39 Best Sights in Berner Oberland, Switzerland

To learn about the history of traditional Swiss woodworking, stop by the Schweizer Holzbildhauerei, where you can also buy locally carved pieces.

Fans of the famous detective will like the Sherlock Holmes Museum in the center of town. Housed in a small chapel, it contains a replica of the fictional sleuth's front room at 221B Baker Street.

For a dose of nature blended with history, check out the St. Beatus caves. Their legend goes back to the 6th century, when the missionary St. Beatus arrived on the Thunersee to find the local population terrorized by a dragon that lived in the lake and surrounding grottoes. Exorcised by Beatus, the fleeing dragon fell to his death on the rocks. Today you can see the stalagmites, stalactites, and pools inside, as well as a colorful rendering of Ponzo, the dragon. The on-site cave museum offers scientific and historical information about caves around the world. Take a jacket, because it's cold inside the caves. You can reach them by taking Bus 21 from either Interlaken train station or by crossing by boat from the Interlaken West station to Sundlaunen, then hiking 20 minutes to the caves.

Magnificent waterfalls adorn the length of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, the most famous being the 974-foot Staubbachfälle, which are illuminated at night and visible from town. These falls draw you like a magnet through the village of Lauterbrunnen itself, past a bevy of roadside cafés and the town center (marked by a church and the small Valley and Legend Museum). Just opposite the falls is a centuries-old graveyard.

This museum traces the history of Alpine tourism in the area over the last 500 years. Exhibits include souvenir production, models of early transportation, and primitive mountain climbing and skiing equipment.

At Trauffer, skilled craftspeople have been carving cows since 1938. Here, you can see how these iconic wooden figurines with their edelweiss collars and tiny brass bells are produced. A gift shop offers a range of sustainably made wooden toys and a stunning array of cows in every color. There are restaurants and an outdoor playground as well.

On the north side of the River Aare is this tiny town, founded in 1279 on land rented from the Augustinians. Unterseen retains some of the region's oldest buildings, including the 17th-century Stadthaus (city hall) and the 14th-century church, its steeple dating from 1471. The Schloss Unterseen (Unterseen Castle), built in 1656, stands at the opposite end of the square from these structures, near a medieval arched gateway. You can get here via a 10-minute bus ride from the center of Interlaken, or by walking from the Interlaken West train station.

You can be inspired—and thrilled—by taking the famous Wengen-Männlichen Aerial Cableway, whose 75-passenger cabins soar up the top of the Männlichen ridge, a nearly five-minute ride; they come complete with an open-air rooftop balcony for those who like to feel the wind in their hair (only open during the summer season). In Männlichen, hike the Royal Trail about 25 minutes up to the viewing station for a spectacular outlook onto the Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen valleys framed by the Eiger and Jungfrau peaks. You'll also find the Berghaus Männlichen (Mountain Guest House), with several restaurants and guest accommodations. Kids will love the Alpine Herdsman’s Playground, which features a 28-foot-high cow made of wood and steel with a walk-in interior, viewing platform, and slide. After your visit, either return down to Wengen or take another scenic cable car down to the town of Grindelwald.

One of the world’s longest cog railways (steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail), the Wengernalpbahn provides the only means of transport to car-free Wengen. Beginning in Lauterbrunnen, the train chugs up to Wengen in 12 minutes, past grazing cows and bucolic Alpine meadows, before continuing its climb up the Männlichen Ridge to Kleine Scheidegg and onwards to Grindelwald. Trains depart every quarter hour as early as 4:48 am and as late as 2:40 am, depending on the day and season.