There are SO many beautiful places to visit in Switzerland. That’s a pretty easy statement to make! But how do you choose where do visit?

In this post, you are going to learn about five cities that you *must* visit in Switzerland, as well as what to do in these gorgeous cities and towns!

The easiest way to travel through Switzerland is by train. The rail system is Europe is quite efficient and trains almost always show up on time. If not, they will usually not be more than a few minutes late. I recommend looking into the Swiss Travel Pass before your trip. You can either buy consecutive days or a limited number of days. We opted for the 8 day consecutive pass for our trip and saved so much money as opposed to purchasing individual tickets!

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Wengen

The town of Wengen (pronounced “Vengen”) is absolutely breathtaking. It’s charming village feel makes for a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle that is life.

There are only a few cars in the town itself and it truly feels like walking in a postcard. 

You can hike in Wengen, explore local towns (such as Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken) or make the trek up to the Jungfrau mountain.

In The Beauty of Switzerland, I wrote about our time in Wengen and the wonderful hotel we stayed at: The Beausite Park Hotel.

This hotel offered stunning views from the balcony and delicious meals, offered at the half-board price for guests.

Murren

From Wengen, a trip to Murren is fairly quick. First, take the train to Lauterbrunnen then you will walk across the road to get to the gondola (cable car) station. Once you get off the gondola, one more train ride will take you up to the quaint and charming town of Murren.

While Murren is similar to Wengen, it has a slightly different vibe and feels a little bit more touristy. 

In Murren, there are plenty of restaurants and hotels but one of the most phenomenal things to do in this town is to take the cable cars up to the Schilthorn mountain.

I actually got engaged on this summit and it was fantastic! I wrote about that amazing day here: Proposal in the Swiss Alps.

The views from the Schilthorn Piz Gloria mountain are absolutely incredible.

The interesting thing about the Schilthorn is that it is entirely James Bond themed and “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was filmed there in the late 1960’s! The Bond themed restaurant inside the building actually spins 360° while you eat and is a very cool sight to see in and of itself!

One recommendation is if you are making day trips like this and will be travelling to another city later that day, utilize the 24 hour storage lockers at the local train stations. These lockers made it so much easier to hop from city to city.

When visiting the Schilhorn, be sure to check out Birg!

This is a mid-station on the way back down to Murren and it is home to an awesome Thrill Walk attraction!

I’m talking steel tight ropes and metal tube tunnels. If you’re an adventurous soul, you will absolutely have a BLAST! If you are not a fan of heights, you can have an equally enjoyable time just by enjoying the beautiful mountains!

Thun

The next town that should be on your list to visit is Thun. This charming city has a different vibe than the last two villages mentioned. Thun is more of a bustling city and has a ton to do…including CASTLES!

There is a medieval castle, the Schloss Thun, that you can tour and can actually book a stay at!

One of my favorite things about staying in Thun was a relaxing boat cruise along Lake Thun. Much to our surprise, this was included with the Swiss Travel Pass!

On the boat ride, there was a stop at the Schloss Oberhofen castle! This castle is right along the lake and makes for a stunning sight!

There is yet another castle situated along Lake Thun called the Schadau Castle! This castle was originally built in the 1800’s and is currently under renovation but is expected to open mid-2019. 

I’m telling you, if you are a castle lover…check out Thun!

Grindelwald

Yet another spectacular place to visit is Grindelwald. This village is perfect for adventure seekers! It also is a great place to hike, as the base of the mountain ascends and faces the famous Eiger mountain.

Grindelwald-First has so many cool things to do, such as:

• Flying across the sky in a glider
• Mountain carting 
• Bag jumping
• A cliff walk
• Bike tours
• Hiking 

And if you aren’t a thrill seeker, that is perfectly fine! You can simply enjoy the gorgeous views without any adrenaline pumping at all!

Note: You do need to take a gondola up the mountain to get to First. So if you have a fear of height, your adrenaline still may end up pumping a little bit!

Grindelwald overall is an awesome town to visit if you simply want to hike, see beautiful scenery, or visit the stunning Lake Bachalpsee by making a one hour hike from First!

We opted to do the cliff walk and the mountain cart adventure, which was an absolute blast! Here’s a good view of the cliff walk:

Lucerne

Stopping in the delightful city of Lucerne also should be on your list, especially if you are making your way back to Zurich!

This city has so much to do and many decide to hike Mt. Pilatus (or take the cable cars up the mountain) and see the gorgeous views that the mountain has to offer. There are also numerous museums to visit for those interested in history.

You can also enjoy the beauty of Lake Lucerne, which is an absolute must. If you are staying in Lucerne, the Seehotel Kastanienbaum has fabulous balcony views of the lake.

In the city, be sure to check out Chapel Bridge, which is called the Kapellbrücke. The bridge has a number of interior paintings and was built in 1365.  The bridge is covered in colorful flowers during the warmer seasons, making the Chapel Bridge truly stand out in the middle of the Reuss River.

There are a number of restaurants right next to the Chapel Bridge and I highly recommended stopping at the Des Alpes Hotel Restaurant, as not only is it a beautiful view but the food is absolutely delicious.

Before you make your trip to Switzerland, be sure you have a great camera to take all of your photo. We take our Olympus TG camera on trips like this, as it is a “tough” camera. If we are hiking and accidentally drop it, we don’t have to worry. It also is an underwater camera up to 50 feet, so it has been awesome on the cruises we have gone on.

If you opt to use your cell phone for photos, be sure you have a backup battery charged up and ready to go because you will want to capture every moment!

All in all, Switzerland is a scenic country and no matter where you go, you are sure to enjoy your time there!

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Have you been to any of these places in Switzerland? If so, what did you enjoy most?