauterbrunnen Valley from that train is sensational. So as a tip from Lauterbrunnen, just going back a step there, if anybody just wants a quick trip from Lauterbrunnen is just get the train ride up to vengen, because, as you know, the journey itself is absolutely spectacular. And when you come out of the tunnel at the other end, there you are in vengen, looking down the valley, and you have the Jungfrau looming over you. It's a spectacular setting, and it's traffic free. So of the two villages that we have in the region vengen And Muran, they're both traffic free. That doesn't actually mean that there are no cars or no electric buggies. It just means you cannot access either of those villages by using your own car. So when you get to vengen, you have to travel by public transport. What that means, of course, is, once you're there, the streets are traffic free, with the exception of the odd track to all the odd hotel buggy taking luggage to the hotel. But from a family perspective, when you know you can jump off the train and the kids can run around in the street without having to worry about the oncoming traffic, that, in itself, along with Muran, is perhaps what sets those two villages apart. Accommodation wise, in Wengen, we've just had the opening of its first five star hotel, so we now have everything between the budget accommodation and the five star category. So there's definitely something for everyone up in venue. There's a wide choice of restaurants, and the hotels now also have very good restaurants themselves, I think, in the region itself, not just thinking, but more and Grinder vault, the hotels are really now upping their game. So there is a higher standard of accommodation across the region, and there's always something as well for those who perhaps are looking for something slightly cheaper, vengen is currently renovating at least three hotels, and that's a good thing. When hotels renovate the neighboring hotels tend to also up their game as well. So the the quality is really, really getting higher at the moment. What to do from vengen, I mentioned the manlike and excursion, which is the cable car vengen up to manlike and the ridge between grin Laval and Wengen. And of course, you have the slower, but arguably more scenic route up to the Jungfraujoch, the train from Wengen to Kleiner Scheidegg, from where you then catch the onward connecting train up to argue gletscher And then the final stage up to the Jungfraujoch. I suppose listeners who haven't been to wegen before may have heard it not because of its summer activities, but because of the fact that it hosts the world's longest World Cup downhill race mid January. That's actually what brought me to venue. I remember seeing it on the TV program called ski Sunday back when I was a kid, and it was this magical, mysterious world up in the mountain somewhere, where these people came down the mountain as fast as they possibly could. And it stuck with me, and that's actually what brought me here in the first place. So ski racing heritage, but it's now rapidly becoming a very, very popular summer destination. As you and I know there's limitless hiking, but I think that's fair to say for the entire region, if you want to come hiking, and that's the main reason for your holiday, it actually doesn't matter where you stay. This region is renowned for its hiking, and I've lived here nine years and still haven't done all the hiking. That tells you how much there is to do, because I hike a lot.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 30:26

Yeah, absolutely. So what can people expect in terms of services? Like, is there a grocery store there, and can they get most of the supplies that they need? And then also, perhaps you can maybe give us a couple of personal recommendations for accommodation. Sure,

James Wilson: 30:45

there's everything you need up here is a tiny little village. A lot of people do think that because we're cut off by just a train ride up, we can't find what we need in the shops. Well, there are two supermarkets, one larger core the station, and then in the center of the village, just about 200 meters away is the dwarf Lada, which is a family owned small supermarket, but specializes in local produce. So we have a lot of cheese up in the Alps. And the local farmers who produce cheese, they all sell their local cheese through the door Florida. So if you wanted to try the local stuff and buy some of the local cheese, whether it be for your picnic or to get it vacuum packed and take it home with you, or take it onto your next destination. Then the door flood is the shop. I would recommend, hotel recommendation. I'd say probably there's a lot of choice and a lot of variety amongst them, but I'd say the best view, the quaintest hotel, the family run hotel, is the hotel Falcon. That's definitely the one I would recommend, three star Swiss historic hotel. You literally are walking back in time as soon as you walk in there. But if you've not stayed there yourself, Carolyn, the view from the terrace and all the south facing rooms is directly towards the Jungfrau. It's fantastic. Plus, it's family run. So it has that very warm welcome that you would expect. And then, as I mentioned earlier, you have now a five star hotel up on the top end of town and renovated four stars recently renovated. There is a lot to choose from, the hotel shernack on the high street, a really nice little three star hotel, perfect location. But if I was only choosing one, I'd say I'd certainly go for the hotel Falcon. Okay,

Carolyn Schönafinger: 32:25

great. I have actually had dinner a couple of times at the hotel schoeneg, out on the beautiful terrace, looking straight at the mountains, and yes, it's wonderful. So definitely I haven't stayed in vengen, but I have enjoyed a couple of meals there for sure.

James Wilson: 32:39

Well, no, son, you're over. You staying in Van gun. Okay,

Carolyn Schönafinger: 32:43

I've got no choice, have I no right? So there's one more village that we're going to talk about, also car free. And this is Muran. So maybe you could give us a bit of a rundown about Murren. Yeah, it's

James Wilson: 32:59

all Yeah, as we say, also traffic free and accessible from Lauterbrunnen in two ways. When you arrive in Lauterbrunnen, you can jump off the train and then catch the cable car up to Groot shop, which only takes five minutes, and then from grutch out, take the train, then along the not the edge of the cliff, but pretty high up along the cliff towards murin. Or you can jump off the train in lauterbrunn and then catch the post bus to scheckelberg, which is at the top end of the valley, or at least getting towards the top end of the valley, get off the bus there, and then you connect with what's now the world's steepest cable car from scheckle bag up towards murin. And just before I talk about murin itself, one top tip again, I would recommend if you want to just take your time, instead of just jumping on the gondolas in the trains. When you catch the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to grushalp, instead of then jumping straight on the train to take to Murren, just walk. It will take you a couple of hours, but the walk from grutchel to Murren is more or less, again, on the flat, so pretty accessible to more or less everybody, but the entire length of the walk, you have a view which just blows your mind. And if the weather's nice, that would be a great thing to do. Don't jump on the train, do the walk and walk to Marin, because you'll be rewarded. The view is absolutely amazing, regardless of which direction you've taken up to mirin. I suppose one of the things I would say about Moon is that of all the villages, I suppose it's the most quaint. It's absolutely beautiful. It's the smallest of the villages, but there's something about it. There's something about the way it's laid out. There's something about the cafes and the restaurants that you have along the street in Murren that makes it extremely special. I don't really know which one I would recommend for a restaurant or a hotel, because there's so much great choice. The recently renovated Palace Hotel is for those who want the luxury element or the the family run four star Iger directly opposite the station. They're both great hotels also. You have the Blumenthal and the alpenru, which are owned by the Schilt horn cable way. I suppose they're the four hotels in Murren that I would strongly recommend. That leads me on, of course, to the schulthane, the setting for the Bond movie on her majesty. Secret Service currently undergoing major renovation work to its cable cars. But I suppose if there was not only one excuse, impossible to choose, which is the best excursion, but I would say if the big name excursions in the region, the view from the Schilt horn, is probably the one you would do. And I know I'm upsetting a lot of people there, but I think, yeah, if there was one view to do, one place to go for the view, the shield horn, is the one I think in the region that you would certainly favor. It's just, I can't even describe. It's so good, and it's 360 degrees, it's uninterrupted, it's jaw dropping. It's sensational. Coupled with the new cable cars, plus the revolving restaurant up there and the fact that it's where they film the Bond movie. That's a really great day out.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 36:04

Yeah, absolutely. And we had Alan from the shield Tron on a couple of episodes ago talking about that brand new opening of the world's deepest cable way. So regular listeners have probably heard him talk about that. But I have to agree, like they call the view from up there the Swiss skyline, and it really is just, if you get a clear day and you see all those mountains, it's just absolutely magnificent.

James Wilson: 36:28

Yeah, it really is. It's you have to do it. I mean, you have to do all of them, so many different things to do in the region. I think again, if you're here long enough do them all. That's the other thing. Don't just do one and do them all, whether it be the Jungfraujoch, the Schilthorn or the manlicen Just going back to Venge and the cable car up from manlike and with the balcony on the top, that's an experience which you can only find in one other place, and that's well worth doing. It's just when you ask me the questions, Carolyn, prior to our interview, I knew they were going to be very difficult to answer, giving people the right things to do around here is not easy at all.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 37:04

No, it definitely isn't. So just to perhaps put you on the spot even more or make it even more difficult for you. What tips would you give to people who are trying to choose the right base for their stay in the Jungfrau Region? Well,

James Wilson: 37:20

something which I know you're very much an expert on, is what passes and train tickets to buy, because some of the listeners may know that there's a lot of different choices when it comes to train passes. Over here you have the young travel pass, you have the burner Oberland pass, and you have the Swiss Travel Pass, all of which give access to the area, but some of them have certain restrictions in certain places. If you are here for, let's say, just a couple of days, maybe just two nights, and needed a base to see as much as possible, then I would certainly say Interlaken is probably the best, most practical choice. It just gives you more options as far as the transport is concerned. But also, if you were unlucky enough to come when the weather was poor, there's probably more to keep you occupied down there, and not only in town, but a short ride away than there is higher up in the mountains. If you're here for, I would say any longer than two or three nights, then come up to murin, Wengen or grin Laval. And certainly, if I was going to say which of those three, would I choose if I wanted to do the excursions and do all the hiking, then you're narrowing it down to vengen or Muran. Then if I was to give you my number one pick, of course they're gonna say because it's right in the middle, then you're gonna have to stay in Vegas.

Carolyn Schönafinger: 38:46

That makes sense. That's very good, right? So thank you for sharing all that information with us. If our listeners would like to know more about you or what you do through Swiss tailor made, how can they get in touch with you?

James Wilson: 39:00

They can with pleasure, send me an email, James at Swiss tailor made.com and I'd be delighted to give your listeners and subscribers any tips that they need on what to see and do whilst they're in the region. It would be a

Carolyn Schönafinger: 39:13

pleasure. Thank you very much, James. It's been great chatting to you again. Thank you, Carolyn. A pleasure, as always, are you a bit clearer now on where you'll base yourself when you visit the yongfrau region, you really can't choose the wrong base, as each of the towns and villages are so well connected by public transport, but I find that knowing what to expect in each of the different locations can make a huge difference when you're choosing the base that's right for you. I'd love to hear which town or village you decide to stay in. Why not send me a voice message to let me know you'll find a link to record your message in the description of this episode on your podcast player. If you miss the names of the accommodation and restaurants that James and I mentioned, you'll find them all in the show notes for this episode. COVID, as well as a link to Episode 101 where James gave a great insight into the best things to do in Grindelwald. That one's definitely worth listen. I hope this episode has helped you to choose your base in the Jungfrau Region. But if you need any more help finalizing your Switzerland itinerary, or you'd like some assistance with planning and booking your trip. Holidays to Switzerland can help. I've partnered with some of Switzerland's most reputable travel companies who can help take the hassle out of your trip planning. I personally know the folks who run these companies and highly recommend them. Not only do they offer fantastic Swiss vacation products to suit every traveler. They also give the holidays to Switzerland audience a 5% discount. You can find out more and get the promo code to take advantage of the discount offer at holidays to switzerland.com. I'll include the link in the show notes with all those other links and the names of all those accommodation places and restaurants at holidays to switzerland.com. Forward slash podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. If you've enjoyed the episode, please consider sharing it with your family, friends and colleagues who are planning a trip to Switzerland, and if you enjoy the show, I'd be super grateful if you could leave a five star rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts. Thanks so much. Until next week. Cheers. You.