Grindelwald activities: 10 unique experiences

From the youth hostel to Grindelwald’s highlights

Arrival by train

If you’re trav­el­ling in Switzer­land, it’s best to take the train, as every bend opens up a breath­tak­ing view of majes­tic moun­tains ris­ing out of the land­scape. Arriv­ing at Grindel­wald sta­tion, I’m greet­ed by a breath of fresh moun­tain air. In autumn, this vil­lage in the Bernese Alps is beau­ti­ful­ly adorned with flow­ers, while its cosy ter­races invite you to linger.

It only took me 15 min­utes to reach the youth hos­tel – with lug­gage! You don’t have to go far to enjoy a good meal either: The youth hos­tel serves a tasty and healthy buf­fet din­ner. Soup is fol­lowed by the main course – chili con carne – and dessert. At din­ner, I met oth­er trav­ellers who were also eager to explore Grindel­wald. In the evening, the youth hos­tel is full of life as school class­es, groups of friends, back­pack­ers and fam­i­lies come togeth­er to play games and socialise.

Starting the day with my first cowbells

Fresh moun­tain air and the qui­et sound of cow­bells in the dis­tance: The day couldn’t get off to a bet­ter start. After a hearty break­fast with fresh fruit, yoghurt, Swiss bread, cheese and a warm­ing cup of cocoa, I’m ready. From Grindel­wald rail­way sta­tion, take the train to Grindel­wald-Ter­mi­nal, then a gon­do­la from the val­ley up to Eiger­gletsch­er sta­tion. The jour­ney then con­tin­ues on the moun­tain rail­way, which takes me even high­er up to the Jungfrau­joch, the ‘Top of Europe’, at an impres­sive 3,454 metres.  The panora­ma takes my breath away: Under a blue sky, majes­tic peaks and the vast Aletsch Glac­i­er stretch out before me. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to be so high up, sur­round­ed by the splen­dour of nature. It’s like the world is actu­al­ly at your feet.

But the Jungfrau­joch offers more than just a mag­nif­i­cent view. A scenic route takes you past cul­tur­al and his­tor­i­cal sta­tions to the Ice Palace, carved deep into the glac­i­er. After a good two hours of mar­vel­ling, I make my way back to Grindel­wald with my cam­era full of mem­o­ries.

Discovering the Glacier Gorge

In the after­noon, I set out to explore anoth­er nat­ur­al won­der: the Glac­i­er Gorge. From the town cen­tre, it is a pic­turesque 35-minute walk down­hill, and the hike through the gorge takes around an hour and a half. The gorge was formed by the forces of nature over 250 mil­lion years, and even though the glac­i­er that once shaped it has long since dis­ap­peared, it remains an impres­sive tes­ti­mo­ny of time. It’s a place of peace and awe that is absolute­ly worth a vis­it.

There’s no bet­ter way to end a day like this than with a hearty din­ner at a tra­di­tion­al Swiss restau­rant like the Restau­rant Kreuz & Post: an authen­tic meal in a cosy atmos­phere. The menu cel­e­brates Swiss cui­sine, mak­ing choos­ing what to eat almost the most dif­fi­cult task of the day.

A new day with new adventures in Grindelwald-First

After a rest­ful night, I start the day with new ener­gy. Before leav­ing the hos­tel, I ask the team for a packed lunch. I receive a bag of sand­wich­es, fruit and a snack. Then I set off on foot to the val­ley sta­tion of the gon­do­la cable­way, which will take me to today’s adven­tures.

Tip: A walk to Bachalpsee is def­i­nite­ly worth it!

Those who love thrills will get their money’s worth in Grindel­wald First. The First Fly­er and First Glid­er await you at lofty heights. The First Fly­er – also known as the Fly­ing Fox – is a zip line that lets up to two peo­ple fly through the air side by side. Sit­ting, you race down an 800-metre-long steel cable at speeds up to 84 km/h.  If that wasn’t enough for you, you can hop on the First Glid­er and glide through the air, like a soar­ing eagle. A unique feel­ing that com­bines the thrill of fly­ing with the beau­ty of the sur­round­ing moun­tains.

Back to the valley by mountain cart

To round off my day in the moun­tains, I choose a more excit­ing way back down – a moun­tain cart. After a short safe­ty brief­ing, I’m ready for the track.  You set your own pace along the bends and straight tracks, and the cart is easy to con­trol. Sim­ply enjoy the breath­tak­ing alpine scenery to the fullest on your way down to the val­ley.

After a jour­ney of around 15 min­utes, I arrive at the mid­way sta­tion, where I change to the gon­do­la cable­way for the last stage down to the val­ley. For me, it was the per­fect blend of adven­ture and nature – an unfor­get­table con­clu­sion to my jour­ney. Grindel­wald exceed­ed all my expec­ta­tions. The peo­ple were incred­i­bly hos­pitable. They made me feel at home through­out my stay. The only dif­fi­cult thing? Find­ing the right time for my next vis­it!

Lotte enjoys being active – whether in the moun­tains, trav­el­ling or explor­ing new places. Born in the Nether­lands, she turned her pas­sion for trav­el into a pro­fes­sion and now works in the tourism indus­try. Despite her Dutch roots, her heart beats for the moun­tains, where she recharges her bat­ter­ies by hik­ing and being in the great out­doors.