A few days ago, I found my way to the top of Brienzer Rothorn! A beautiful mountain summit in the Emmental Alps. However, I didn’t intend to visit this location nor did I start my day thinking I would end up there.

I originally set out on an adventure towards Augstmatthorn, another mountain in the same region as Brienzer Rothorn. I left early in the morning by car and got stuck in quite a bit of Saturday traffic.

After driving for what felt like forever, I finally arrived at the parking location for the Augstmatthorn hike. I got out of the car, stretched my legs after the long drive, then glancing down at my phone… I realized I had no network connection.

Normally, I wouldn’t be too worried about this. But as I was on a solo adventure and exploring an area I had never been to before, I just didn’t want to take the risk of something happening to me and not being able to call for help.

So I made the decision to turn around and find another place to explore. I will be back to conquer the Augstmatthorn sometime… and now I am feeling even more prepared for it when I do go!

It was already getting pretty late in the afternoon, so I knew if I wanted to make the most out of my day I would need to find something close by. I started doing some quick research and realized that one of my bucket list locations was only a 25 minute drive away: Brienzer Rothorn!

I had seen so many beautiful photos and videos of the steam engine train that takes you up the mountain as well as the stunning views from the top. So I decided to set out towards Brienz!

I finally arrived in Brienz but then I had another obstacle to overcome… Finding parking so late in the afternoon on a Saturday! I drove around for almost 30 minutes before I finally found a spot. It was about a 20 minute walk away from the Brienzer Rothorn train station where I needed to catch the train. But it was better than nothing! There are multiple parking lots that you can easily find by driving down the main street in the town. If you do visit by car on the weekend, I suggest going as early as possible to find a parking spot.

The atmosphere in the town was really charming and I would definitely go back to Brienz just to explore the town a little bit more and find a nice restaurant to eat in.

Once I arrived at the train station, I purchased my ticket through the SBB app (a really convenient app to have if you live/travel in Switzerland! It gives you all the train times, platforms, etc. and you can even purchase tickets within the app.) You can find all of the information for train timetables and tickets here. If you take the earliest train in the morning, which I believe leaves around 8:30 in the summer schedule, you can actually get an early bird ticket that gives you a really great discount! The train was super full but I didn’t expect anything different as I knew a Saturday would be busy.

The steam engine train that has been running there since 1892 chugs up to the summit of Brienzer Rothorn in about 1 hour. The ride is so scenic and provides amazing views the whole way. You can purchase a roundtrip ticket for the train and make sure to check the timetable so you don’t miss the last train back down to Brienz.

Once I arrived at the top, I decided just to explore the summit a bit and relax. I hung out at the mountaintop restaurant, drank a coffee, and just enjoyed the views!

Since I arrived so late in the afternoon, I didn’t have time to do any hiking. But there is a really amazing hike you can do from Brienzer Rothorn and I will definitely be back to do it! Even though I set out with the intention to go on a hike, I really enjoyed just having a slow afternoon on top of the mountain.

Hopefully you enjoyed reading about my adventure to Brienzer Rothorn and will be inspired to visit for yourself one day!

Thanks for reading,

Zoë