Beautifulscenery

We'll be going to Switzerland mid-January and wanted to visit a town around Interlaken (was told there are much cuter/smaller towns in the Berner Oberland region to see than Interlaken itself- but if we're wrong let me know!). We don't ski but love to do moderate hiking and would like to try snowshoeing /tobogganing! Any recommendations? We're eventually going to take a train to Vienna so we might end up stopping in another city on the way

Thanks in Advance!!

tipsygus

I love Interlaken, i know a lot fodorites disagree, you could stay on Interlaken and then use the trains to go up into the mountains to villages like GrindelWald and Murren, both are less than an hour by train or, stay in Lucerne which is larger than Interlaken and has more to see and visit the surrounding villages, Brunnen at the other end of the lake is one and Engleberg and Mount Titlis.

neckervd

There are tons of well prepared winter hiking trails in the Swiss Alps; all you need are good mountain boots. There is absolutely no need of snow shoes, but snow shoing is possible too, of course!
My favourite winter hiking trails:
Riederalp - Bettmeralp - Fiescheralp (view up to Matterhorn and Mt Blanc)
Riederalp - Riederfurka - Moosfluh (Aletsch Glacier views)
Wengen - Wengernalp - Kleine Scheidegg (very close to Jungfrau)
First - Kleine Scheidegg - Grindelwald (in front of Wetterhorn and Eiger)
Hasliberg - Kaeserstatt - Alpen Tower (Eastern Bernese Oberland, close to Titlis.

Interlaken is often under the fog, in winter. Therefore higher places may be better. But if the weather is bad, the journey time to towns like Thun, Lucerne or Bern is much shorter from Interlaken than from remote Mountain villages.

swandav2000

Hi Beautifulscenery,

I'd head to Wengen, which I love for the views over to the mountains and down the valley. Imo, if you want to go to the mountains, then it makes sense to actually stay in them rather than down in the flats.

But one problem is the world famous Lauberhorn ski race that takes place in Wengen every January and in 2016 will be 15-17 January. The village fills with athletes, trainers, managers, press, and of course, fans. It can be an exciting time, when for once sweet little Wengen resembles a glitzy ski destination with mink-stole'd women gliding the streets.

For that reason, you may want to stay in nearby Grindelwald, which also has nice views (not *quite* as nice, but that's just me). It also sits up in the mountains. Now, Grindelwald holds a Snow Festival at the same time (18 - 23 January) that includes an ice sculpting competition. I loved watching the artists (artisans??) working on their sculpture every day and seeing the forms take shape. The competitors compete by country, so you can root for your favorite country. The town doesn't get as crowded and overwhelmed as Wengen does.

So -- my suggestion would be either Wengen or Grindelwald.

www.myjungfrau.ch

Have fun as you plan!

s

Beautifulscenery

Thanks for the advice- super helpful! I was researching a ton and found a bunch of posts on interlaken vs other small towns so I think we'll be staying in Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald or something similar! I'm looking forward to some of the hikes nearby also!

neckervd

I suppose you know that Lauterbrunnen is extremely shadowy in December-January. If the weather is fine, the sun appears towards noon and goes away in early afternoon.

Beautifulscenery

@neckervd oh I didn't know that! Thanks. Is it like that in all the towns nearby?

swandav2000

Hi again,

Not really.

It's like that in Lauterbrunnen because the village sits at the base of some cliffs. Some people don't really "see" the cliffs, and other people think the village and views down the valley are cosy and sweet anyway.

I, however, think the cliffs are overpowering and depressing. If I were staying there and no-one told me about the cliffs, I would have been unhappy.

You can take a look at some online photos at google's "images" search engine and see what you think. But in any case, yes, the cliffs will block out the sun for most of the day (not sure if you'll even be in the village during the day anyway).

s

neckervd

Muerren has sun from early morning until early afternoon. Wengen has sun fron late morning until late afternoon.