Brienz
Picture-perfect landscapes in Brienz and Interlaken
Brienz and Interlaken are the most beautiful parts of Switzerland. Verdant mountain slopes in the backdrop of massive turquoise Lake Brienz leave you spellbound with their beauty!
We took a train from Lucerne to Brienz. There are many direct trains and the journey lasts about an hour and a half.
What to do in Brienz
- Brienz has Ballenberg, Switzerland's only Open-Air museum and also its largest. One needs a full day to take a tour of the museum that houses historical buildings and architecture. There is obviously a lot of walking involved, if you're travelling with kids, give it a miss!
- We roamed around Brienz, looking at its surreal beauty, had lunch at a small cafe near the station, and took pictures in the background of the lake before continuing on our journey ahead to Interlaken by boat.
- The trip to Interlaken takes about 75 minutes. Round trips on Lake Brienz are also available. The boat goes around the scenic villages dotting the shoreline of the lake.
- Along the route is the spectacular Giessbach Falls alongside many smaller streams flowing into the lake.
Please note that boat cruises on Lake Brienz are included in the Swiss Travel Pass.
Interlaken
Nestled between the emerald blue waters of Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, Interlaken is every bit touristy.
It is the most popular tourist destination for adventure seekers for activities like river rafting, bungee jumping and many more and is the starting point for many day trips like the famous one to Jungfrau.
Ideally, one should plan to stay here for at least 3 to 4 days to soak in the beauty of this immensely lively and beautiful city, cradled by mountain peaks on all sides.
But like all hot tourist destinations, Interlaken is also expensive compared to cities like Lucerne, for example.
In fact, it is considered to be one of the most expensive destinations to travel to in Europe. So, if you are travelling with small kids, then it would be wise to just plan a day trip to Interlaken.
What to do in Interlaken
- We reached Interlaken in the afternoon from Brienz by boat and started with a walking tour of the city.
- After idling around the city for 2 hours, post-lunch, we took the funicular to Harder Kulm. A funicular leaves every 30 minutes and the journey lasts only 10 minutes from the Valley station.
- This was a fun outing for all of us, especially the kids. After Pilatus, they seemed to have developed some fascination for funiculars. Although this was not as thrilling as the one on Pilatus, it offered some truly mesmerizing views of the Bernese Alps, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.
- Interlaken has some great shopping avenues. The main street called Hoeheweg has some great watches and souvenir shops. I bought the famous Swiss cuckoo clock from here.
Interlaken is so beautiful that you can lose yourself in the beauty all around you and never get tired of it but as I've said earlier on, one has to keep moving with kids around.
We took a train on our return journey to Lucerne in the evening.
Travelling with kids to Switzerland? For more fun tips and things to remember, click on the links below -
https://www.journeys2memories.com/post/planning-a-family-vacation-with-kids-to-europe-go-switzerland
1. Day trip to Mount Pilatus
2. Tobogganing at Mt. Pilatus
3. Day trip to Jungfraujoch
https://www.journeys2memories.com/post/6-not-to-miss-day-trips-from-lucerne-switzerland-jungfraujoch
4. Day trip to Titlis
https://www.journeys2memories.com/post/6-not-to-miss-day-trips-from-lucerne-switzerland-mount-titlis
5. Day trip to Bern
6. Day trip to Lugano and Swiss Miniature
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