Things to do in Grindelwald, Switzerland

How to get to Grindelwald

Getting to Grindelwald via the Swiss public transport system is very easy. This town is part of the Jungfrau region, whose gateway is Interlaken. So no matter what part of the country you’re in, to get to this little Alpine village, you’ll first need to take a train to Interlaken Ost station.

From Interlaken Ost, you have to take another train to Grindelwald. Be careful, because it is the same train that goes to Lauterbrunnen. This is divided into Zweislütschinen. On the platform, you can see marked on the floor which part of the train goes to Lauterbrunnen and which part of the train goes to Grindelwald. Make sure you are in the correct car. This journey is 30 minutes.

This train drops you off at Grindelwald Terminal. From here, you can take a half-hour walk into the town center or catch another train at Grindelwald Grund station, located a 5-minute walk from the first station. It is also possible to go by bus.

If you have your own vehicle, getting there is not very complicated. You will also have to go through Interlaken, from where it will take about 30 minutes to get there by car.

🚗 Do you need to rent a car for your trip to Switzerland? I suggest you to compare prices at Auto Europe and Discover Cars, two useful platforms to find the best rental deals.

Things to do in Grindelwald, Switzerland

Ready to discover all the best things to do in and around Grindelwald? Let’s begin!

1. Stroll through Grindelwald

If you have little time to visit Grindelwald on your trip through Switzerland and you cannot do many activities, my advice is to simply take a walk through this famous town. Getting here and walking through the streets of the town, surrounded by mountains and snowy peaks, is already an attraction in itself. You can walk down Dorfstrasse, look for a terrace and have a drink.

2. A bike ride on an E-bike to Grosse Scheidegg

An activities that I enjoyed on my last visit to this town was going on an electric bike route around Grindelwald. If you are interested in doing active tourism in Switzerland, you are going to love this proposal, since it allows you to enjoy an unbeatable natural landscape while you get your body pumping.

Our bike route started at Intersport Rent Network, where we rented the bikes. This store is located in Grindelwald Terminal. From here, we crossed the town and then cycled towards Grosse Scheidegg, one of the most beautiful places to see in Grindelwald. The road has quite the slope but when using motorized bicycles, it was not hard at all.

From Grosse Scheidegg you can enjoy unforgettable views of the valley and the snowy peaks. It takes about an hour and a half to get there from the centre of town, taking into account some stops to admire the scenery or rest.

If you want to contact the store to check availability and prices, you can do so through their Instagram profile: @myintersport_grindelwald.

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3. Go up to First, one of the best things to do in Grindelwald

If you want to enjoy incredible views, feel an adrenaline rush or go on a hike, I advise you to go up to Grindelwald-First. If the weather conditions allow it, from up here you can admire an incredible landscape featuring the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau peaks.

In order to visit First, 2.168 meter above sea level, from Grindelwald, you only have to take a cable car from Grindelwald-First. The station is located near de main street in town and it takes 25 minutes to get to First. You can buy the ticket to First in advance. It costs around CHF 64 round trip. It is also possible to go up on foot but it takes a little over 2 hours and a half and the climb is hard.

One of the most popular tourist attractions is the First Cliff Walk by Tissot, a metal walkway built into the cliff face and suspended in the air. The entrance is free, therefore, do not hesitate to visit it. It will impress you!

In First you can also do various adventure activities: First Flyer Zip Line, First Glider Zip Line, First Mountain Car and Trottibike Scooter. To enjoy them, you will have to buy the cable car ticket + adventure activities.

Finally, First is the start of different treks. Below I will tell you how far you can go if you start walking once you get off the cable car in First.

4. Hike to Lake Bachalpsee from First

One of the most beautiful places you can visit near Grindelwald is Bachalpsee. I am lucky enough to have visited this lake on my two trips to this part of Switzerland and I can say that it is totally worth the little effort to get to it.

As I have commented in the previous paragraph, from First it is possible to carry out different hiking trails. One of the most beautiful and accessible is the one that takes you to Lake Bachalpsee. After taking the cable car from Grindelwald to First, you only have to walk for just under an hour. There is a little slope but it is not difficult at all.

If you want to know in detail how to go to Lake Bachalpsee and from where you can have the best perspective, do not miss my post about how to get to Bachalpsee.

5. Hike to Schynige Platte from First

Departing from Grindelwald-First, you can also take a full-day trip to Schynige Platte. I recommend it only to the most adventurous, since there are 17 kilometers between both places. Not to mention the slope changes. Still, if you’re in good shape, it’s totally worth it.

From Grindelwald, you will first have to take the cable car up to First, where the tour begins. The trail will lead you to Lake Bachalpsee and continue until you reach the Faulhorn Restaurant, located at the top of the mountain. Here you can eat and recover energy while enjoying the views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.

This first part of the hike (5.7 km) is quite hard since you have to climb a lot of slope. From the restaurant to Schynige Platte it’s 11.3km but much of it is downhill so it’s not that hard.

We slept in the hotel located in Schynige Platte, called Berghotel Schynige Platte and went down to Interlaken via Wilderswil the next morning. A great alternative if you want to spend the night surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape.

If you’re going to sleep in Interlaken or Grindelwald, you’ll need to be on time to catch the train from Schynige Platte. The last train is usually at 5:53 p.m, but I recommend checking the schedule of the day you are interested in doing this trip.

If you’re also going to visit Interlaken during your trip to Switzerland, don’t miss my post on the best things to see and do in Interlaken.

6. Go up to Jungfraujoch (Top of Europe) from Grindelwald

One of the best things to do in Grindelwald and in Switzerland in general is going up to Jungfraujoch, a mountain pass located between the Mönch and Jungfrau peaks. This place is also known as Top of Europe, since it is the highest train station in Europe.

The great attraction of this place are the spectacular views of the peaks of more than 4,000 meters above sea level and the Aletsch Glacier. However, Jungfraujoch offers much more. Walk inside an ice palace, enjoy the bird’s-eye view while zip-lining, or eat at one of the local restaurants.

To get to Jungfraujoch from Grindelwald, you must first take the Eiger Express cable car from Terminal Grindelwald to Eigergletscher (20 minutes). From here, at the same station where the cable car leaves you, you have to take the train to Jungfraujoch (25 minutes).

The price for the cable car ride Grindelwald – Eigergletscher is CHF 64 return. The price of the train ticket Eigergletscher – Jungfraujoch costs from 100 CHF round trip (depending on the season).

Important: if you have the Swiss Travel Pass or the Jungfrau Travel Pass, you can enjoy discounts on these and other tickets.

It is advisable to purchase tickets to Jungfraujoch in advance. One of the advantages of purchasing the ticket here is that it allows you to cancel the trip up to one day before. In this way, if the weather forecast is bad or if any unforeseen event occurs, you can cancel the ticket and buy it for another day.

7. Walk the Eiger Trail, one of the best things to do in Grindelwald

To go down from Jungfraujoch to Grindelwald, you can return the same way (train and cable car) or take advantage of the Eigergletscher station to get off and do the Eiger Trail, a path that runs along the foot of the north wall of the Eiger to the station. from Alpiglen, where you can catch a train back to Grindelwald. It is also possible to do the entire tour on foot.

In our case, after visiting Top of Europe and going down to the Eigergletscher station, we started to walk the Eiger Trail to the Alpiglen station. The entire journey is downhill, therefore, it is not very hard, beyond what the knees or feet may suffer. It took us around 3 hours to get to Alpiglen.

In Alpiglen there is a hotel-restaurant where you can have a drink before taking the train back to Grindelwald. We took the opportunity to have a beer while enjoying the incredible views of the valley.

💸 Many of these activities are included in the Jungfrau Travel Pass, a pass that allows you to use almost all means of transport (trains, cable cars, boats, etc.) in Jungfrau without a limit.

8. Visit a glacier, a different thing to do in Grindelwald

Just 2 km away from the center of town, you can find the Glacier Canyon Grindelwald, a kilometer-long footbridge, built into the cliff’s face. You can traverse the gorge and pass through rock galleries and various tunnels.

One of the most striking places is the 170 m² walkable network built between both walls, which offers very unique views. This will allow you to be suspended over the Lütschine river.

This attraction is open to the public from May to mid-November, although it can vary depending on weather conditions. Visiting the glacier canyon takes one to two hours. General admission costs CHF 19. It is recommended to bring a jacket as the temperature is usually lower.

From Grindelwald, it takes around 10 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by car. It is also possible to go by public transport (bus line 122).

You can buy the entrance to the glacier canyon in advance here.

9. Pfingstegg Toboggan run

One of the most fun activities you can do in Grindelwald is to slide down the Pfingstegg toboggan slide. It is one of the most striking attractions in the area, especially for children, who will enjoy it like no one else.

To get to Pfingstegg, you just have to take a cable car from Grindelwald. Once you get to the top, apart from enjoying the incredible scenery, you can spike your adrenaline levels by sliding down the 736-meter slide. You can reach 40km per hour! Going down the slide costs CHF 6, although it is possible to buy multi-ride packs. You can also jump down a zip line (CHF 12).

When you are up there you can have lunch or dinner at the restaurant located here: Bergrestaurant Pfingstegg. Likewise, you will find picnic tables where you can sit and eat something that you have brought. Finally, if you want to live a unique experience, it is also possible to reserve a dinner table inside the cable car.

It’s available from May to October.

10. Things to do in Grindelwald during winter

Many of the activities that I have mentioned so far can only be done in the warmer months of the year. If you are going to visit Grindelwald in winter, don’t worry, the destination offers plenty of activities during this time of year. The most typical are snowboarding and skiing, sports that you can practice going up to First or Wengen, where you will find numerous slopes.

Where to stay in Grindelwald

If you want to spend one or several nights in this alpine town, you should know that there is a wide variety of options. Although, like everything in Switzerland, hotels in Grindelwald are quite expensive. Still, it is possible to find accommodation for different budgets.

I can recommend two hotels in which I have personally stayed in:

– Eiger Lodge Easy ($$). Basic hostel with shared rooms, private rooms and apartments. It is located very close to Grindelwald Terminal. In this accommodation I stayed 2 nights in one of the private double rooms. Breakfast wasn’t great but it was enough.

– Hotel Kirchbühl ($$$). A 4 star hotel located on the outskirts of Grindelwald. It is the typical mountain accommodation in Switzerland. Very pretty! The rooms are spacious, warm and with a very comfortable bed. It has a restaurant, terrace and spa. One of the best things about the hotel is the incredible views that you will have from it. I also liked the breakfast very much.

If you can afford it, I recommend staying in the second hotel.

Map of Grindelwald, Switzerland

In the map below, I have marked all the places I mentioned in this article: attractions, train stations, cable cars, hotels, etc. In this way, it will be easier for you to organize your trip to Grindelwald, Switzerland.

If you are going to visit other places in the country, I encourage you to visit my Switzerland travel guide.

I hope that this article on the best things to do in Grindelwald (Switzerland) has been very useful to you in planning your trip to this incredible region of the country. If you want to tell me about your experience or ask something, do not hesitate to leave a comment or email me. Until next time, travelers!