The first stop of our short Switzerland adventure was Interlaken! We were coming from Paris, which was about 5 hours with one connection in Berne. We arrived at the Interlaken West Station and only had a 15-minute walk to our Hostel. We stayed at a hostel called Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof, which I booked through HostelWorld.
This hostel has been one of my favorites that I have ever stayed in for many reasons.
- It is in a beautiful location. They have a patio that faces the mountains and we got to sit out and enjoy our breakfast (which was free) with this great view.
- The employees were SO NICE and very accommodating. They took the time to answer all of our questions (which were a lot) and gave us great suggestions on things to do in the area.
- It truly lived up to the “backpackers safe-haven” they claim to be. It was cheap, had a full kitchen that was accessible to guests, clean bathrooms, lockers for safety, and a free breakfast like I mentioned earlier.
If I ever find myself traveling through Interlaken again (which I know I will) I will DEFINITELY stay here again.
We stayed in Interlaken for 3 days/2 nights. Interlaken is the perfect balance of a small mountain town while being extremely tourist-friendly. There are so many little shops to explore and some great food to eat. So the first day we explored the town, getting all our touristy gifts aka Swiss chocolate. The second day, we focused on getting our time with the mountains. After much deliberation and planning with the lady at the front desk of our hostel, we decided to do the hike from Murren to Gimmelwald.
Our route from Interlaken to Murren:
- Take the train out of Interlaken Ost Station to Lauterbrunnen
- Hop on cable car to Grutschalp
- Take the mountain train to Murren.
This little hike was definitely the highlight of our time in Interlaken. I believe it is only a 45-60 minute hike, but I definitely remember it being longer than that. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure we kept walking once we reached Gimmelwald. The air was fresh and the views were breathtaking, how could you want it to end?
The next day we packed up our stuff and headed to Zurich, which was the final stop of our trip! The train ride was an easy 2 and a half hours of the beautiful Swiss countryside.
In Zurich, we stayed at a hostel called City Backpacker Hotel Biber. The hostel was at a great location in Old Town, which made it a very short walk to a lot of things we wanted to see. Imagine cobblestone streets, tiny alleyways, numerous chocolate shops, and beautiful old architecture. That is Old Town Zurich.
We only had one day in Zurich and we spent that day walking around and taking in the beautiful city. I would definitely love to come back to have more time in Zurich, because I feel like it has so much to offer! So here is my wish list for next time!
- Eat fondue (I should be ashamed we didn’t do it on this trip)
- Take a river cruise on the Limmat River
- Eat at the oldest vegetarian restaurant in the world, Hiltl
- Visit the FraumÜnster Church to see the famous Chagall’s stained glass windows
Switzerland, you are expensive but absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I can’t wait to see you again!