Mürren

Mürren sits at 1,638 m on a shelf above the Lauterbrunnen valley, with the wall of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau directly opposite. It has about 450 permanent residents, no through road, and no cars at all.

It is the quieter of the two shelf villages — Wengen faces it across the valley — and it has the better view, because from here the three peaks stand in a row rather than at an angle.

Getting there

There is no road. Two routes, and doing one each way is the sensible plan:

Cable car and railway from Lauterbrunnen — up to Grütschalp, then a small mountain railway that runs along the shelf for ten minutes with the Jungfrau in the window the whole way. This is the better arrival.

Cable car from Stechelberg — at the far end of the valley, up via Gimmelwald. Steeper, faster, and the route that continues to the Schilthorn.

Cars stay in the valley: park at Lauterbrunnen or Stechelberg. Luggage can be sent ahead — see getting around.

Schilthorn and Piz Gloria

The cable car continues from Mürren to the Schilthorn at 2,970 m, where the revolving restaurant Piz Gloria was the villain’s headquarters in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969.

The producers paid for the restaurant to be finished in exchange for filming there, which is why a mountain in the Bernese Oberland has a Bond exhibition in it. The Bond World display is free with the ticket and is done with a reasonably straight face.

The view is the real thing regardless: the three peaks opposite, and on a clear day as far as the Black Forest and Mont Blanc.

Walking

The North Face Trail is the one to do: about two hours from Mürren along the shelf, level enough for anyone, with the Eiger’s north wall in front of you the entire way and information boards about the climbers who died on it.

Mürren to Gimmelwald is half an hour downhill to an even smaller village that has become quietly famous among American backpackers.

The Via Ferrata from Mürren to Gimmelwald is a cabled route along the cliff face, including a rope bridge and a zip line — for people with a head for heights and the right kit, which can be hired.

Skiing

Mürren’s ski area is small and steep, and it holds the Inferno, the largest amateur ski race in the world: about 1,800 competitors descend roughly 2,000 vertical metres from the Schilthorn to Lauterbrunnen, on a course some 14 km long. It has run since 1928 and was invented by the British, who also invented slalom racing here.

Practical

• Mürren is expensive and small. Book accommodation well ahead in both seasons.
• The last cable car down is early, and there is no alternative. Check it the moment you arrive.
• Regional passes — the Jungfrau and Berner Oberland passes cover the lifts here properly, which a national pass does not; see tickets and passes.

When to go

June to September for walking — the shelf is clear of snow well before the higher routes. December to April for skiing.

Late spring and November are shoulder months when many lifts and hotels shut. As everywhere in these mountains, go up on a clear day; see which mountain to go up.