Wengen

The clouds rose from the opposite valley, curling up perpendicular precipices like the foam of the ocean of hell, during a spring tide -- it was white and sulphury, and immeasurably deep in appearance. - Byron visited Wengen in 1816, fleeing yet another major scandal in London

Wengen was traditionally an alpine farming village: it has summer pastures and lies on the drove trail to the higher meadows around Kleine Scheidegg. It was never a major mountain pass, as you could more easily reach Grindelwald via the valley, and the formidable trio of mountains just north are impassable. Byron, Shelley and Mendelssohn were early 19th century visitors, re-defining mountain scenery to a public that had seen it as desolate. Guest houses and hotels began to appear, but until 1890 you still had to hike up. Then the cog railway changed everything.

In the early 20th century Mürren and Wengen were pioneers of "downhill only!" - skiers could ride up on the train, with no more days spent lugging kit up the mountain just for a single ski run back to the village. Sir Henry Lunn and his son Arnold founded a ski tourism business, and lift systems and prepared trails were developed, along with a calendar of ski races both straight downhill and by slalom. The Wengen area has a long reliable snow season, and many Alpine hiking trails in summer.

The tourist info center is next to Männlichen cable car station in town centre and open daily 09:00-18:00.

Getting There

For inter-city routes, travel via Interlaken , which has trains every 30 min from Bern.

Change at Interlaken Ost for the BOB train - the Berner Oberland-Bahn. Don't get off at Interlaken West, which is the town centre.

You need to be in the front portion of the BOB train. This runs every 30 min and takes 20 min via Wilderswil and Zweilütschinen (where the rear portion detaches for Grindelwald) to Lauterbrunnen . There you change to the WAB train, the little Wengernalpbahn, for the scenic 13 min journey up the mountainside to Wengen, with the last connection leaving Interlaken at 23:00. These trains continue up to Kleine Scheidegg at the top of the pass. Change there for the train which burrows through the Jungfrau to the summit station of Jungfraujoch, and for the train descending to Grindelwald. Eurail passes get you a 25% discount on the BOB and WAB trains but are not in themselves valid for travel beyond Interlaken. A Swiss Travel Pass is valid to Lauterbrunnen, Grindelwald and Mürren and gets you 50% discount on the WAB trains.

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Wengen railway station is central in the village and has a staffed ticket office and baggage lockers.

Private cars are not permitted in Wengen, though service vehicles skitter about - it's not really "traffic-free". Visitors have to park at Lauterbrunnen or Interlaken, see those pages for details.

), from which you can ski (red/intermediate pistes required) or even toboggan all the way back down to Wengen. The season is from mid-Dec to mid-April: Kleine Scheidegg being the highest starts earlier, and Grindelwald as the lowest starts latest. The lifts run for a couple of weekends before main season, then daily. It gets a bit scratchy by late March.

There are a number of lift passes available, but if staying in Wengen the most suitable is the Grindelwald-Wengen pass . This grants access to all 27 lifts in the area covering 155 km, including Kleine Scheidegg , Grindelwald , and First the far side of Grindelwald, as well as all public transport. In 2021/22 an adult pass was Fr. 69 for one day, for six is Fr. 324. The Mürren -Schilthorn area is a separate pass, or you can buy a Jungfrau Pass for the combined areas. No pass is valid above Eigergletscher on the train up to Jungfraujoch, but you can buy an add-on ticket for Fr. 49 return.

Ski equipment can easily be rented in Wengen. Rental typically includes access to the shared storage lockers near the station, so you don't have to lug your gear back to your accommodation every day.

Altitude Ski School ,

Dorfstrasse ,

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+41 33 853 0040 .

The largest independent ski school in the area, the sky blue coats of their instructors are ubiquitous on the slopes. Excellent, personalized service at a premium price. Partnered with the SkiSet gear rental shop in Wengen.

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Ski School Wengen ,

Silberhorn Hotel ,

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+41 33 855 2022 ,

[email protected] .

This is in town centre, next to the "magic carpet" lift for beginner practice. Group lessons run Sunday to Friday, individual lessons anytime.

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Night skiing is free on Wednesday and Saturday from 19:30. It's on the dinky little Figeler run by the cable-car station, suitable for small children.

The ice rink for skating and curling is in town centre by the TIC and Männlichen cable car. It's open-air, with artificial ice, open daily 10:00-18:00.

Events

Lauberhorn is the premier ski race, held in January. The scary-fast run is from the Lauberhorn summit at 2317 m, over 4.27 km (a one km descent) into Wengen. There's often an associated air show, and the event drews global media and 30,000 spectators. The next races are 13-15 Jan 2023.

Music Day is a weekend in June. The next has a youth band on Sat 4 June 2022 and brass bands on Sun 5.

Eiger Ultra:

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Eiger (3967 m / 13,015 ft), 🌍

Mönch (4110 m / 13,480 ft) and 🌍

Jungfrau (4158 m / 13,642 ft) are the magnificent peaks towering over Wengen. You'll not regret paying for a room with a mountain view.

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Lutheran Church

( Evangelisch reformierte Kirche Wengen ).

Perched on an outcrop at the north end of town, the austere interior of the church is not much to look at, but the pointy white clock tower is a local landmark and on a clear day the valley views from the gardens outside are breathtaking.

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Kino Wengen

( next to Da Sina ).

Wengen's sole movie theater features standard Hollywood fare. Open most nights with a single viewing at 8:30pm.

Adults/children CFH 15/10 .

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Summer

Hiking: lots of trails. Some good choices are:

Wengen to Männlichen, 4.6 km, 2 hr 30 min, medium difficulty. A nice quiet trek as the less energetic do it the other way round, riding the cable car up to Männlichen and walking down to Wengen.

Wengen to Wengernalp and Kleine Scheidegg, 6.9 km, 2 hr 45 min, medium difficulty. Great mountain views as you turn the corner at Wengernalp (which is on the railway, a bail-out option if the weather's closing in.) From Kleine Scheidegg you can continue down to Grindelwald .

The gentler trails are also open in winter, though you may have to share them with skiers, toboggans and bounding excitable dogs.

Swimming : The outside swimming pool is on Waldbort just above the main village. It has amazing views of the Jungfrau and glacier, and a friendly bar and cafe.

Winter

Skiing is the main draw for winter visitors. Wengen is not a standalone ski resort, but merely a node in what is officially branded as the Jungfrau Ski Region . Since Wengen lies at the lower reaches of the valley, the only two lifts actually in the village are meant for children and absolute beginners. Access to the "real" slopes requires taking either the train to Kleine Scheidegg or the gondola to Männlichen (see (

For a town of its size, Wengen has quite a few dining options. Out of season, many are closed or have limited hours (often dinner only); in season, book ahead, especially in the evenings.

Budget

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Bäckerei Vincenz ,

Dorfstrasse

( by railway station ),

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+41 33 855 4244 .

M Tu Th-Sa 07:30-18:30 .

Cafe-bakery with rolls, pastries, chocolate, sandwiches, quiche and the like, by some way the cheapest meal in town.

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Mid-range

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Da Sina ,

Dorfstrasse 1349 ,

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+41 33 855 3172 .

Daily 17:30-21:30, plus lunch Sa Su only .

A local institution, this cavernous wooden barn stacked full of Swiss-Italian kitsch serves up pizza, pasta, steaks and has branched out into an attempt at an Irish pub as well. The pizza dough and oven are on point, but the toppings have room for improvement. Packed on weekends, so reserve a table in advance or take away.

Mains Fr. 20-40 .

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Golden India ,

Wengiboden 1303 ,

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+41 33 855 5855 .

Tu-Su 12:00-15:00, 17:00-21:30 .

Just when you'd despaired of finding a Bernese biryani. Tiny place, limited menu but reliable quality. They also have a branch in Grindelwald.

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Eiger ,

Bahnhof

( by railway station ),

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+41 33 855 7777 .

Daily 08:00-21:00 .

Sunny terrace for a rösti and a beer or three, with

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Swiss wine, beer, and hot chocolate are widely available. Cafés and bars in Wengen offer a range of local and international beverages.

Accommodation in Wengen ranges from budget guesthouses to mid-range hotels and upscale resorts. Book in advance during peak season (July-August and December-March).

ATMs are clustered at the railway station, and there's no shortage of shops for hiking, climbing and skiing gear.

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Coop .

Daily 08:00-18:30 .

Small but well-stocked branch of the ubiquitous Swiss chain, this is Wengen's only real supermarket.

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Swiss Made .

Daily 08:30-18:30 .

Gift shop selling the usual Swiss Army knives and cuckoo clocks: the twist is that everything sold is here is actually made in Switzerland.

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• Zurich — Switzerland's largest city, with world-class museums and shopping
• Bern — The capital city with a UNESCO-listed old town
• Lucerne — Iconic chapel bridge and lake views
• Interlaken — Gateway to the Jungfrau region
• Geneva — International city on Lake Geneva