The best route is to get the early train (it’s also half price) at Brienz and then work your way to Harder-Kulm Station and make sure you catch the last train down. And in the resort there’s a mountain of things to do like steamboat trips to waterfalls, hikes, kayaking, swimming, canyoning and even paragliding, all in front an awe-inspiring backdrop.Interlaken’s own mountain can be ascended in little more than ten minutes via a funicular.In that short space of time you’ll climb more than 730 metres in a car with large windows showing the full beauty of the mountainous landscapes.At the upper station, at an elevation of 1322 metres an exhilarating scene will be laid out before you, from Lake Brienz and Lake Thun far below to the nearby Emmental Alps and the sky-scraping Bernese Alps like Eiger and Jungrau in the distance.The viewing platform projects over the slope and has a glass floor, and there’s also a panoramic restaurant up here in a Romantic medieval style.Wilderswil on the southern fringe of Interlaken is the northern terminus for a 115-year-old rack railway that winds into the Bernese Alps.Despite its age the Schynige Platte Railway is still one of the highest lines in Switzerland, and needless to say the vistas of peaks and mountain pasture are breathtaking.The end goal is Schynige Platte, a ridge at 2,000 metres on the Schwarzhorn mountain.There are ample reasons to make the trip: To come to look down on Interlaken, which seems tiny from up here, and to view mountains like Schreckhorn, the northernmost European peak over 4,000 metres.There’s also an Alpine garden, with 650 flowering plants, another panoramic restaurant, and the ridge is the trailhead for short and long hikes to see more of Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch.Lake Brienz to the east of Interlaken has a turquoise tone and mountain views.Steamboats have been chugging across this lake since the 1830s and there’s now a small armada of five vessels from the first decades of the 20th century.These set off for destinations around the lake, like Giessbach, site of the castle-like Grand Hotel Giessbach and a waterfall that plunges 500 metres to the lake.The hotel is served by a funicular that goes back to 1879.

This one requires a train and a bus from Interlaken but I made it all work as an Interlaken day-trip.The hike begins by taking you through a canyon and a number of waterfalls before you begin the T4 route up the rocky slopes. Good luck with the journey.There’s one activity in Interlaken that seems to be a popular attraction with the younger tourists and that is paragliding. It’s basically like a bungee jump but you are upright and there is no whiplash. Interlaken (German pronunciation: [ˈɪntərlakn̩]; lit. Keep your eyes out for some secluded beaches along the way.The tour is a 3-hour itinerary with two hours out on the water in total.

If there are any things to do in Interlaken you think I need to check out on my next visit, please comment them below!I spent 100 days hiking in Switzerland and created a guide for different regions around the country.

The Niederhorn is a popular summit with lots of action at the time, highlighted by incredible views of Lake Thun, which is very close to Interlaken. I was lucky enough to be in Interlaken during the first snowfall so I actually experienced places like Schynige Platte when the mountains were green and then a month later when they were covered in snow. From that point, you are always clipped in with at least one clip.The total hike distance was 5km from the start of the Eiger Trail and up to the summit and then back down to Eigergletscher Station.