9 Things to Do in Interlaken for the Ultimate Winter Trip to Switzerland

If you're planning a winter trip to Switzerland and want to experience the mountains without being tied to ski resorts, this episode is for you. We're taking you to Interlaken, where you’ll find a peaceful base with access to some of the most iconic scenery and experiences in the country.

Live from the rooftop of the Hotel Metropole Interlaken, Renato Julier from Interlaken Tourism shares why this region is ideal in winter. You’ll hear about visiting the Jungfraujoch, home to the highest train station in Europe, also known as the Top of Europe, and how easy it is to reach from town.

We also talk about lesser known winter adventures like kayaking in Switzerland on Lake Brienz, and unique experiences like chocolate workshops at the Funky Chocolate Club and Raclette rafting at sunset. Whether you're outdoorsy or prefer relaxed cultural outings, there are plenty of Interlaken winter activities to choose from.

If you're into scenic train rides, and would love to ride on a panoramic train, Switzerland has plenty to offer. Renato recommends enjoying a day trip on the GoldenPass Line which connects Interlaken with Montreux. We also touch on nearby day trips to Brienz, the woodcarving capital, and Thun, a lakeside city surrounded by castles.

For those visiting in December, Interlaken hosts charming Swiss Christmas markets, and there’s easy access to others in Montreux and Bern. 

If Interlaken’s been on your list, this is the sign to go. Add a few of these ideas to your itinerary and get ready for a different kind of Swiss winter experience.

Safe travels,

Carolyn

👉 Show notes - Episode 160

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Transcript

Carolyn Schönafinger: 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 Schönafinger, the founder of HolidaysToSwitzerland.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.

Grüezi, hi there, and welcome to this week's episode of the podcast. This week's episode is another of our live on location video podcasts, which you can also watch on YouTube. Today's location is quite spectacular. It's coming to you live from Interlaken in the heart of the Jungfrau Region.

So there's some amazing scenery that you can see, if you head on over to our YouTube channel and search for the live on location videos. I'll include a link to the YouTube channel in the show notes for this episode, but for now, just sit back and listen as Renato from Interlaken Tourism tells us all the wonderful things that you can do in Interlaken in the winter, and many of them you can do all year round. So let's hear what he has to say.

Hello and welcome back to another Holidays to Switzerland live on location podcast. We're coming to you today from the beautiful town in the Jungfrau Region of Interlaken. And my guest today is Renato Julier: from Interlaken Tourism, who has been on quite a few of our podcast episodes. So if you haven't heard them, make sure you go back and have a listen.

But today, Renato is joining us, as I said, live from Interlaken, and what a beautiful background you've got there, Renato. Where exactly in Interlaken are you standing right now?

Renato Julier: Yes, hello everyone, and welcome from Interlaken. A very nice welcome from Interlaken. I'm actually standing on the tallest building in Interlaken, which is the Hotel Metropole. So it's a four star hotel, which is 68 meters high. And you can just see behind me where I am. You see the nice Jungfrau Mountain behind me.

So Interlaken is a town which lies between two beautiful Lakes, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and it's also very well known as the European Capital of Adventure, and also the gateway to the Jungfrau Region. So where I'm standing, I'm actually here in the town of Interlaken, which is the gateway to the Alps and especially to the Jungfrau Mountain behind me.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Well, the scenery is just absolutely spectacular. So we might talk a bit more about that in a moment. But for anyone watching who is perhaps not familiar with Interlaken, or maybe they've heard of it, but they don't know exactly where abouts in Switzerland it is, you've mentioned the Jungfrau Region. But is that north, south? Is it in the middle? Whereabouts is it?

Renato Julier: So Interlaken doesn't lie in the center of Switzerland, but it lies in the real heart of the Bernese Oberland. As I mentioned before, it lies between two beautiful lakes, and just to get there, it's really easy. The easiest way is probably to fly directly to Zurich. From Zurich, there are direct trains every second hour. It takes about two hours to reach to this amazing place.

And it's really unbelievable. I always call it Switzerland in one place, because whatever people have in mind of Switzerland, they find everything in one single spot: mountains, glaciers, lakes. You can see behind me there the paragliders who are landing here on the Höhematte, which is our kind of Central Park. It's unbelievably beautiful here.

And the best thing, everything is easy, reachable in walking distance, by train, by boat and also by bus. It's really Switzerland in a nutshell, and it's really amazing place with a great infrastructure. So we do have more than 200 hotels with 10,000 beds. There are apartments, there is international food. So Interlaken is also a melting pot where a lot of people from all over the world are living together.

So we have tourists from all over the world. It's a stunning experience. So Interlaken is not only a summer destination, it's all year around, and especially all weather destination.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, well, we're recording now at the end of October, and we can see the beautiful foliage on the trees there behind you. So it's obviously very picturesque in autumn as it is all other times of the year. So what is it in your opinion that makes Interlaken such a great winter destination?

Renato Julier: Well, Interlaken, technically, is still more a summer than a winter destination, but it's definitely an all year around destination. So actually, we want to showcase Interlaken, or as we call it, Winterlachen, as a winter destination, because there are plenty of things to do and to see. There are quite a lot of all year round, all weather activities. And I'm also happy to mention later a few of them, or to highlight them.

But it's not only a typical ski destination. But if you want to go skiing, it's just around the corner. So just behind me there is the Jungfrau Region, and from there you have, you reach the Jungfrau ski region in a little bit more than 30 minutes. You have access to more than 200 kilometers of slopes.

So it's really amazing, stunning place. We have also skiing for beginner packages in Interlaken, and if you overnight in Interlaken, you have also a free ski bus who brings you directly to the train, which makes your journey to the slopes more comfortable.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. Okay, that's fantastic. All right, so what about those people who are perhaps thinking of visiting during the winter, but they're not skiers, or they're not really into snow sports? Is there plenty for them to do as well?

Renato Julier: So in Interlaken, we have a lot of all year round or all weather activities. I just want to highlight a few of them. There's probably one reason why Interlaken is that famous. There's a must visit a must do, which is Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe. It's not the highest mountain in Europe, which is, of course, the Mont Blanc, but it's the highest train station in Europe, which lies on 3,500 meters over sea level.

It's also part of the UNESCO World Nature Heritage Site Jungfrau-Aletsch. And from there you have this amazing, spectacular view to the Aletsch Glacier, which is still the longest glacier in the Alps of Europe, 22 kilometers long, up to 900 meter thick ice. There's a Sphinx with a platform up there so you can touch, feel real snow and ice, 365 days a year.

And just to get there, it's like quite easy and comfortable. From Interlaken, you can take the train to Grindelwald Terminal. From there, you can take the new Eiger Express, which is a nice cable way, so in only 15 minutes, you reach Eiger Glacier. From there, you jump again into the cogwheel train. You conquer the Eiger mountain. Then you are standing on the top on 3,500 meter over sea level in just one hour and 13 minutes.

But there are much more activities to do. I just want to highlight one of my favorite activities, which is definitely jet boating. So it's not like the Shotover thing that probably some of you may know from Queenstown in New Zealand. You can do jet boat, which is a speed boat, where you can do some turns and spins with full speed on Lake Brienz, which is, by the way, the biggest lake, which lies entirely in Switzerland, and is also, by the way, one of the deepest lakes in Switzerland, 260 meters deep.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Is that Lake Brienz we can see there over your shoulder?

Renato Julier: Yeah, you can just see it here behind me, so you can see Lake Thun and also behind me you can see this turquoise Lake, which is Lake Brienz. And you can, of course, see paragliding. So Interlaken is, as I mentioned before, the European Capital of Adventure. So this is a must do all year round activity to have this bird's eye view over Interlaken over lakes and meadows.

This is really stunning, but there are much more activities to do. I also want to highlight kayaking on Lake Brienz, which is very beautiful, peaceful. This is doable summer and winter. A lot of people don't know how easy it is to do it in winter time. So in winter time, you will wear a dry suit, and you can also book a guided tour so it's really safe and comfortable. So we can customize the tour to your needs, to your fitness level. And it's really amazing to calm down.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And I imagine seeing all the snow capped mountains around you in winter from the lake would be a very beautiful experience.

Renato Julier: Yes, it is. So in winter time, we unfortunately don't have that huge amount of snow in Interlaken itself, because Interlaken is not that high. It lies on 600 meters over sea level. But anyway, it's an amazing gateway to the Jungfrau Region, so we can guarantee snow and ice experience, also in winter time. Great.

Carolyn Schönafinger: So you've mentioned their jet boating and kayaking on Lake Brienz. Is there another kind of water sport or water activity you can do during winter?

Renato Julier: Well, of course, we have regular boat cruises on Lake Thun. But there is also new activity which I want to highlight, which is Raclette Rafting. I don't know how familiar you are with Swiss food. But this is a typical experience, like a floating experience on Lake Brienz, which starts at the corner of Lake Brienz in Bönigen.

And there is a guide gondolier like in Venice. He takes you on the boat back to Interlaken. And during this ride, you have the possibility to enjoy a raclette. This is melted cheese. You normally eat it in Switzerland with potatoes, with vegetables, and you drink also some glüh wine with it, or also hot tea. It is amazing experience, especially you have this unbeatable sunsets in winter time as well.

Carolyn Schönafinger: That sounds magical. What else do you recommend that people try or add to their itinerary when they're visiting, well, all year round, but even in winter?

Renato Julier: Well, in winter time, there are much more activities to do. You can also, for example, visit the stunning Caves of Saint Beatus, which are very picturesque. You can easily reach them in only 20 minutes by taking the bus from Interlaken. And they have beautiful stalagmites and stalactites with a new light concept as well. Inside it's open the whole year round. So this is also a very nice activity.

If you are more interested to do a cultural experience, I highly recommend to visit the Trauffer World of Experience, for example. So in Switzerland, it's all about cows as well. And if you want to carve your own wooden cow, which is, by the way, a typical souvenir, you shouldn't miss to visit Trauffer World of Experience, because there you have the possibility to carve and paint your own wooden cow, which is a very nice experience as well for the whole family or also as an individual.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah. And what a unique souvenir to take home. What about culinary experiences? You mentioned the Raclette Rafting there. But is there anything else that people can do to get a, you know, a taste of some of the Swiss specialties?

Renato Julier: Of course, the best thing is probably doing an outdoor activity, combining it with a culinary food tour or with a culinary experience. So we have a new culinary e-bike tour, which is available the whole year. So you can also book it through our main provider, Outdoor Switzerland. And this is a really stunning experience.

So he takes you with an e-bike or with a bike around Interlaken. And during this tour, you have also the possibility to taste some chocolate and also cheese, and, by the way, also some local beer. So you have a very nice experience. So for all food lovers or beer lovers, we have a very nice new activity as well.

If you want to create, for example, your own chocolate during a chocolate workshop, you can do that as well. We have Funky Chocolate Club, which is a provider who is located in the heart of Interlaken, and there you can visit a workshop. So during one hour, you will learn all about tempering chocolate, about cocoa beans, and you can create your own chocolates.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Wonderful. Okay, so for people that are perhaps coming in the lead up to Christmas, does Interlaken host any Christmas markets?

Renato Julier: Of course, we have plenty of Christmas markets in and around Interlaken. I highly recommend to visit our website, winterlachen.ch so there you find a whole list. So there are more than 20 Christmas markets in the whole destination, a lot of smaller ones, but they're very nice and authentic.

I also highly recommend, for example, to take the train from Interlaken. So we have two beautiful panoramic trains who are allocated to Interlaken. I highly recommend Golden Pass Express, which connects Interlaken with Montreux on Lake Geneva in a stunning, direct panoramic train of three hours and 10 minutes.

And in Montreux, there's a very famous and picturesque Christmas market as well, which you shouldn't miss. So also, for a day trip to Montreux, it's quite nice. Or we have also the federal capital of Bern, which is just one hour away from Interlaken. It's really worth it to travel in and around Interlaken by train, by boat, and also by bus, in a very sustainable, or, as we call it, sensible way.

Carolyn Schönafinger: You can certainly do that for sure. Now I might just get you to perhaps point out a few of the other landmarks or sites there behind you. There's another big mountain range there, right behind you. I think from memory, that on the other side of that might be Schynige Platte. Is that correct?

Renato Julier: This is Schynige Platte. This is right. So I have to turn probably my camera a little bit that you can see it, but it's directly here behind me, as you can see now. So Schynige Platte, it's also very well known as Top of Swiss Tradition. So from Interlaken, you can take the train to Wilderswil, and from there, there is a beautiful train, which brings you up to Schynige Platte, Top of Swiss Tradition.

It takes about one hour. The train runs normally from April till the end of October. So it's really stunning. From there, you have probably the best view to Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, to the famous mountain trio. There's also a botanic garden on top, and there's also a new Skywalk, which you shouldn't have missed, where you can stand out and look down.

Carolyn Schönafinger: There's definitely great views from up there, for sure. Is there anything else there that you particularly want to point out before I ask you for some more tips and a bit more info?

Renato Julier: Well, I really have to say that Interlaken has a lot to offer in winter time as well. What a lot of people don't know. So if you also you want to learn, for example, skiing or snowboarding, this is definitely one of the best places, because we have providers here on spot. Everything is available from the technical equipment. We can organize transfers. We can bring you to the slopes. We can arrange very nice packages.

In winter time, you have the advantage in Interlaken that bad weather doesn't exist because you have plenty of all year round, all weather activities, and you shouldn't miss to visit also authentic villages like Brienz, which is the wood carving capital of Switzerland, which just lies at the corner of Lake Brienz.

Or you should also visit Thun, the beautiful city of Thun, which you can easily reach in 35 minutes by train. It is surrounded by five castles, and it is a really authentic nice town, which has a lot to offer.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, excellent. Okay, so you mentioned earlier that you're standing on the Metropole Hotel there. Can only guests get to that lovely viewpoint that you've got there? Or is it open to the public?

Renato Julier: No, you wouldn't believe it. It's free of charge, by the way. So the Hotel Metropole is located directly in the heart, in the center of Interlaken, and there's an elevator which takes you up to the top. And it's also a fancy restaurant here. And you have this beautiful, amazing view over Interlaken. It's, it's, it's free of charge, and it takes just three minutes by taking the elevator.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Wow, you don't get much for free these days. So yeah, and what a view that you get. Amazing. Yeah, it is. Right. So do you have any other tips that you would like to share to someone who's, I mean, we, I know Interlaken is a wonderful destination all year round, but we've kind of been focusing on winter visits here. So any particular tips specifically for those people thinking of visiting in winter?

Renato Julier: So I highly recommend to visit Interlaken, especially in the lower season or in winter time. It's really beautiful, as you can convince yourself now, it's very peaceful. So you get better rates. We have much more availabilities. And of course, if you're not familiar with Interlaken, please have a look on our website, interlaken.ch.

There are plenty of things, activities, experiences, to discover, which you shouldn't miss. Interlaken is also a hometown of a lot of events, especially in and around winter time. So there are a lot of events, which you find as well on our website, winterlachen.ch. Great.

Carolyn Schönafinger: And I think also for people that are perhaps thinking that a lot of the mountain excursions won't be operating, that's not actually the case, is it? I mean, there are definitely some that close over the winter months, but there are still plenty of opportunities for people to go and visit, as you said, Jungfraujoch, and a number of others.

Renato Julier: Yes, of course. I highly recommend to visit Jungfraujoch, Top of Europe. This is a must visit, once in a lifetime experience. Not so far away from Interlaken, there's also the stunning Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Jungfrau Region. So you will pass a valley with 72 waterfalls, and at the end you find Stechelberg.

From there, you can take the steepest cableway in the world up to the Schilthorn Piz Gloria, which was, by the way, used as a film location in 1969 on Her Majesty's Secret Service with the Australian guy George Lazenby as James Bond. So this could be also a hidden tip for our listeners from Australia as well and New Zealand. Wonderful.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Well, thank you, Renato. Any final words before we let you go?

Renato Julier: No, thank you so much, Carolyn, for this opportunity. I'm really looking forward to a lot of visitors from all over the world to visit this stunning place. And believe me, it's really worth it to come to Interlaken because it's known as Switzerland in one place. And this it is definitely. You convinced yourself already.

Carolyn Schönafinger: Yeah, absolutely you've convinced us. Look at those views. I mean, how could you not want to visit? It's absolutely stunning. Thank you so much. You mentioned the website, interlaken.ch and I'll include a link to that in the description and the show notes for this episode. So thanks again, Renato, and for everyone watching, please.

If you haven't seen the previous live on location videos, go back and have a look at those. And there's lots more Holidays to Switzerland podcast episodes, audio versions available on all the podcast players, so check them out as well. And we'll be back again soon with another live on location video. So hope to see you then. Thank you.

Renato Julier: Bye. Bye. Thank you, goodbye. See you soon.

Carolyn Schönafinger: I hope you found that episode really helpful. And if you haven't checked it out on YouTube yet, go over and have a look, because the color of the foliage and the snow covered mountains in the background is just amazing. You'll love it.

And if this or any previous episode, has inspired you to include a destination or an experience in your trip to Switzerland, or you've picked up some tips that have helped with your trip planning, or perhaps you've even booked a tour or stayed in a hotel based on what you've heard on the podcast. I'd really love to hear about it, so please send me an email to podcast@holidaystoswitzerland.com and let me know how the podcast has helped or inspired your travels.

That's all for this week. I hope you'll join me again next week for more Swiss travel tips and inspiration. Until then, tschuss!