Our trip to France and Switzerland was so fantastic, and I’ve already gushed about it a bit. I have so much to share about the things we did in Switzerland that I have to break it up in multiple posts.
Trip report so far: Back from Europe! First Impressions and Takeaways, How We Accidentally Saw the Tour de France Live
This post will focus on all of the things we did in and around Murren, Switzerland.
Getting There/Arrival
Our apartment rental was in nearby Wengen, Switzerland. Murren is on the other side of the valley. To get there, we took an 11-minute train ride from Wengen to Lauterbrunnen. From Lauterbrunnen, we took a cable car across the street from the train station to Grütschalp. From Grutschalp, we took a narrow gauge train the rest of the way to Murren. It sounds complicated, but it was actually very easy. All of the departures are timed perfectly so that you go from train to cable car to train again. The trip up to Murren is covered with the Swiss Travel Pass.
Murren is an adorable car-free village with charming shops, restaurants and hotels.
And of course, the views are fantastic!
Murren also has possibly the most awesome tennis courts in the world. Right on the other side of the fence is a huge cliff. Of course, my son had to play on them.
Cable Cars to Schilthorn
One of Murren’s big attractions is Schilthorn. This cliffside attraction was featured in the James Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. From Murren, you have to take a cable car to Birg and another cable car from Birg to Schilthorn. It does cost extra to get to Schilthorn, but our kids were free with the Swiss Family Pass and the rest of us were 50% off with our Swiss Travel passes.
The building has a restaurant that rotates 360 degrees and a James Bond Museum. But on a clear day, the views from the top are simply AMAZING! Mountain peaks and water falls, oh my!
My photos don’t do this place justice.
We spent a few hours at the top. On the way back, we got off at the Birg station. Most of us (not me, no thanks!) did the Birg Thrill Walk, which was included in the price of the Schilthorn ticket.
Allmendhubel
While my son and husband played tennis on the cliffside courts in Murren, the rest of us decided to take this funicular railroad to the playground at Allmendhubel. The kids were free with their Swiss Travel Family Passes, and I paid around $7 round-trip for me.
Just when I thought this area couldn’t get any lovelier, it did.
This park was so much fun for my 11- and 14-year-old kids.
In fact, my daughter loved it so much that we came back on another day.
In addition to the playground, there are hiking trails and an indoor/outdoor restaurant at the top. I enjoyed a bowl of ice cream while my kids had a blast on the playground.
Paragliding from Murren
All of the above activities took a full day. My younger son really wanted to go paragliding off a cliff, but we didn’t have time our first day in Murren. So, we headed back to Murren a few days later so that he and my niece could get that experience.
We booked through Airtime Paragliding the day before. While I was a bit nervous just watching them, both of them had an awesome, unforgettable experience.
Up next: Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe
How does my family travel so much? We use miles and points from credit card bonuses. See my Travel Hacking 101 post as well as current credit card offers here.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
So how did you like Wengen? Or is that in a future report? A couple of years ago we stayed in Wengen and headed over the Murren as you did. Both GREAT places. I liked Wengen somewhat better as it seemed a lot easier to get to and from and it is still considered car free. I felt the hiking options were a bit more varied as well, though there are a ton of options everywhere really.
Looking forward to seeing more of your reports.
@Patrick We loved Wengen for all the reasons you stated. I’ll do a separate post on our rental.
How was your rental? What a great trip! I love Switzerland!!
@Lynn We loved our rental! It had the best view.