Murren what is there to do for one week?
 

We are thinking of spending a week at Murren, but as this is our first visit to Switzerland we would like to see aspects of Swiss life, perhaps Lucerne and Berne, and other things that you might suggest. If we are at Murren would we be able to see some of the above? Would one week at Murren in early May be too long? How could we fill in the week?

Murren is sort off the beaten path. A very nice village put is a bit difficult getting in and out of. I would suggest staying in lauterbrunnen instead. It's very close to Murren but is much more accessable to the road which would allow you to travel to berne and lucerne. This will make it easy to do what you want in the local area while being able to also easly travel around

Jack is right. Murren is IMO a must go for moutain lovers (I loved it) but not an ideal location to stay for side trips to cities.

If you have a week, and also are interested to visit Lucerne and Berne, perhaps you might like to split your stay to : 3 (or 4)nights in Murren and 3 (or 2) nights in Lucerne or Berne. Lucerne-Bern is 1,5 hrs by a direct train so easy to visit one staying at another. Berne is much less talked about on this board but it is worth a day trip or personally I could stay overnight.

Thank you for your responses. If we stay at Murren, it has to be for the week as it is timeshare. I could pay for a night's accommodation in the middle of the week at Lucerne. How long would it take to travel by public transport to Lucerne from Murren? How long to Berne? Sorry to have to ask so many questions.

My hubby and I stayed in Lauterbrunnen, at the Staubbach Hotel, last summer. I clearly remember WALKING to Murren. You should be able to catch the SwissRAIL at Lauterbrunnen. We saw Luzern from Zurich, so I can't help you with the timetables. All of the seasoned Swiss travelers should be able to give you a site for a train timetable. I don't think there is a train out of Murren though. Maybe I'm getting my villages mixed up, but Murren was up the mountain. I didn't see any cars. If I am not nuts, I think all you'd have to do is hike down to the valley and take the main train out of Lauterbrunnen to wherever you want. If you are doing the timeshare thing, you will STILL love Murren. The vistas, hiking, waterfalls, surrounding villages... are breathtaking! I'd see Wengen, the valley, take the gondolas up to the top... take the trains to Interlaken, Grindlewald... there IS A LOT TO DO right around Murren. Luzern is a no-misser, so def. do it. Since you are willing to stay the night, I'd do that too.

Muerren has FANTASTIC scenery, but a week there would be too long for me. If you purchase Swiss Railpasses (about $160 each for 4 days unlimited) you can use the trains between Murren - Grutschalp - Lauterbrunnen to get out of town to other destinations without having to drive in the iffy Alpine spring weather conditions (and the pass also gives you a heavy discount on the gondola ride up to the Schilthorbn - WOW, what a view.) You could daytrip to Bern and Lucerne from your timeshare easily enough with a railpass and an early start. Lauterbrunnen is fantastic too - we just returned from a 2-day stay there - and more convenient for outings than Murren, but gosh, if you don't have to pay for your accommodations in Murren, I'd stay there and use it as a base.

Murren - Interlaken (via Gruestchalp)seems something like 1 hour. I know Interlaken - Lucerne is 2 hours and Interlaken - Bern 1 hour.

You can actually find the train connections on the following Swiss Railway site and all the way from Murren. This is a well made site easiest to use for me. Careful : put MUERREN (with 2 e's)BLM instead of Murren in the departure box.

Muerren - Lauterbrunnen by public trasportation is commun as follows.
1. Muerren - Gruetschalp by train/ Gruetschalp - Lauterbrunnen by funucular. (I think this is easier than 2)
2. Muerren - Stechelberg by cable car (the line which goes to Schilthorn) -Stechelberg - Lauterbrunnen by postbus.

I have actually done only for 1 a few times.

Jim01, I forgot to put the Swiss Railway site for you to find train timings. Here it is.

www.cff.ch/pv/index_e.htm

Also I meant "done only no.1 for a few times." (and never no.2)

I was just in that area in May/June and fell in love with it! We stayed in a town even smaller than Murren called Gimmelwald, about a 20 minute hike from Murren. Check out www.gimmelwald.com to see photos of the scenery! We planned on only staying 1 night but stayed for 5 days! There is endless hiking around that area. You could do a different day hike every day that you are there. I agree with Russ. You should get a Swiss Pass. There is no car traffic in Murren so every time you head to another village you will take the cable car or funicular. There is a small store in Murren but I would recommend buying your groceries in Lauterbrunnen in the larger Co-op. Much better selection. Visit the town of Grindelwald and do a day hike from there. The Kilchbaum hike leads you to a glacier. It was incredibly warm when we were there so on each hike we saw many avalanches. The beauty of that area is breathtaking! I am envious!

We stayed in Murren in June 2001 for 3 nights and loved it. We would love to go again BUT it is a little more difficult to get into and out of for day tripping.

You might like to check out a thread I started while in Murren 'Postcard from Switzerland' for more information. Sorry, I don't know how to post the address for it. Putting in the title in the search box doesn't work, try searching on my name and Switzerland.

Jim01:

Just to echo what others have said:

3 days in Luterbrunnen/Murren/Gimmelwald/Interlaken should be more than suffcient to see the amazing vista's and do some great hiking..if you consider youself to be fit..try to do the Brig to Murren/Gimmelwald hike.

Use the remaining 2-3 days to see Lucern or some other place. Most places in Switzerland are only 1-2 hrs away..see..www.bahn.de for schedules

I think the answer to this particular question depends on quite a few varibles to which we don't have the answers. How much does Jim01 like to hike? And how much does he like to view mountains?

Lauterbrunnen is almost my second home; I will be returning there for the 5th time in September. Usually I spend at least a week there and love it, except when it rains every day.

The argument for Mürren is the views and the nearness of a couple of good hiking trails. It is also car free, upscale, and dedicated to serving the mountain tourist.

The drawback, as I see it, is the minor chore of getting in and out. No cars go there, so one either takes the cable lift from Stechelberg via Gimmelwald or takes the cable-pulled car to Grutschalp and the little train from there to Mürren.

When Ed Gehrlein, of Traveling with Ed and Julie, still wielded his eloquent pen, he and I discussed that issue many times.

Every time this issue comes up now, it reminds me of what we lost when Ed climbed his highest and final Alp.

(It also reminds me sadly that several of the giants of this board have passed on, including Ed and Wes Fowler.)

I have continued to prefer Lauterbrunnen because it is a transit hub. Ed preferred Mürren because of the beauty of its position on the shelf of the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

I always go to Mürren when I am in Lauterbrunnen for that very reason. The views from some of the terraces in Mürren of the Jungfrau and the other giants of the Berner Oberland main range are tremendous, even awe-inspiring.

But, so are a lot of other views of the Jungfrau, Eiger, Fensteraarhorn, Schreckhorn, and a dozen or so others.
That is why I like the central location of Lauterbrunnen. It is easier to leave the valley and go elsewhere.

From Lauterbrunnen, the mountain rail line goes up to Wengen and on to Kleine Scheidegg and, if you have the fee, the Jungfraujoch. From Wengen, a cable lift goes up to the Männlichen, that awesome ridge east of the valley from which the views are mind boggling.

The main rail line leads back to Interlaken and, with a change of trains at Zweilütschinen, the tourist gets easily to Grindelwald.

From Grindelwald, there are cable lifts to First and Pfingstegg and the trail along the glacier gorge to Stieregg.
From First, one can hike along some spectacular trails.

If you have a car, it is easy to get to from Lauterbrunnen to the main road just south of Interlaken. This road enables one to go east to Meiringen, and over the Brünig Pass to Sarnen and Luzern.

Or, one can continue on to Innertkirchen and drive over the Susten, Furka and Grimsel Passes - the so-called Three Pass Drive.

Alternatively, one can head west to Kandersteg, take the Lötschenberg Tunnel to the other side of the mountains, and emerge in the Rhone Valley. From there, the various valleys south of the Rhone are available, including the Saastal of Saas Fee and Saas Grund or the Vispertal of Zermatt. And let's not forget the Turtmental and the beauties of Val d'Anniviers.

If the agenda does not call for Kandersteg, then the route heads toward Bern, and even Basel or Lausanne.

So the possibilities are great when wanting to roam from Lauterbrunnen.
That is one of the reasons I like it.

So how does one fill the week? It all depends on what you want to do. A hike to the top of the Schilthorn would probably leave the average desk pilot content to rest the following day!

Hi Jim01, Someone above recommended the swiss rail site, and I'll give that a big second. For me it's sbb.ch, and if you'll click on the English at the upper right, you can research times of trips to your heart's content. Now I know you want to stay up in the mountains, but just in case the daytrips are important, let me say that a village along the rail line on Thunersee or Brienzersee would allow easier access for daytrips and you could still retreat to the hills for the day. If you really want to condo in the mountains, then maybe a hub like Lauterbrunnen would be better, especially if Teachersue is right and you can walk to Murren from there. Just my two cents. J.

My appetite has been whetted. Please tell:

What is the optimum time to visit the Swiss Alps? Are high mountain passes open in June? Are the narrow roads and hamlets crowded with tourists in July-August? How about the shorter daylight hours (crucial in the mountains) in September? When is it that a rainy spell is most likely?

ttt

Reading Bob Brown's eloquent report makes me wish I could return to Lauterbrunnen right now! We were there just for two days last month and can't wait to return. When I told my 11 year old son we were only staying one night he looked at me with disbelief and said "Why do we want to go anywhere else?"

Tuck,

Second half of June is usually a very good time. Pass roads are open and wildflowers are in full bloom.

There are some crowds to find at the most popular spots in July/August. But I never had problems to avoid these - I just walked/hiked a less popular path not far away. You know, there are thousands of kilometres of hiking paths in the Swiss Alps.

My favourite time, however, is late Sept/early Oct, because the leaves start to change their colours, the temps are cooler, and after a first new snow was fallen the glaciers and mountain tops are covered by fresh (white) snow. Clear air and pristine views usually at this time of year. Of course, you always can have bad luck and many rainy/snowy days throughout the entire year.

First- Hello to Bob Brown from Don, and how I envy you heading off to the mtns. next month- and thanks for being the main reason I visited the Berner Oberland region.

Jim- Can you possibly save Lucerne and Berne for another trip? If so, you can easily fill a week in the Murren area. In fact, you'll hate to leave. As other posters mentioned, the hiking and other mtn. villages(Wengen, Gimmelwald) are great. A week will really give you a feel for the BO region.

Yes there are crowds in the Berner Oberland during August and early September. I will not get there until September 11 because someone had "my" apartment until then!! Seems like the marathon race that has become an early September event is bringing more an dmore people.

Despite the crowds, I find that if one takes to the trails, the crowds dwindle. There are a couple of exceptions. The First - Bachsee trail is often full of people, and the Pfinstegg to Stieregg Trail is often popular. And on a sunny day Schnynige Platte is usually full of hikers and sightseers. And the Oeschinensee near Kandersteg can look like Coney Island at times. All of it because the mountains have appeal and the means to enjoy them are in place.

Just because they are crowded is no reason in my mind not to go. You just have to pick your spots.