Grindelwald belongs to the Jungfrau Region in the Bernese Oberland and is located at 1,034 metres above sea level. This Swiss mountain town has been on my bucketlist since before I even moved to Switzerland! I finally got the chance to explore it last week and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.

For this journey, I decided to go by train and public transportation as it is so amazing and efficient in Switzerland! I know I have praised the Swiss railway on here before, but I’ll say it again! I got a Tageskarte, which is a daypass you can buy that allows you to use any public transportation in Switzerland for a whole day. You can purchase this special pass at your local town hall but sometimes some places offer deals on them as well. I know Coop (a Swiss-owned supermarket chain) sometimes has the deals but I got mine at InterDiscount. The pass usually costs somewhere between 40-50 CHF (Swiss francs) and is totally worth it as it can be used countrywide for a whole day! If you want to purchase the Tageskarte, research online where you can find the cheapest one because some places have great deals! Try to stay way from buying it directly from SBB (the Swiss railway company) as they are usually the most expensive.

I started my journey as early as possible so I could arrive in Grindelwald in the morning. I left my local train station at 5:20am and it took about 3 hours to travel to reach my final destination with the train. From Zürich HB (main station), the best connection is to travel to Bern, then transfer again in Interlaken Ost. From here, a direct train will take you right into the centre of Grindelwald. Pro tip: If you are visiting Zurich or have just moved here, I would recommend to download the SBB train schedule app! This will allow you to have all of your own travel information and all of the general train information easily accessible on your phone.

Once I arrived in Grindelwald, I decided I would take a gondola ride up to a mountain station called First. The gondola station is about a 10 minute walk from the train station, or you can hop on a bus! The return ticket for the gondola ride costs 60 CHF. Be aware: the daypass does not allow any discounts on the gondola ticket!! However, if you have a regular SwissPass or Halfare card, you will get a 50% discount on the ticket.

After purchasing the ticket for the gondola ride to First, I hopped on! There is a lift literally every minute so you don’t have to worry about missing your ride. To the top, it’s about a 30 minute ride. There are 2 stops along the way where you can choose to get out, but if you are going up to the top you just stay seated and enjoy the ride!

The reason I chose to go to First, is because of the amazing cliff walk that I had seen so many photos of! Since I arrived so early, I was the only one doing the cliff walk. The wind was crazy and I was a little bit afraid as I am slightly scared of heights, but I was instantly distracted by the amazing mountain views. The cliff walk is always open, weather depending, and is free of charge! When you get off the gondola, follow the signs towards the “First Cliff Walk by Tissot” and after walking for about a minute, you will see the start of the walk!

It takes about 7-10 minutes if you walk at a normal pace and take in the views along the way. At the end of the walk, you will find a walkway where you can go out to the very end and enjoy the look off.

You will also find a “Bergresaurant” (mountain restaurant) with a self service or full service section. You can enjoy drinks from the bar, yummy traditional Swiss food, or just a cappuccino while you take in the mountain views.

If you want to spend more time there, you can of course go skiing, snowboarding, or even rent sleds! There is also a short (1-2 hours) hike you can do to the Bachalpsee. I didn’t attempt it this time around, but I will definitely be back during the summer season to enjoy this famous mountain lake.

After spending a couple hours on First, I decided to go back down with the gondola to the village. I found a nice little spot to eat lunch and rest up before making the journey back home. As for restaurants and places to eat, I don’t really have any recommendations but there are so many places to choose from I’m sure you will find something to your preference. I personally just wanted to grab a quick soup from one of the hotel restaurants. But, there are many places where you can enjoy a fondu or raclette meal!

There are many other things to do in the Jungfraujoch region of Switzerland such as visiting Kleine Scheidegg, Schilthorn (which I did in 2018), or take a journey on the Jungfraujoch railway.

I walked around the town a little bit to enjoy more views and to take in the beautiful sights of the typical Swiss village. After a full day of exploring, I found my way back to the train station and headed for home!

I hope you enjoyed my little blogpost about my adventure to Grindelwald. I totally recommend a visit to this beautiful Swiss mountain town! Let me know if you have any questions, I will try my best to give you an answer.

As always, thank you for reading and for following along on my Swiss adventure!

Xo,

Zoë