Grindelwald

From the Cliff Walk exit, follow the wooden 'Bachalpsee' signs westward — an easy-graded dirt track climbing gently through alpine meadows with marmots whistling from the boulders, 3 km each way. The payoff is a pair of glacier-fed lakes in a natural hollow: in still morning air, the Schreckhorn and Finsteraarhorn stand inverted on the water surface — the single most photographed reflection in the Bernese Oberland. The reward comes from walking all the way around to the far side.

Tip: Wind picks up reliably after 11:00 — glass-still reflections are only possible before 10:30, so do not linger on the cliff walk. Skip the obvious viewpoint right at the first lake where everyone clusters; walk another 400 m to the far end of the second, smaller lake — the foreground stones here frame the 4000-metre peaks cleanly, and no one else bothers to go this far.

Return along the same trail — now the Fiescherhorn glares down on your right shoulder the whole way back. Berggasthaus First sits directly above the gondola platform with a south-facing sundeck framing the entire Grindelwald valley: order the Alpine Rösti (shredded potato, bacon, fried egg, melted raclette — 24 CHF) or a bowl of Gerstensuppe (Grisons barley soup with air-dried beef, 14 CHF). Ten minutes later you're back on the gondola — this is strategic refuelling with a view, not a leisurely meal.

Tip: Skip the indoor sit-down restaurant and go straight to the self-service counter on the outdoor deck — you eat with the full Eiger panorama and cut 30 minutes off the stop. Arrive before 12:15; by 12:45 the Bachalpsee hikers all return at once and every bench fills.

Take the Firstbahn back down to the village (25 min), then walk 12 minutes west along Dorfstrasse to Grindelwald Terminal and board the Männlichen gondola — the longest continuous-cable gondola in the world, 30 minutes climbing a green ridge to 2225 m. From the top station, the signed Royal Walk path climbs a further 20 minutes to the crown-shaped summit of Männlichen (2343 m), where you stand squarely opposite the Eiger-Mönch-Jungfrau trio. This is the cleanest single vantage of the three giants in the entire Jungfrau region — the moment that imprints on memory.

Tip: At the summit platform, walk around to the north side (the back) — 90% of visitors stop at the Swiss-flag photo spot facing south and miss the view of Interlaken with both Thun and Brienz lakes stretched beneath you. Mid-afternoon side-light makes it the best photograph of the day.

Descend back past the Männlichen cable-car station and pick up the signed Panoramaweg to Kleine Scheidegg — 4.5 km, almost entirely level, with the Eiger's north wall filling the entire right-hand horizon the whole way. By mid-afternoon the sun sits directly over your left shoulder, lighting the notoriously shadowed north face in golden side-light — these are the only hours of the day when this wall photographs well. End at Kleine Scheidegg saddle (2061 m), historic launching point of every Eiger north face expedition since the first ascent in 1938.

Tip: On clear afternoons you can see tiny dots working the upper third of the Eiger wall — climbers mid-ascent. Bring a zoom lens or small binoculars; this is the detail most day-trippers walk past without noticing. Do not linger past 17:30 — the last reliable cog-train back to Grindelwald leaves Kleine Scheidegg around 18:05.

Ride the Wengernalpbahn cog-train from Kleine Scheidegg back down to Grindelwald Grund (35 min) — the descent through meadows with the Eiger glowing in alpenglow behind the carriage is postcard material in itself. Walk 8 minutes up Dorfstrasse to Onkel Tom's Hütte, a dimly lit wooden pizzeria crammed with locals, empty wine bottles lining every beam of the low ceiling. Order the Flammkuchen (thin Alsatian tart with crème fraîche, speck and onion — 21 CHF) paired with a glass of Swiss Chasselas from Valais (8 CHF) — this is exactly how Grindelwald eats on a Friday night.

Tip: Reserve by phone at least two days ahead — walk-ins routinely wait 75+ minutes on summer weekends. Ask for a wooden bench at the back facing the open wood-fired oven; the front terrace is nicer for views but the fire-lit interior atmosphere is the whole point. Pitfall warning: the cluster of bright restaurants directly opposite the Firstbahn station along Dorfstrasse are tour-group traps — CHF 38 pastas, microwaved rösti, group menus in five languages. Skip all of them without exception; every local eats east of the church.

Descend the Jungfraubahn to Kleine Scheidegg — the restaurant is literally on the station platform, impossible to miss. This 130-year-old railway inn at 2,061 m served as base camp for the golden era of Eiger climbing; the walls carry signed photos of the north-face pioneers, and the terrace looks straight at the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau trio. Order the Älplermagronen (alpine macaroni with potato, onion, Gruyère, served with apple sauce, CHF 24) or the Rösti mit Bergkäse und Spiegelei (rösti with mountain cheese and a fried egg, CHF 22). A glass of Fendant white wine from the Valais valley (CHF 8.50) is the correct pairing.

Tip: Ignore the crowded ground-floor hall where tour groups are herded. Climb the wooden staircase to the upstairs terrace — same menu, a third of the noise, and a full-wall view of the Eiger. Walk-ins are fine if you arrive by 12:45; after 13:15 the terrace fills.

From Kleine Scheidegg, hop one stop back up the Jungfraubahn to Eigergletscher station (5 minutes) and pick up the signposted Eigertrail at the east exit. This 6 km downhill path runs along the very foot of the Eiger north face — a 1,800 m vertical wall rising to your left, close enough that you occasionally hear rocks tumbling from the routes above. The afternoon sun between 15:00 and 17:00 angles across the limestone, pulling out the seams and bands that the climbing lines follow. The trail descends through alpine pasture and larch forest to Alpiglen station, where the train returns to Grindelwald every 30 minutes.

Tip: Wear trail shoes with real grip — two sections have loose scree where smooth-soled sneakers slide. Pause at the small stone memorial around kilometre 2.5, dedicated to the 1936 Sedlmayer-Mehringer party lost on the face. Carry 1 L of water: there is zero refill between the two stations, and the sun exposure is fierce above treeline.

From Grindelwald station, walk 6 minutes up Dorfstrasse past the painted wooden chalets until the road bends left and climbs slightly — the small whitewashed church with its steep shingle roof sits on the rise. Step inside for the austere late-Gothic nave, then circle round to the churchyard at the back, where the gravestones of mountain guides lost on the Eiger are carved with their rope partners alongside them. The bell rings the traditional alpine evening chime at 18:00.

Tip: Stand at the back-left corner of the churchyard for the signature Grindelwald postcard frame: the church tower foreground with the Wetterhorn directly behind, and no cables or wires in the shot. The light is perfect between 18:00 and 19:00 in summer when the last sun hits the Wetterhorn's summit face. Most travelers miss this angle and shoot from the street side, where power lines cross the frame.

Walk back down Dorfstrasse from the church at golden hour — the wooden facades glow warm against the darkening Wetterhorn, and cow bells drift up from the pastures below the village. Cut left opposite the Co-op onto the Lütschine riverside path for a 300 m gravel walk beside the milky-green glacial river. The Lütschine carries the outflow of the Lower Grindelwald glacier; the colour comes from suspended rock flour ground by the ice upstream.

Tip: The Co-op supermarket on Dorfstrasse carries Swiss mountain cheese and Fendant wine at about a third of restaurant prices — stock a wedge of Gruyère and a half-bottle for tomorrow's Bachalpsee picnic stop. The riverside path continues another 2 km toward Burglauenen if you want to extend the walk before dinner.

From the river path, walk 3 minutes back up to Dorfstrasse; Onkel Tom's is a small wooden chalet with a steep shingle roof tucked just off the main road. A Grindelwald institution since the 1970s, the tiny 30-seat pizzeria holds one of Switzerland's most obsessive wine cellars — over 4,500 bottles on a dedicated book-sized list. The wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas cook in 90 seconds. Order the 'Capricciosa' (ham, artichoke, mushroom, CHF 28) or the 'Alpfeuer' with local mountain sausage and Gruyère (CHF 32).

Tip: Reserve at least 24 hours ahead — the dining room fills every night in season. Ask the host for 'Tom's selection' wine pairing (around CHF 45) — unmarked bottles hand-picked from the cellar rather than the printed list. Warning: skip the 'Swiss dinner show' venues advertised with flyers along Dorfstrasse — they serve pre-plated factory fondue for CHF 45 a head with a yodeler on loop; Onkel Tom's is both cheaper and the actual local favourite.