chewy1

Going to Switzerland in two weeks and decided on Grindelwald over Zermatt because we'd heard it was too touristy. We don't like touristy places but we do like a little bit of atmosphere, some good places to eat, and of course local flavor and great views. Also have two boys 8 and 10...

Lauterbrannen?

padams421

I have boys the same age. They loved Grindelwald. Lauterbrunnen is more of a traffic hub. I wouldn't stay there.

padams421

Also, look at the post from the family that just returned from Grindelwald. They liked it too.

nancynancy

Everyone's different, but I do think Grindlewald, though a bit touristy, is good, especially with children. It has lots of restaurants to choose from, many somewhat tacky but occasionally fun tourist shops selling the usual fare, but also atmosphere. You can easily take a day trip, or even a half day, to Lauterbrunnen. You descend to Interlaken and then go up the other valley to the Lauterbrunnen stop - perhaps 40 minutes total.

chewy1

thanks--it seemed right up our alley but over researched and saw a bad post or two. Grindelwald it is....

Any tips on hotels...? The high end guys are 350 plus, we'd prefer something in the 200's like Alpina, Gletshergarten, etc..Eigerblick, Bell Air Garden..

travelinsue

We stayed in Lauterbrunnen for 5 days. It was quiet & not touristy at all. We were there in early May, in between the ski & hiking seasons, so it was almost deserted.

We stayed at the Hotel Staubauch & used it as a hub to see everything: Jungfraujoch, Gimmelwald, Murren, Interlaken, Montreaux, and Bern.

There was a laundramat & internet service in town. There were also a couple of good places to get some dinner, the Hotel Oberland being one of our favorites. We were even able to get some take-out pizza (Bombay Chicken, so even though it was pizza, it was something we couldn't get at home).

I would recommend Lauterbrunnen for people with families, as it is quiet and there are places to go hiking, gonodola rides, waterfalls, and sheep & cows in the fields.

Also, if you venture to Gimmelwald you'll find it is the "Home of Heidi" and you'll really believe it.

Cicerone

I hate to break it to you, but Heidi is based on the town of Maienfeld, in the beautiful Appenzell region near St Gallen and Lake Constance, and it not based in the Jungfrau valley. Pretty as Gimmelwald is, it is not the setting for the story. If someone in Gimmelwald told you that, they were misinformed or pulling your leg.

Grindelwald is fine, however, I prefer Wengen as it is higher up on a shelf and IMO gives much more dramatic views of the trio of mountains and valley, and in particular the waterfall in Lauterbrunnen. It is also car free entirely versus Grindelwald which allows cars in the first part and consequently has parking lots and some traffic. (To get to Wengen, you leave cars down in the valley below and take the little railroad up and up the steep hill.) You can also get to the Jungfrau railway much easier (it starts there) and to some great hikes, including the magnificent Maennlichen to Kleine Schiedig. There are valleys above the town with cows for the whole Swiss cow thing. You might look For hotels, look at the Alepenrose (alpenrose.ch), the Silberhorn, (www.silberhorn.ch) or the absolutely wonderful but pricey Hotel Caprice (www.caprice-wengen.ch).