Mürren, Switzerland: The Car-Free Village Above the Lauterbrunnen Valley

Mürren is a car-free mountain village at 1,638 metres, perched on a sunny ledge high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, with the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau straight across the gorge. No road leads up here: you arrive by cable car or by a little mountain railway, and once you step out of the station the loudest sound is the hum of an electric cart. We spent the evening of July 9, 2026 in Mürren with our dog Miley, after a long day on the Schilthorn, and wandered through the village from 17:50 until dinner on a terrace above the valley. This guide covers how to get to Mürren in Switzerland, what it costs in 2026, the best things to do in Mürren, the hikes, Gimmelwald next door and where to stay.

Is Mürren worth visiting?

Yes. Mürren is worth a visit even if you never go up the Schilthorn, because few places in Switzerland combine a car-free village of old wooden chalets with a view this big. You stand on the edge of a cliff and look across the Lauterbrunnen Valley at the whole wall of the Bernese Alps.

Most visitors only see Mürren through the window of a cable car: they change here on the way to the Schilthorn and never leave the station. That is a mistake. Behind the station the village spreads out along two quiet streets, with chalets that are hundreds of years old, flower meadows between the houses and lookouts where the ground simply stops.

Mürren also has a history that surprises many visitors. British travellers discovered it in the 19th century; the first inn opened in 1857 and the Grand Hotel in 1870. In 1922 the Englishman Sir Arnold Lunn set the first slalom race in alpine skiing history here, and in 1924 he founded the Kandahar Ski Club in the village. Since 1928 the Inferno race has sent skiers 15.8 kilometres from the Schilthorn down to Lauterbrunnen every January.

How to get to Mürren

You reach Mürren only by public transport: either with the new direct cable car from Stechelberg in about four minutes, or from Lauterbrunnen with the cable car to Grütschalp and the mountain railway along the cliff edge, which takes about 20 minutes. A third, slower option is the old cable car from Stechelberg via Gimmelwald.

Route 1: Direct cable car from Stechelberg

Since December 14, 2024, a new cable car runs straight from Stechelberg at the end of the Lauterbrunnen Valley to Mürren. With a gradient of up to 159.4 percent it is the steepest cable car in the world. The cabins hold 85 people and climb 775 metres in about four minutes, leaving the valley station through an open roof and rising directly up the rock face beside the Mürrenbach Falls. This is the fastest way up and the route we took. It is also the first section of the cable car to the Schilthorn, so in the morning it fills up with summit visitors.

Route 2: Lauterbrunnen, Grütschalp and the mountain railway

The classic way up starts opposite Lauterbrunnen train station. A cable car climbs 686 metres to Grütschalp in about four minutes; there you change to the small Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen to Mürren (BLM), which runs almost level along the edge of the cliff via Winteregg to Mürren. The railway has existed since 1891, and the cable car replaced the old funicular in 2006. This is the more scenic route: from the valley side of the train you look across at Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau the whole way. The train stops at Mürren BLM station at the northern end of the village, so you walk through Mürren to reach the Schilthorn cable car at the other end, about 10 to 15 minutes on foot.

Route 3: The old cable car via Gimmelwald

The original Schilthorn cable car from 1965 still runs from Stechelberg via Gimmelwald to Mürren. You need it if you want to stop in Gimmelwald. Otherwise the direct line is faster.

Our tip: go up one way and down the other. For example, take the train via Grütschalp in the morning for the view and the direct cable car down to Stechelberg in the evening, then the PostBus back to Lauterbrunnen.

Fares and passes 2026

A one-way ticket from Stechelberg to Mürren costs CHF 11.80 in 2026 (about US$14), a return CHF 23.60 (about US$29). With a Swiss Travel Pass the trip is free, with the Half Fare Card you pay half. The route from Lauterbrunnen via Grütschalp costs about the same.

The Berner Oberland Pass covers all lifts to Mürren and the Allmendhubel funicular. If you continue to the Schilthorn, a return ticket from Mürren costs CHF 91.40; we cover those fares in our Schilthorn guide. Children under 6 and dogs ride free. Official fares come from schilthorn.ch; the Grütschalp fare is a third-party figure updated in October 2026, so check the SBB app before you travel.

Parking in the valley

Because Mürren is car-free, you park in the Lauterbrunnen Valley: either at the large Schilthornbahn car park next to the valley station in Stechelberg or in the multi-storey car park at Lauterbrunnen station, which has 974 spaces and costs CHF 18 for 8 hours (about US$22). Both are a few steps from the lifts.

• Stechelberg: navigate to “Schilthornbahn Talstation, Stechelberg, 3824 Lauterbrunnen”. The car park has well over 1,000 spaces and you pay at the machine by the ticket office. Fees given by the operators differ, so check the machine.
• Lauterbrunnen: the car park is next to the station and the Grütschalp cable car. It fills up on summer mornings.
• By public transport: train from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen in about 22 minutes, then either the Grütschalp cable car or PostBus line 141 to Stechelberg, Schilthornbahn (12 minutes).

A walk through the village

The best thing to do in Mürren costs nothing: walk from one end of the village to the other and back. That takes about an hour with stops and shows you old chalets, storehouses, flower gardens and lookouts over the valley.

We arrived at the new station at 17:51 on one of the last cable cars down from Birg. The cabin had been completely full, but in the village the crowd spread out within minutes. A yellow signpost right behind the station shows how many options you have from here: Allmendhubelbahn, Grütschalp, Gimmelwald, Stechelberg, the Rotstockhütte and the via ferrata.

The houses are what struck us first. Many chalets are built in the typical Bernese Oberland style, with wood that sun and weather have burned almost black, green or red shutters and window boxes full of geraniums. The Swiss flag, the Bernese bear and sometimes the flag of the neighbouring canton of Valais hang from the balconies. Between the houses stand old wooden storehouses on stilts, where farmers once kept grain and meat safe from mice. In July the verges were full of pink fireweed.

Look out for the small details as you walk. On one house a large inscription reads MDXXXXV, which is 1545 in Roman numerals, although a Roman would have written MDXLV. The inscription is there; how old the house itself really is we could not verify. A little further on, a carved wooden owl with a golden crown watches over a window full of red geraniums, and in the evening a shop window called “Mürrmeli” shows a whole family of stuffed toy marmots sitting on firewood and fake snow.

The village is car-free, but not completely quiet. Small electric carts bring luggage from the station to the hotels and deliver goods to the shops, and they move silently, so keep to the side of the street.

The lookouts at the edge of the cliff

Mürren sits directly on the rim of a vertical cliff. At several points the lanes end at a fence or a bench, and below you the land drops about 800 metres to the floor of the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Opposite you see the rock walls of the other side, the waterfalls, and at the head of the valley the glaciers. Late in the afternoon the light comes from the side and the cliffs turn golden. We stood at the edge around 18:40 and it was the quietest moment of the whole day.

Things to do in Mürren

The main things to do in Mürren are the village walk and the cliff-edge views, the Allmendhubel funicular with its Flower Park and Flower Trail, the hikes, the via ferrata to Gimmelwald, a swim in the sports centre, paragliding and the Schilthorn above the village. Here is what each one involves.

Allmendhubel: funicular, Flower Park and Flower Trail

The Allmendhubel funicular climbs from the upper end of the village to 1,907 metres in about four minutes. It has run since 1912. A return ticket costs CHF 16 in 2026 (about US$19), CHF 8 with a Swiss Travel Pass or Half Fare Card, and it is free with the Berner Oberland Pass. In summer 2026 it runs from May 23 to October 18 every 20 minutes from 9:00 until the last trip at 17:00. In winter it serves the ski and sledging area.

At the top you find a panorama restaurant with a large sun terrace, the Flower Park adventure playground with giant alpine flowers and insects, a water labyrinth and curved wooden loungers for looking at Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. The Flower Trail is a wide, easy path past more than 150 species of alpine flowers, from gentians to alpine roses and edelweiss. The Northface Trail also starts here (see below). We did not go up ourselves, because we arrived after the last funicular. On the way through the village we saw the stone viaduct of the funicular track on the slope behind the houses.

The Alpine Sports Centre

The Alpine Sports Centre in the middle of the village has an indoor pool of 25 by 11 metres at 28 °C, a bubble pool with a view of the Bernese Alps, a children’s pool, a spa with saunas and steam bath, a fitness room and a café. According to the summer 2026 information, the pool is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00 and the spa from 13:00 to 19:00. Adults pay CHF 15 for the pool (about US$18), or CHF 11 with the local guest card; children from 6 to 16 pay CHF 7. The spa costs CHF 36. Outside there are tennis courts at about 1,650 metres, among the highest in the world, and an ice rink that is used for curling in winter. Expect maintenance closures in April or May and from November to mid-December.

For families the pool is the best rainy-day option in the area. When we passed at 18:24, people were still playing tennis below the cliffs.

Via ferrata Mürren to Gimmelwald

The via ferrata leads 2.2 kilometres along the cliff below Mürren to Gimmelwald and takes about three hours. It is rated K3, an intermediate level, and only suitable for people with a head for heights, alpine experience and full equipment: helmet, harness and via ferrata set. The route descends about 300 metres, crosses a gorge on a tyrolean traverse (only with a mountain guide, otherwise there is a rope bridge as a bypass) and ends with the Nepal Bridge, a long suspension bridge. It is open from June 1 to October 31, daily from 9:00 to 18:00. The entrance is behind the sports centre, and sports shops near the station rent out equipment. From the end of the route it is about five minutes to the Gimmelwald cable car station.

Paragliding over the Lauterbrunnen Valley

Mürren is one of the best-known paragliding take-off points in the region. Tandem pilots take off from the slopes above the village and land in the valley, and you see their stands near the station. During our walk a paraglider circled right above the chalets. If you want to try it, you will find tandem flights in the tours section at the end of this guide.

Ski history and the Inferno race

Mürren is one of the cradles of alpine ski racing. The first slalom was set here behind the Hotel Jungfrau in 1922, the Kandahar Ski Club was founded in 1924, and the first Alpine World Championships in slalom and downhill took place here in 1931. The Inferno race, held every January since 1928, runs 15.8 kilometres from the Schilthorn to Lauterbrunnen with a drop of 2,150 metres and is considered the longest amateur ski race in the world.

Hikes from Mürren

Mürren is a perfect base for hiking: easy panorama walks start right in the village, and the funicular to Allmendhubel saves you the first climb. The four routes below are the most popular, from a one-hour stroll to a half-day loop.

• Northface Trail: a loop of about 6.2 kilometres and 2 hours from Allmendhubel via Schiltalp, Spielboden and Blumental back to Mürren. Information boards along the way tell the story of mountaineering on the north faces of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, which you see the whole time. Rated medium, on signposted hiking trails.
• Grütschalp to Mürren: an easy walk of about 1 hour 15 minutes along the railway, almost level, with the three famous peaks in view. Take the train back.
• Mountain View Trail: from Grütschalp up to Allmendhubel in about 2 hours, with more ascent and wider views.
• Mürren to Gimmelwald: about 45 to 60 minutes downhill on a paved lane closed to cars, around 2.5 kilometres and 270 metres of descent. Take the cable car back up or continue down to Stechelberg.

We did not hike these routes on this visit; the times come from the regional tourist boards.

Gimmelwald, the village below

Gimmelwald is a tiny car-free hamlet at 1,364 metres, about 270 metres below Mürren on the same cliff terrace, with around 110 inhabitants. You reach it on foot from Mürren in 45 to 60 minutes or with the old cable car from Stechelberg, which stops here on its way to Mürren.

If Mürren is quiet, Gimmelwald is even quieter. It is a working farming village with hay meadows, barns and a handful of places to stay. Gimmelwald never became a big resort, partly because the area was declared an avalanche zone. On the walk down you pass farms that sell cheese and other products at small self-service stands, where you leave the money in a box. Many hikers combine Gimmelwald with the via ferrata, which ends here, or continue down through the Sefinen Valley to Stechelberg.

A practical plan: walk down from Mürren to Gimmelwald, have a drink, then take the old cable car down to Stechelberg. Note that this old line is closed for maintenance from October 19 to 30, 2026. We did not make it to Gimmelwald on this trip, because the evening was too short. It is at the top of our list for the next visit, so everything in this section comes from official sources, not from our own experience.

Mürren and the Schilthorn

Mürren is the gateway to the Schilthorn: the cable car to the 2,970-metre summit with the revolving restaurant Piz Gloria and the James Bond exhibition starts at the station in the village, via the intermediate station Birg. From Mürren a return ticket to the summit costs CHF 91.40.

The best way to combine both is the one we chose: go up to the summit in the morning, when the view is clearest, and spend the late afternoon and evening in Mürren on the way down. All details on the summit, Birg with its Skyline Walk and Thrill Walk, and the hike to the Grauseeli lake are in our Schilthorn guide with prices and our full day.

Mürren with a dog

Mürren is easy with a dog: dogs ride the Schilthorn cable cars and the Allmendhubel funicular for free on a leash, the village has no traffic, and the Schilthorn operator welcomes dogs in its restaurants. Miley walked through the whole village with us after a long day in the mountains.

Our favourite moment of the evening involved a cat. In the middle of the lane at the edge of the village lay a black and white cat with a red neckerchief, perfectly relaxed, as if the street belonged to it. Miley stopped, stared, and the cat stared back. For a long minute nobody moved. In the end the two settled it peacefully: the street was wide enough for both.

• Keep your dog on a leash in the village. The electric carts are almost silent.
• Expect to meet other animals: cats lie on the lanes, and on the hiking trails above the village you may pass grazing cattle in summer.
• For dogs that are nervous in cable cars, the train via Grütschalp is the calmer route.
• The via ferrata is not suitable for dogs. Our guide to travelling Switzerland with a dog has more tips on lifts and trains.

Our evening in Mürren

This is how our evening went on July 9, 2026. The weather was sunny with a few clouds over the peaks, and it was still warm enough to sit outside until well after 19:00.

• 17:30: one of the last cable cars from Birg down to Mürren, packed.
• 17:51: arrival at the new station. First chalets right behind the station building, a paraglider above the village.
• 17:55 to 18:15: walk along the upper street: flags, old storehouses, the owl with the crown, the 1545 inscription. From the edge we watched a cabin of the new cable car drop over the cliff into the valley.
• 18:15 to 18:30: the main street with shops, café terraces and electric carts, then the sports centre and the tennis courts.
• 18:35: the giant chessboard, then the cat.
• 18:40: the lookouts at the edge of the cliff, the best light of the evening.
• 18:45 to 19:00: dinner on a restaurant terrace with a view of the Lauterbrunnen Valley.
• 19:00: the Mürrmeli marmot window, chalets in the evening light, strings of pennants over the street.
• About 19:20: direct cable car down to Stechelberg, the cliffs glowing gold.

Staying overnight in Mürren

Staying overnight in Mürren is worth it if you want the village without day trippers: after the last cable cars the streets empty, and in the morning you see the peaks in the first light before the crowds arrive. Mürren has around 2,000 guest beds in hotels, guest houses and holiday apartments, from historic grand hotels to simple chalets.

• Book early. In July, August and during the ski season the village is often full, and with so few beds there is little choice at short notice.
• Luggage: you carry your bags from the station or the hotel picks them up with an electric cart. Ask when you book.
• Guest card: overnight guests receive a local guest card, which gives discounts such as cheaper entry to the sports centre pool (CHF 11 instead of CHF 15).
• Car: you leave it in Stechelberg or Lauterbrunnen for the whole stay. Check the long-term rates at the car park.
• Alternatives: Gimmelwald for absolute quiet, Lauterbrunnen in the valley for cheaper prices and more restaurants.

We stayed in a holiday apartment in Brienz and visited Mürren as a day trip, which also works well if you have a car.

When to visit Mürren

The best time for Mürren is from late June to mid-September, when the meadows are in flower, all lifts run and the hiking trails are free of snow. In winter Mürren is a ski village with the Schilthorn ski area above it; in late spring and autumn some lifts close for maintenance.

• Summer: warm, green, busy around midday. Mornings and evenings are the quietest. Afternoon clouds are common, so plan views for the morning.
• Autumn: clearer air and fewer visitors. Note the 2026 closures: the Allmendhubel funicular closes after October 18, the old cable car via Gimmelwald from October 19 to 30, and the Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp to Mürren line from October 26 to November 6. The direct cable car from Stechelberg keeps running.
• Winter: skiing, sledging from Allmendhubel and the Inferno race in January. Check the winter timetable on the operator’s website.

Tips from our visit

• Do not just change trains. Plan at least two hours for the village itself, ideally in the late afternoon.
• Use both routes. Up with the train via Grütschalp for the view, down with the direct cable car for the thrill, or the other way round.
• Find the edge. The best views are not on the main street but at the lookouts at the cliff edge, a few steps away.
• Mind the last funicular. The Allmendhubel funicular stops at 17:00 in summer; we arrived too late.
• Bring a layer. At 1,638 metres it cools down quickly after sunset, even in July.
• Combine. Mürren fits well with the Schilthorn, the Staubbach Falls in Lauterbrunnen and the Trümmelbach Falls in the valley.

Tours and tickets

If you have a car or a Swiss Travel Pass, you do not need a tour for Mürren: buy your ticket at the station or ride for free. A tour makes sense if you travel without a car and want transport and a guide, or if you want to see the valley from the air. These are the options we would look at:

FAQ: Mürren

How do you get to Mürren?

Only by public transport: with the direct cable car from Stechelberg in about four minutes, or from Lauterbrunnen with the cable car to Grütschalp and the mountain railway in about 20 minutes. There is no road for private cars.

How much does it cost to get to Mürren?

From Stechelberg CHF 11.80 one way and CHF 23.60 return for adults in 2026. With a Swiss Travel Pass or the Berner Oberland Pass the trip is free, with the Half Fare Card you pay half.

Is Mürren or Wengen better?

Both are car-free villages on opposite sides of the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Mürren is smaller, quieter and sits right on the cliff edge, with the Schilthorn above it. Wengen is larger, with more hotels and shops, and is on the railway to Kleine Scheidegg and the Jungfraujoch. For views and quiet we would choose Mürren.

How long should you spend in Mürren?

Two to three hours for the village walk and the lookouts. A full day if you add Allmendhubel, a hike, the via ferrata or Gimmelwald. Combined with the Schilthorn, plan a whole day.

Can you walk from Mürren to Gimmelwald?

Yes, on a paved lane without cars in about 45 to 60 minutes downhill. Walking back up takes longer, so many people take the cable car back to Mürren or down to Stechelberg.

Is Mürren open in winter?

Yes, Mürren is inhabited and reachable all year. In winter it is a ski resort with access to the Schilthorn ski area. Some lifts close for maintenance in spring and autumn.

Check Mürren tours and activities →

Mürren is one of the highlights of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, and you can easily combine it with the waterfalls on the valley floor. For more ideas across Switzerland, start on our Switzerland travel home page.