Visit the Picturesque Town of Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Last updated on 29 June 2026

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I didn’t realise that I should have been looking forward to visiting Switzerland while on Contiki much more than I was. But when we arrived in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, I knew in an instant that even though we were mere days into our 37-day trip around Europe, it was going to be a highlight.

And it was.

The sweet wee town of Lauterbrunnen is right at the base of Jungfrau, surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. The name, Lauter Brunnen, literally means loud springs, and even with the town’s hustle and bustle, if you listen closely, you can hear some of the waterfalls in the area.

We stayed in a Lauterbrunnen hostel called Schützenbach, which is a backpackers’ for those aged 18 – 35. There were a bunch of little cabins, a shop, big bathrooms and a laundry facility, as well as a dining room and bar. It was a really fun location for our second stop on Contiki, and while we didn’t have very long there, it was definitely a highlight for me of the whole trip, as I mentioned.

Here are some of the things to do in Lauterbrunnen (even some things that are recommended but we didn’t get to).

Things to do in Lauterbrunnen

While we didn’t have too long in Lauterbrunnen, we managed to get a bunch of things in, and there was more we could have done if time allowed. Here are some of the things that we did while we were in the area, and some other suggestions if you’ve got time.

Go up to Jungfraujoch – The Top of Europe

We spent an entire morning up Jungfrau mountain, and if we had done a few more of the activities available up the mountain, we could have been there the whole day.

From Lauterbrunnen, you can take the train halfway up the mountain, and then swap to another one to take you to Jungfraujoch Top of Europe, the highest railway station in Europe. Jungfraujoch, or the peak of Jungfrau mountain, is 3,454 metres above sea level and you really feel it when you step out into the tunnels. Watch out for altitude sickness and feeling a bit short of breath.

👉🏻 Coming Soon: Visit Jungfraujoch Top of Europe – I’ll go into more details about what you can do up the mountain in that post

Take the cogwheel railway

To get to Jungfraujoch, you can take the cogwheel train, the Jungfraubahn. It starts from Kleine Scheidegg (so you need to get another train there from Lauterbrunnen) and goes up through tunnels inside the Eiger and Mönch mountains.

The construction of the Jungfraubahn started in 1896 and took 16 years to complete, which, back then as you can imagine, was a massive engineering achievement, given the challenging mountain conditions and also it being, you know, the late 1800s into the early 1900s.

Explore the village

Lauterbrunnen village, while small, is very sweet. There are touristy shops along the main road, but also local stores where you can pop in and enjoy good food and drink. A little wander down on the of the roads will lead you to the Lauterbrunnen church (above), which is nothing too flashy or fancy, but is incredibly picturesque the snowy backdrop.

There’s also the river that runs by the bottom of the town, and the railway station, connecting you with other parts of the Jungfrau Region.

Canyon Swing

On our itinerary (although I didn’t do it) was canyon swinging! If you’re up for it, you can book a canyon swing in Grindelwald, and step off a 90m high platform, free fall for 50m before the rope catches you, and swings you through the stunning Swiss canyon. You’re also able to purchase video footage and photos of you doing so later. If you’re into extreme sports to get the adrenaline pumping, this is one of them!

Go hiking

All throughout the mountains, there are stunning hiking trails. We didn’t have the time to do any of them, unfortunately, but looking at photos on the Swiss tourism page for the Jungfrau Region, they look incredible.

Visit Wengen and Mürren

While we weren’t able to explore the towns of Wengen and Mürren, they’re both car-free mountain towns, both of which belong to the municipality of Lauterbrunnen. I love the idea of car-free towns. Venice, of course, is a car-free city, going for those needed gondolas for the canals and footpaths for everything in between to get around, but that’s the only car-free city/town I think I’ve been to.

You could also check out the other villages in the region.

Go waterfalling hunting

There are 72 waterfalls in the Lauterbrunnen Valley Region. 72! Some can get as high as 400m, too, so these are impressive. You can actually do a pre-set walk that is about 8km long and takes about 2 hours, which travels along a waterfall-filled route. You can check it out here.

Lauterbrunnen and Lord of the Rings

When we were wandering through the township after coming down from Jungfrau, I spotted the very familiar face of Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings in a window across the street. Sorry to my friend, but I made an immediate beeline across the road to check it out.

Upon further investigation, Aragorn was in the window because, apparently, while J.R.R. Tolkien was on a trip around the continent in 1911, he visited Lauterbrunnen and gleaned much of the inspiration for the Elvish city of Rivendell from there. He did many a sketch and watercolour of the area, too.

As soon as I read that, I could see it. The waterfalls, the mountains, the valley … I suddenly couldn’t not see Rivendell. It made so much sense.

Turns out that would be one of the many times on my Contiki that I discovered we were standing in the filming spot of a great movie (or a terrible one, granted), or in the inspirational locations for so many great pieces from art, music, and stories. Lauterbrunnen was also featured in a few scenes in the James Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. We also drove past Holy Trinity, one of the clifftop monasteries in Meteora, Greece, which was in another James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only.

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So what do you reckon? Are you adding Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland, to your bucket list?