Murren/Lauterbrunnen/Gimmelwald
Our family(2 adults, 2 kids) will be in Switzerland(Berner Oberland area) for 3 days in the 2nd week of June, 2010. Our primary purpose is to catch some good day hikes and enjoy the natural beauty. Which is a good place to stay from a hiking perspective? Murren or Lauterbrunnen or Gimmelwald? Can anyone recommend nice, clean family place to stay with a kitchen? I heard that the sports complex in Murren rents out an apartment...have not found any mention of it in Rick Steves' books...anyone know anything about this place? Any other sightseeing recommendations and specific hikes recommended? Also, are the roads clear of snow and safe to drive with an intermediate car in early June? Do we need snow tires? Thank you.
ania
dc 3/4/10
Send Private Message
Page:1 Next ›
ania---are you sure you want to take a car? Both Mürren and Gimmelwald are car-free villages high above the valley. You would have to pay to park in Lauterbrunnen and you wouldn't be using the car for those 3 days.
As to your lodging choice, we love Mürren as a base for hiking. Chalet Fontana has a 2-bedroom apartment with a well-furnished kitchen. Breakfast is included in the rate, so you have an opportunity to meet the B&B guests at breakfast. The grocery store is right across the street.
Second that, a car is a waste of money in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. All three locations are decent for hiking, but I would give a slight edge to the mountain villages (Murren and Gimmelwald), simply because it's easier to hike down from them to Lauterbrunnen than the opposite.
We enjoyed Chalet Raufthubel in Murren. Two bedroom apartment with kitchen, very reasonable price. Absolutely loved Murren, July of 2007.
Chalet Fontana in Murren has an apartment in the lower level which I think includes a kitchen of sorts. Their other rooms share another kitchen but no cooking is allowed. You can store cold foods there & make sandwiches. Grocery store is across the street.
Many hikes right outside the door.
ania,
One more vote to ditch the car! Travel by public transport is really the best way to go in that area.
Given the activities you're planning, my suggestion would be to stay in Murren. It's got a good selection of Hotels, ATM's, a Co-Op store if you want to pick up a few groceries, good access to both the Schilthornbahn (if you want to take a trip to Piz Gloria and the revolving restaurant) and also the Allmend-Hubel Funicular. The trip on the Funicular is fairly short, but it's a wonderful hike from there back to Murren.
I doubt very much if there will be snow in the second week of June, but I usually go by the rule that whereever there's snow, snow tires are required.
Happy travels!
Another reason to ditch the car is that your kids, if they are < 16 years old, will travel free with you on ALL public transport all over Switzerland. That's a fantastic bargain.
I would suggest Mürren as your base for the 3 days as it has the best views and has everything at hand. I would contact Top Apartments (they have apartments in the sports complex)at www.topapartments.ch/en/home.html or Mürren Tourism who are always very helpful, website shows a list of apartments and hotels aswell as where they are located within the village www.muerren.ch/start-e.htm
Mürren has some great walks for the children starting above Mürren at the Allmendhubel, it will take 1h 30m back down to Mürren with a childrens playground halfway down and a slide and clinging frame at the Allmendhubel.. Pleanty of others so i suggest you ask tourism to send you out a summer pack so you can plan your trip before you get there. Dont forget to visit the Schilthorn at 3000m and have lunch at Winteregg...so much to do in so little time !!
Any more advice just email me or post here
Enjoy !!
Fifth the recommendation: Ditch the car. Use the trians.
Second (or third?) the recommendation to base in Murren, especially with a family.
I can't comment on the apartment, but if that doesn't work http://www.hoteleiger.com/ has rooms that are nice for a family, has a restuarant and bar onsite, but can be pricey (since the remodel...).
For some other accomodation options, here's the Muerren city page with some links to places to stay: www.muerren.ch
Definitely see Trummelbach Falls (I suddenly wonder if I'm remembering that name correctly...). Big waterfall inside a mountain -- caused by the melting glaciers above. How old are your kids? If they're old enough, they might really enjoy the longer tour of these caves.
There's a little fernicular rail / small train combo that ties Lauterbrunnen to Muerren. There's also a fernicular that runs from Muerren farther up the mountain. [EDIT -- Note that I've been corrected... my favorite, cute little fernicular is no longer there... very sad... see below...]
Sorry, there is no longer a funicular from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschap to Mürren. The funicular was replaced by a gondola. But the gondola still delivers you to the same place (Grutschap) where you can catch the same little train onto Mürren for those spectacular views.
Not having the funnicular is a good thing as it used to take 17 minutes, now it takes 3 minutes!!
Thank you all for the great feedback. The reason we have a car is because we are driving around France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland and Berner Oberland is our last stop( we will be driving to Lauterbrunnen from Salzburg)before driving back to Paris and flying out of Paris. So may be we should return our car at Interlaken and find public transport back to Paris? Any ideas, anyone? From all your input, we will definitely be staying at Murren. Anyone know of any vegan or dairy free products like soymilk available at grocery stores or restaurant choices in the area? We have a 8 year old child who is allergic to dairy, but is well traveled and not too fussy with food. Also, would having a car help in seeing areas around Interlaken like the Swiss Open Air Museum at Ballenberg? Would the kids like this? Any other suggestions? Thank you all so much for being so helpful.
Esther's Guesthouse in Gimmelwald has two apartments with a kitchen. It also has a large living/dining room with two couches to sleep on plus a bedroom with three beds. What we liked best was the large balcony looking right toward the mountain range. You will see the view I'm talking about on the websites I'm giving you. There is also hiking info on both websites. Esther's is on the first one.
www.gimmelwald.ch/en/index.htm
www.gimmelwald.com/
We loved staying at Esther's and at Gimmelwald.
Something we really enjoyed doing was the Murren Music Festival--that may not be the exact name. It's on one night a week, is free, as is the wine you help yourself to. They will having singing, dancing, alphorn, yodeling, etc acts. It's in the Murren sports building.
Murren has a COOP in the village which is 10 mins away from the Sports centre or 5 mins away from the Schilthornbahn,located on the lower road.
I suggest you email Murren tourism to see if the COOP sell dairy free products ,they can quite easily find out by phoning them direct on your behalf .(remember to bring your own bags with you as they charge for them and are closed on Sundays in the summer!!) They have a great childrens park opposite the Sports Centre aswell as crazy crazy golf( need to rent the golf ball and clubs from Stager Sports which is also located next to the Sports Centre.....i can go on on on on....lol
If you will just book the Chalet Fontana with Denise Fussell (across the street from the COOP) she can attempt to locate the dairy free products you request. She is very kind and helpful and speaks English with a wonderful British accent.
Coop has an excellent website and you can find the store in Mürren---with opening hours, products they carry, etc.
http://www.coop.ch/pb/site/common/node/5673/Lde/index.html
You will have to spell it with the umlaut (Mürren) so copy and paste that if you have to. Muerren won't work (it will recognize that as Murten).
Once you find the page, there should be contact info if you want to e-mail and ask specifically about soymilk. But I would be VERY surprised if they didn't carry it. Even in this land of dairy products, they are very health-conscious and aware that not everyone can drink cow's milk.
Also, for dining out, the Asian restaurant on the main street will have many vegan and dairy-free choices. the husband goes down to Interlaken nearly every day to purchase fresh vegetables, and the quality of the food there is very good. They speak very good English if you need to ask here specifics about the food.
I agree Tham's Chinese restaurant on the lower road is excellent.The restaurant/kitchen is open plan and you can see him cook your meal. The food is excellent but due to the location and having to visit Interlaken/Lauterbrunnen daily for the fresh veg the price of the food is quite high.
The Edelweiss a few doors down from Thams (heading towards the Murrenbahn) do very good pizzas aswell as the Jungfrau on the high road which has a lovely terrace for eating outside. Most of the restaurants are located in the hotels so just have a look at the menus that are placed outside each location.
Shame you cant post pictures here (i would have a field day!!)
Hello, we may still think about leaving our car at Lauterbrunnen(charges for returning at different location adds up). How safe is it to park at the overnight lot at the cable station for 2-3 days while we stay at Murren? Also, from Murren can we do Jungfrau or do we have to come back to Lauterbrunnen...do kids get a discount on the cable tickets and can we take 1 big duffle bag with us on the cable? Thank you everyone.
From Mürren, you will have to return to Lauterbrunnen and take the train up to Wengen and onward to go up to Jungfraujoch. Mürren is on the opposite side of the valley from the train up Jungfraujoch.
AS for the kids, the type of pass you have will determine the price for childrens' tickets.
Lola, that's not exactly true for kids' tickets. As long as the parents purchase 1 Junior Card (16chf) for each kid < 16, then that kid travels FREE with their parent(s) anywhere in Switzerland. Doesn't matter what kind of tickets the parents have...as long as that ticket allows the parent on a train, bus, boat, funicular, gondola...even to the Jungfrau and Schilthorn - the kids are free.
You're right, Tim---I don't know what I was thinking! I am so used to talking about passes, not tickets.
The Junior Card is now 20 CHF and each child has to have one, but it's still worthwhile for the Jungfrau trip:
http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/services/fuer-alle/familie/juniorkarte.htm
I only purchased Junior Cards one time (many years ago at 16 chf). Then I discovered the free Swiss Family Card and that's the way we went until the kids got too old :-(
Ania been there done that 2 and half years ago. We stayed in lauterbrunnen. I bet she is full now though where we stayed, cecile mauder was her name. i have her emial if you need it. kitchen and whole works. great place. be sure to go to the top of the jungfrau. its expensive but well worth it. go to the sports complex in murren, great pool. and eat at the eiger guesthouse right by the train station in murren. scottish guy owns it. best cheeseburgers my 12 and 8 year old have ever have they still say. trummelbach falls is great. mainstreet lauterbrunnen is full of good restaurants. hotel oberland especially. its reasonable, if you call 85 bucks for lunch reasonable. its cheaper than most places though. get ready. switz. is very expensive.
ania keep the car the whole way. i understand what people say about public transportation but this May is our third trip to europe with our now 12 and 8 year old. with kids i would never be without a car. you need that flexibility for things like what if they get seriously ill, what if you want to take one of them someplace close to like lauterbrunnen and the bus or train does not go there. public transport is great if you are an adult or in high school. little kids will ruin your vacation if you are running to public transport every time you need to go someplace five minutes away. as you know kids get out of sorts anyhow on vacation and to be pulling them on and off trains, busses, etc. is unfair to them and will quickly wear them out. just my opinion.
ania,if you are absolutely sure you are going to go up the Jungfraujoch, you and your husband should consider getting Half-Fare cards.
Here's the math: RT tickets to the Jungfraujoch from Mürrren are 181 CHF. So 2 adult tickets plus the 2 junior cards would be 402 CHF total. With the Half-fare cards, you pay for 2 cards at 99 CHF each and get 2 RT tickets to the Jungfrau for 181, so the total is 379 CHF (you can get a Family Card for free with the half-Fare card).
http://www.swisstravelsystem.com/produkttexte.php?passid=6
Any other use of the transport system (including your first ride up to Mürren, and the Schilthorn if you do that) would be half-price for the adults and free for the children.
Ania- You might consider staying in Lauterbrunnen. Many places provide a free parking space. This web site:
http://www.jungfrauferien.ch/index-en.php?frameset=49&search=true
has apartments listed. We stayed at the Anton-Graf and it was very nice (2 bedrooms, one bath, parking place, etc.) If you do choose to stay up in Murren or Gimmelwald, you can park at the parking garage by the Lauterbrunnen train station or the parking lot at the bottom of the lift in Stechelberg. However, there is a parking fee at both of these places. I do not know of any place you can park and leave your car for free in the area. (without worrying about tickets or towing)
"you need that flexibility for things like what if they get seriously ill, what if you want to take one of them someplace close to like lauterbrunnen and the bus or train does not go there."
Can this be for real? Flexibility to go to the doctor? What if the train doesn't go to places like lauterbrunnen (ha). Do you think the kids in Muerren who get sick can't visit the doctor...after all there are NO CARS in Muerren (nor wengen nor gimmelwald). I'm amazed.
The car park in Lauterbrunnen is very safe and under cover and has easy access to the Murrenbahn. All the other questions have been asked.
ps..correct,Alan Ramsey's chef does great homemade burgers, i suggest get them to go and walk past the Murrenbhan on the lower road and sit near the Arnold Lunn statue...as the views are much better compared to looking at the Murrenbahn station when seating outside the Eiger Guesthouse(located opp.the Murrenbahn)
Hi, I will also be visiting this area in June with my fiancee. We are also unsure whether to stay in Gimmelwald or Murren. We plan on going to schilthorn, ice caves, Jungfrau etc. We will also be leaving our car at the station (prices online are about €20 for 3 days) Has anyone any advice on where is best to stay (eiger guesthoue in murren or pension guesthouse in gimmelwald) and what are the top things to do over our 3 day stay? Thanks in advance.
Thanks for the replies everyone. We are renting in Paris..and traveling through Germany, Austria and Switzerland before returning back to Paris. So cost wise, it seems to make sense to rent a car all the way, even if it means parking the car at Schtelberg or Lauterbrunnen. Parking lot safety is our only issue. It looks like our tickets up to Murren and Jungfrau will be the only cable/train option we will be considering and I understand kids are discounted on that with the Swiss Family pass, right? Also, has anyone rented an apartment at the Sports Complex in Murren...the pictures look pretty nice, but I have not come across any reviews. Did not hear back from them about a reservation inquiry either...found them on the BO tourism website.
Page:1 Next ›