Lauterbrunnen in 2 Days: A Timed Itinerary for Both Sides of the Valley

Start under the fall that named the valley. Staubbach Falls drops 297 m (974 ft) from a hanging valley over overhanging cliffs above the Weisse Lutschine, and the name means dust fall in German, for the spray the water breaks into. Viewing it from the village and the road is free, which makes it the right first stop while the light is still low.

Goethe visited in 1779 and the fall inspired his poem Gesang der Geister uber den Wassern. It sits a few minutes' walk from the station, our estimate, so you can see it before the first climb of the day. Read more in our Staubbach Falls guide.

Take the Postbus from Lauterbrunnen station toward Stechelberg, about 3 km up the valley, to the Trummelbach Falls stop. Inside the mountain, ten glacier waterfalls drain the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, carrying up to 20,000 litres per second at peak melt. The falls were first made accessible in 1877, and the name means a stream that sounds like a drum.

Adult entry is $21.90 (CHF 18), children 6 to 15 pay $9.72 (CHF 8), and babies and children under 4 are not admitted for safety reasons. Hours are 09:00 to 17:00, extended to 08:30 to 18:00 in July and August, and the site closes from early November to early April. Tickets are sold onsite only, cash or card.

Dogs are not admitted either. Full details in our Trummelbach Falls guide.

Stay on the Postbus to its terminus at Stechelberg, the last village in the valley and the bottom station of the Schilthorn cableway. The bus ride from Lauterbrunnen takes 14 minutes on line 141, direct with no change. Stechelberg is where you will board the afternoon ascent, so use the time before it for lunch and a look at the valley head, where the cliffs close in and the Tolkien connection begins: J.R.R. Tolkien walked from Interlaken through Lauterbrunnen to the head of the valley in 1911, and later wrote that Bilbo's route over the Misty Mountains was based on that trek.

Learn more in our Stechelberg guide.

The cableway climbs in stages, changing at Gimmelwald and then Birg, and the full ascent to the Schilthorn takes about 30 minutes. Ascents run hourly at xx:25 and xx:55, so time your arrival at the valley station around that clock. A return ticket from Stechelberg costs $139.70 (CHF 115).

Get off at Birg on the way up for the Thrill Walk, a walkway bolted to the cliff face, and the Skyline Walk, both included in the ticket. The Stechelberg-Murren cableway is closed 19 to 30 October 2026 for maintenance, with a limited shuttle bus via Murren running 08:00 to 18:00, so avoid that window. Check live fares on our Schilthorn tickets page.

At the top, the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant has been turning above the valley since it opened in 1969. That is also the Bond connection people come for: the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service was filmed here in 1969, and the Bond World 007 exhibition and the 007 Walk of Fame are included in your ticket. This answers the common movie question directly, the Bond film was shot on the Schilthorn, and no other film location claim for the valley itself is documented in our sources.

Give the summit two hours for the restaurant, the exhibition and the panorama over Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau. Our Schilthorn guide has the full rundown.

Break the descent at Murren, a car-free village at 1,638 m with a population of about 430, reachable only by cableway or the little BLM railway. If energy remains, ride the Allmendhubel funicular from the village edge: 4 minutes each way, $19.44 (CHF 16) return, with a Flower Trail past more than 150 species of mountain flowers including gentians, alpine roses and edelweiss, plus a Flower Park playground and a panoramic restaurant at the top. The funicular is closed 19 October to 11 December 2026 between seasons, though Allmendhubel is reachable on foot all year.

Otherwise, wander the terrace above the valley and take the cableway down to Stechelberg, then the 14-minute bus back. More in our Murren guide and the Allmendhubel page.

The Wengernalpbahn is the longest continuous rack and pinion railway in the world, running Lauterbrunnen to Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg to Grindelwald, with the full line opened on 20 June 1893. The train climbs straight out of the station and up the wall of the valley. Buy or collect your Jungfraujoch ticket at the station first, machines are on the platform, and lockers are available if you need to store bags.

Drivers should park at Parkhaus Lauterbrunnen, 974 spaces, open 24/7, at $21.90 (CHF 18) per 8-hour block, connected directly to the station. Our train station guide and getting around guide cover the logistics.

The ride to Wengen takes 11 minutes direct. Wengen sits at 1,274 m, is officially car-free, and has a population of about 1,140, reachable from Lauterbrunnen only by this railway, on foot or by bike. It is worth 45 minutes or so: the village hosts the Lauberhorn downhill, the longest World Cup downhill course, with the 97th races scheduled for 15 to 17 January 2027.

Wengen Tourism lists its own trail set, including Wendy's Mystery Trail and the walks around Wengen, if you want to stretch your legs. The station has toilets, a kiosk, free WiFi and lockers. Read more in our Wengen guide and our page on the Lauterbrunnen to Wengen route.

The train continues to Kleine Scheidegg at 2,061 m (6,762 ft), the interchange between the Eiger and the Lauberhorn where every Jungfraujoch train changes direction and crew. This is where the metre-gauge rack railway ends and the Jungfrau Railway begins. The stop is not just a platform change: the view up the Eiger's north wall starts here, and on a clear morning the sight of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau lined up above the col is the reason the route through Wengen beats the faster Eiger Express from Grindelwald, which takes 45 minutes from Grindelwald Terminal and skips this stage entirely.

Our Kleine Scheidegg guide has more.

The Jungfrau Railway opened in 1912 and runs 9 km from Kleine Scheidegg to the Jungfraujoch, almost entirely inside a tunnel bored through the Eiger and the Monch. It is a slow, deliberate climb by rack and pinion, with short stops at window stations cut into the rock where you can look out over the glacier. Book a seat reservation at $12.15 (CHF 10): the operator calls it strongly recommended in good weather, because trains fill and a reserved seat on the Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch leg is what you lose if you arrive late.

The fare itself starts at $157.50 (CHF 129.60), the lowest advertised class, with the actual price varying by date and ticket type.

The Jungfraujoch station at 3,454 m is the highest railway station in Europe, inside the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage site, first inscribed in 2001 and extended in 2007. On top, three things matter: the Sphinx Observation Terrace, reached by lift, the Plateau, a snowfield walk at glacier level, and the Ice Palace, a tunnel of ice sculptures hewn into the glacier. The Alpine Sensation exhibition on the way in tells the story of the railway's construction.

Allow at least two hours, and more if the Snow Fun Park is running, which is included in the ticket products sold as tours. Operators note the view can be limited in fog with no weather refund. Full detail in our Jungfraujoch guide and on Jungfraujoch tickets.

Ride back down the same way, changing direction and crew again at Kleine Scheidegg as every train does. If legs and weather allow, get off at Wengen for a late afternoon drink on the terrace instead of running straight back down, the 11-minute hop back to Lauterbrunnen runs regularly. Back in the village, Staubbach Falls is a different sight in evening light, and the church of 1487-1488 sits on the low hill above the main street.

The tourist office at Stutzli 460, about 50 m from the station, is open Wednesday to Sunday 08:30 to 12:00 and 13:15 to 17:00, closed Monday and Tuesday, if you need to firm up plans for a third day.