Interlaken

Interlaken

Restaurant Harder Kulm

Lunch at the summit restaurant means eating at one of the most scenic terraces in the entire Bernese Oberland, with a panorama that takes in 12 major alpine peaks. The menu leans Swiss comfort food including cheese fondue for the table, and the staff are used to families with young children.

Interlaken

Airtime Café Lauterbrunnen

This laid-back café in Lauterbrunnen village is popular with paragliders and families alike, serving solid sandwiches, homemade soup, and fresh-pressed juices at fair prices. The outdoor tables look directly at Staubbach Falls, the 297-meter free-falling waterfall that inspired both Goethe and Byron.

Interlaken

Confiserie Schuh

This institution on the Höheweg has been serving families since 1818 and is the single best place in Interlaken to try the region's famous Meringues de la Gruyère piled high with double cream. Grab a window table and let the kids pick a chocolate truffle from the display case while you order coffee.

Interlaken

Bäckerei Gerber Thun

This beloved local bakery on Obere Hauptgasse in Thun's covered arcade street has been baking Bernese pastries for generations and is the place to try a Nidlechüechli, a small cream tart that is quietly one of the best things you will eat in Switzerland. Pick up a bag of cookies for the boat ride back.

Interlaken

Kleine Scheidegg Restaurant

Break up the descent at Kleine Scheidegg station and eat lunch at the historic Restaurant Kleine Scheidegg, which has been feeding mountaineers since the 19th century. The rösti and hot chocolate here are genuinely excellent, and the terrace faces straight up at the Eiger North Face.

Interlaken

Thun Old Town Covered Arcade Shopping

Thun's Obere Hauptgasse is famous for its unique covered walkways built on top of the shop roofs, creating a two-level pedestrian street unlike anything else in Switzerland. Kids enjoy the novelty of walking through the upper lane while parents browse independent shops selling Swiss knives, wooden toys, and local textiles.

Interlaken

Harder Kulm Funicular and Sky Terrace

The bright orange Harderbahn funicular departs from just north of Interlaken Ost station and climbs to the 1,322-meter summit in about 10 minutes. At the top, the Famous Two Lakes Bridge sky walk juts out over the cliff and gives kids a vertigo-inducing view straight down to both Lake Thun and Lake Brienz simultaneously.

Interlaken

Interlaken Ost Sunday Market and Souvenir Shopping on Höheweg

Back in town, spend an hour browsing the shops along Höheweg for Swiss Army knives at Victorinox official retailers, cow bells, and locally made carved wooden figures. Kids who have been patient all week tend to make their best case for a pocket knife right here.

Interlaken

Bönigen Beach on Lake Brienz

End the trip at the small pebble and grass beach in Bönigen, a ten-minute walk from Interlaken Ost along the lake path, where the water is swimmable in summer and always photogenic. It is an unhurried, free final stop that lets kids splash one last time in that extraordinary turquoise glacier water before the journey home.

Interlaken

Staubbach Falls Viewpoint and Trail

A short signed path from the village leads up to a viewing platform behind and beside Staubbach Falls, where kids can walk through the mist of one of Switzerland's tallest waterfalls. The trail is well-maintained and takes about 25 minutes up from the village center.

Interlaken

Trümmelbach Falls

These ten glacier-melt waterfalls are tucked inside a mountain and accessed by a tunnel lift, making them feel like something from a movie set. Children between ages 5 and 14 are almost universally stunned by the roaring cascades and the spray-soaked walkways carved into the rock.

Interlaken

Grindelwald Snow Fun Park (seasonal)

On the way back down, stop at the Grindelwald snow activity area near the First gondola base, where kids can sled and play in the snow even in late spring. Rental sleds are available on-site and the runs are gentle enough for ages 5 and up.

Interlaken

Jungfrau Railway to Jungfraujoch Top of Europe

Board the cogwheel train from Interlaken Ost through Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen up to Europe's highest railway station at 3,454 meters. Kids are routinely amazed by the Ice Palace carved inside the glacier and the viewing platform where you can see four countries on a clear day.