Wengen

With its nostalgic timber houses, the many dispersed holiday chalets and hotels dating from the belle époque period, this Bernese Oberland holiday resort has retained all the character of a picture-postcard mountain village. Opening widely to the south west, the terrace guarantees above-average hours of sunshine. Since 1893, car-free Wengen has been able to be reached from Lauterbrunnen via the Wengernalp railway; cars remain parked in Lauterbrunnen.

The key excursion destinations within the Jungfrau region can all be reached easily from Wengen. Climbers on the Eiger north face – one of the world’s most spectacular and difficult climbing faces – can be observed by telescope from the Kleine Scheidegg. Provided you change trains on the Kleine Scheidegg, the Jungfraujoch can even be reached by railway. And you can reach the Schilthorn summit from the valley floor resort of Lauterbrunnen via Mürren or Stechelberg.

In winter, Wengen is the ideal starting point for the family-friendly ski region of Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen with 110 km of predominantly easy to medium-difficulty pistes, and the renowned World Cup piste on the Lauberhorn as its crowning glory. The neighbouring ski areas of the Jungfrau region, Grindelwald-First and Mürren-Schilthorn are also readily accessible. The clean air, the long hours of sunshine – especially in winter – the toboggan runs and around 50 km of winter hiking trails also serve to attract non-skiers to the sunny resort.

Over 500 km of marked walking trails and 15 mountain cableways in the nearby surroundings lead to the most beautiful vantage points of the Jungfrau region; take for example the classic panorama route between Wengen and the Kleine Scheidegg, which offers up a particularly impressive view of the rock massif of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. Those who like things a bit more spirited might like to try their skill at paragliding, river rafting or canyoning. But for eye-popping amazement, you should walk the Eiger Trail at the foot of the Eiger north face, a medium-difficulty mountain walking tour.