Switzerland · winter (Dec-Feb)
Winter in Interlaken: Best Tours & Cold-Weather Activities — Trip Planner
Planning a winter trip in Interlaken? Here’s how to decide what’s worth your time. Christmas market walks, cold-weather food tastings, indoor cultural tours and cozy evening experiences in Interlaken — the city at its most atmospheric.
Powered by GetYourGuide
Winter experiences in Interlaken
Bookable through GetYourGuide. Skip-the-line, verified guides.
When the weather turns in Interlaken
Bad weather is routine here so the town is built for it: the Kursaal complex, the Bodelibad indoor pool, and the covered shopping strip along Hoheweg. St Beatus Caves above Lake Thun stay dry inside and are reachable by bus or boat. Best of all, cancel Jungfraujoch and take a covered BLS boat across Lake Brienz to Giessbach instead.
Interlaken's museums, and which one to pick
Not a museum town, and honest guides say so. The Touristik-Museum der Jungfrau-Region in Unterseen traces how Victorian British visitors invented this entire industry, and opens afternoons in season only. Schloss Unterseen and the medieval quarter across the Aare are the real history that almost every visitor walks past. Bern's Kunstmuseum and Zentrum Paul Klee are fifty minutes away by direct train.
What to eat in Interlaken
Hoheweg menus arrive in six languages and are priced for coach groups. Cross the Aare into Unterseen, where the Untere Gasse and Marktgasse hold the older, cheaper dining rooms serving Bernese platters and Brienz lake fish. Husi Bierhaus does Swiss comfort cooking with local beer. The Migros near Interlaken West is where self-caterers assemble the fondue that hotels charge triple for.
What's actually worth your time in Interlaken
Interlaken sells access more than sights. Hohematte, the fourteen-hectare meadow townspeople bought in the 1860s specifically to stop it being built on, is where paragliders land all afternoon and it costs nothing to stand and watch. Harder Kulm's funicular and its Two Lakes Bridge platform deliver the Thun-Brienz panorama in ten minutes. Jungfraujoch is the famous ticket and the most weather-dependent money you will spend.
Interlaken after dark
Nights run on the hostel circuit rather than clubs: Balmers and the backpacker bars fill early, Husi Bierhaus and the Brasserie 17 draw a mixed crowd, and the Kursaal casino keeps the smartest room in town. Most kitchens and bars stop around midnight because half the guests have a seven o'clock cable car. Winter empties the streets once the ski buses have left.
When to go to Interlaken
| Best months for winter | Avg daily high | Rain days |
|---|---|---|
| August | 25°C / 77°F | 14 days |
| October | 18°C / 64°F | 14 days |
| September | 21°C / 70°F | 15 days |
The month to avoid is January — around 7°C (45°F) with roughly 15 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: August is the sweet spot, January the month most people skip.
Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, Rain gear is non-negotiable — expect rain on roughly 14 days, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.
Where to base yourself in Interlaken
- Interlaken Ost — Eastern station — gateway to Brienz, Grindelwald, and the Jungfrau trains.
- Interlaken West — Western station + the casino, Höhematte Park, the main hotel strip.
- Unterseen — Old-town side along the Aare — quieter, traditional houses, riverside walks.