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Mürren, Switzerland

Mürren

Eight hundred meters above the valley floor, and no road reaches it — everything arrives by cable car

Before you go — there is no road, and that decides everything

  • Mürren sits on a shelf 800 meters above the Lauterbrunnen valley floor and no road reaches it. Everything and everyone arrives by cable car. That is why it is quiet, and it is also why the logistics need thinking about before you turn up with luggage.
  • Two ways in. From Lauterbrunnen, a cable car to Grütschalp and then a small panorama train along the shelf. Or from Stechelberg, the big Schilthorn cableway up through Gimmelwald.
  • The trap: the Lauterbrunnen–Grütschalp–Mürren line closes for maintenance, and in 2026 those closures ran 13 April to 10 July and 26 October to 6 November. If your dates fall in a window like that, the Grütschalp route simply does not exist and everything has to come via Stechelberg. The Stechelberg cableway has closures of its own (19 to 30 October 2026, and 26 April to 7 May 2027, with a replacement shuttle). Check both before you book a room up here.

What it costs

  • Lauterbrunnen to Mürren via Grütschalp: about CHF 11.80 each way, so roughly CHF 24 return — checked September 2026. This line belongs to the Jungfrau Railways, and its fare could not be rechecked at the source in October.
  • Stechelberg to Mürren by the Schilthorn cableway, through Gimmelwald: CHF 11.80 each way, CHF 23.60 return, plus the PostBus from Lauterbrunnen to Stechelberg.
  • Stechelberg to the Schilthorn and back: CHF 115, which passes through Mürren on the way. Children from 6 to 15 pay half.
  • Both cableway fares checked against schilthorn.ch, 22 October 2026, on the tariff that runs to 12 December 2026.
  • A Swiss Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass cuts these. Work out your week’s pass before buying anything here.
The peaks across the Lauterbrunnen valley from the shelf
The peaks across the Lauterbrunnen valley from the shelf

Morning — Walk the village end to end

  • Mürren is one street and a scattering of lanes, and you can walk the whole of it in twenty minutes. Do that first, slowly. Dark timber chalets, painted facades, a church, hay barns still standing between the hotels.
  • The reason people stop mid-sentence here is the other side of the valley. The Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau stand directly opposite at eye level, across a gap of empty air. There is no foreground and no build-up. They are simply there, all day, from the street.
  • Look down as well as across. From the eastern edge the valley floor is a thousand feet below, with waterfalls coming off the far wall in white threads.

Budget tips

  • The village, the street and the view cost nothing, and they are the main event.
  • Buy food in Lauterbrunnen before you come up. There is a small shop in Mürren and it carries mountain prices for the obvious reason.
The village street in snow, shopfronts and the peaks beyond
The village street in snow, shopfronts and the peaks beyond

Midday — Up, or along

  • The Schilthorn is the big-ticket option: the cableway climbs above the village to Birg and then to Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant on the summit. It is genuinely spectacular and it is the most expensive thing in the valley.
  • Go on a clear morning or do not go. The photographs on this page include our own visit in cloud: at 2,970 meters you are inside it, the ridge appears for ten seconds at a time, and the CHF 115 buys you a white room with a view of the inside of a cloud. The webcam is free and it is the single most valuable thing you can look at before committing.
  • Allmendhubel, the little funicular from the top of the village, costs a fraction of it and puts you on the alp in ten minutes with the same wall of mountains in front of you and a playground for children at the top.
  • From there the paths run across open pasture — the Northface Trail, wooden animals carved along the way, cattle, and the whole Jungfrau massif on your right the entire time.

Budget tips

  • If the Schilthorn is not in the budget, Allmendhubel is not a consolation prize. The view is the same wall of peaks; you are simply lower and it costs a fraction as much.
  • Walking down from Allmendhubel to Mürren is easy, well signed, and free. Ride up, walk back.
The rock wall opposite, cloud tearing over it
The rock wall opposite, cloud tearing over it

Afternoon — The valley, from the other end of a rope

  • The path down to Gimmelwald is short, steep and beautiful, and Gimmelwald is smaller and plainer than Mürren in a way people either love or find dull.
  • For anyone who wants the valley from a different angle, there is a via ferrata between Mürren and Gimmelwald — cable, rungs and a wire bridge strung across the gorge. It is a serious undertaking with proper equipment, not a walkway with a handrail.
  • The alps above the village in June are full of flowers, and the paths up there are almost empty even when the village is busy.

Budget tips

  • Walking to Gimmelwald and taking the cable car back is the cheapest way to see two villages in an afternoon.
  • The via ferrata needs a kit and, unless you have done one before, a guide. Price it properly rather than improvising.
The suspension bridge on the path below the village
The suspension bridge on the path below the village

Evening — Why staying the night is the whole point

  • Almost everyone here is on a day trip, and the last cable cars take them all away. What is left is a village of a few hundred people with the Jungfrau going pink across the valley.
  • In winter the same street under snow, with the peaks lit gold in the late sun, is one of the best things in the Alps and there is nobody in it.

Budget tips

  • A night in Mürren costs more than a night in Lauterbrunnen, and the evening you get for it is not available at any price down in the valley. This is the one place in the region where we would tell you to spend the extra.
  • Check the time of the last lift down if you are not staying. Getting it wrong means a very long walk or a very expensive taxi boat of a night.
On the terrace, the peaks across the valley
On the terrace, the peaks across the valley

Would we plan this exact day for you?

Almost certainly not. The day above assumes you are happy on your feet for most of it, that you have the whole day, that you are comfortable working out Swiss trains and buses as you go, and that nobody with you is managing a pushchair, a bad knee, or a six-year-old at four in the afternoon. Change any one of those and the order changes, the pace changes, and sometimes the valley changes.

Rearranging a day around the people actually traveling is the part we do.

Mürren in photographs

64 images, every one taken on one of our own trips.

The peaks across the Lauterbrunnen valley from the shelf — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 The peaks across the Lauterbrunnen valley from the shelf Village roofs with the Jungfrau beyond — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 Village roofs with the Jungfrau beyond Mürren on its shelf, the rock wall opposite — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Mürren on its shelf, the rock wall opposite The village street in snow, shopfronts and the peaks beyond — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 The village street in snow, shopfronts and the peaks beyond The sheer face of the mountain across the valley — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 The sheer face of the mountain across the valley Rock and snow on the wall opposite the village — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 Rock and snow on the wall opposite the village A timber chalet on the village street — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 A timber chalet on the village street Old chalets stacked along the slope — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 Old chalets stacked along the slope A painted chalet with red shutters — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 A painted chalet with red shutters Hotel Alpenruh and the lane past it — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Hotel Alpenruh and the lane past it The suspension bridge on the path below the village — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 The suspension bridge on the path below the village A carved wooden marmot beside the path — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 A carved wooden marmot beside the path
Show the other 52 photographs
The village on its ledge, cloud on the peaks — Mürren, Switzerland The village on its ledge, cloud on the peaks A waterfall coming down the cliff opposite — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 A waterfall coming down the cliff opposite The valley from a balcony above the roofs — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 The valley from a balcony above the roofs Falls dropping the full height of the cliff — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 Falls dropping the full height of the cliff The valley running away between the walls — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 The valley running away between the walls The cliff face and the green valley floor below — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 The cliff face and the green valley floor below Open pasture above the village — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 Open pasture above the village Autumn color on the cliff below the shelf — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Autumn color on the cliff below the shelf Two birds on the rail, everything else white — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 Two birds on the rail, everything else white The suspension bridge strung across the gully — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 The suspension bridge strung across the gully The valley floor a long way below — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 The valley floor a long way below Chalets on the slope, mist coming up the valley — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Chalets on the slope, mist coming up the valley The rock wall opposite, cloud tearing over it — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 The rock wall opposite, cloud tearing over it The village from a balcony, the peak behind — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 The village from a balcony, the peak behind The road up the valley under the cliff — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 The road up the valley under the cliff Chalets on the slope above the village — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 Chalets on the slope above the village Old chalets along the lane — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 Old chalets along the lane Wooden chalets and the peak behind — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 Wooden chalets and the peak behind On the terrace, the peaks across the valley — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 On the terrace, the peaks across the valley Over the rooftops to the peaks — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 Over the rooftops to the peaks The peaks from the village path — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 The peaks from the village path The river running white after dark — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 The river running white after dark The village with the big peak above it — Mürren, Switzerland · May 2022 The village with the big peak above it The village at dusk — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2022 The village at dusk Above the village, the peaks behind — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Above the village, the peaks behind Älplermagronen, with the apple sauce — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Älplermagronen, with the apple sauce Cheese, rice and grilled tomatoes — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Cheese, rice and grilled tomatoes The drinker's prayer on the wall — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 The drinker's prayer on the wall Down the cliff to the valley floor — Mürren, Switzerland · October 2022 Down the cliff to the valley floor Three of us with the peaks behind — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 Three of us with the peaks behind Outside the Hotel Alpenruh — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 Outside the Hotel Alpenruh In the paneled dining room — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 In the paneled dining room Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 Two plates and the water on the table — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 Two plates and the water on the table Timber hotels down the street, the massif behind them — Mürren, Switzerland · March 2023 Timber hotels down the street, the massif behind them Two of us above the village in the cloud — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 Two of us above the village in the cloud A plate and a glass of white — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 A plate and a glass of white Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 The sun going down behind the peak — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 The sun going down behind the peak Breakfast by the windows — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 Breakfast by the windows On the walkway with the falls behind — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 On the walkway with the falls behind The valley wall and a barn in the field — Mürren, Switzerland · August 2023 The valley wall and a barn in the field With the cat in the dining room — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2024 With the cat in the dining room Taking a photo out over the rail — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2024 Taking a photo out over the rail On the glass platform over the valley — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2024 On the glass platform over the valley An old chalet with geraniums and a cartwheel — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 An old chalet with geraniums and a cartwheel The cable over the meadow path — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 The cable over the meadow path The shelf below the cliffs — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 The shelf below the cliffs A waterfall down the full height of the cliff — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 A waterfall down the full height of the cliff Inside the rock at the falls — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 Inside the rock at the falls The falls inside the mountain — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 The falls inside the mountain The valley from above, the village small below — Mürren, Switzerland · June 2026 The valley from above, the village small below

This is one day. The trip is the harder part.

Notice what the guide above never tells you. It does not name a hotel, or say where to stay at all — it assumes you already have a bed. It gives you no way into Mürren from wherever you woke up, no view on whether it belongs on the second day of your trip or the ninth, and nothing about the week it rains.

Those answers change with your budget, your dates and who is traveling with you. Working them out, and booking them, is the job.

Tell us about your trip

The day above is free and yours to use. What it cannot do is decide where this fits in a two-week trip, which hotel works with your arrival time and your walking pace, what needs reserving months ahead, or what happens on the day it rains. That is the part you would be hiring me for, and planning starts at $750.

Or read the questions we are asked most — what a trip includes, how far ahead to book, deposits and cancellation.