Interlaken is the hinge of the Bernese Oberland: a small town pinned between two great lakes and ringed by Switzerland’s most famous peaks, yet reachable from Montreux without changing trains. Its classic day out is short on logistics and long on alpine views — a funicular ride up to a cliff-edge viewpoint over the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, a boat across at least one of its two lakes, and a stroll along the town’s leafy promenade in between.
Short answer: take a direct GoldenPass Express train from Montreux — about three hours, and the scenic route through the Pays-d’Enhaut — or, for speed, change at Bern and arrive in just over two hours. From Interlaken’s stations, walk the Höheweg between the two lakes, ride the Harderbahn funicular up to the 1,322 m Harder Kulm viewpoint, and round out the day with a BLS boat cruise on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun.[1]
The viewpoint: Interlaken’s own home mountain, Harder Kulm, tops out at 1,322 m and has been climbed since 1908 by the Harderbahn funicular — a 10-minute ride on up to a 64% gradient — then out onto the cantilevered Two-Lakes Bridge, opened in 2012. From it you look straight up the Eiger (3,967 m), Mönch (4,107 m) and Jungfrau (4,158 m), down to turquoise Lake Brienz and deep-blue Lake Thun. Source: Jungfrau Railways (jungfrau.ch)[1]
The climb up the Jungfrau range — by the time you leave Interlaken’s lake town, the peaks are dead ahead.
In this guide
Why Interlaken is the gateway to the Bernese Oberland
Interlaken sits on the Bödeli, the flat stretch of ground between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz where the Lütschine river drains the Jungfrau valleys down to the plain. Its position is the whole story: the turquoise lake to the east, the deep-blue lake to the west, and behind them the Eiger north face, Mönch and Jungfrau closing the horizon. That is why the town long ago became the natural gate to the high Alps — the base from which the Jungfrau region is climbed, and the point where hikers and sightseers meet the mountains without needing a car.
For a day trip from Montreux it is almost surprisingly easy. You leave the shore of Lake Geneva, cross the Pays-d’Enhaut or swing down through Bern, and step out in a town that already feels like the mountains — a place that rewards half a day with a whole horizon.
Harder Kulm: the “Top of Interlaken”
Every resort needs a viewpoint it owns, and Interlaken’s is Harder Kulm — 1,322 m of home mountain that lets you “climb” the Alps in ten minutes. The Harderbahn has carried visitors up the slope since 1908, a nostalgic little funicular that wins 735 vertical metres on up to a 64% gradient. At the top, the cantilevered Two-Lakes Bridge (Zwei-Seen-Steg, opened 2012) edges out over the drop: Lake Thun on one side, Lake Brienz on the other, and the whole Eiger–Mönch–Jungfrau trio straight ahead.[1]
Give it the sunset if you can. Through summer the funicular runs into the evening, and the panorama restaurant up top turns the last light over the two lakes into a short, free show — the viewing platform itself is always free, and you only pay for the ride (from about CHF 19 one way, less with a Swiss Travel Pass or Half-Fare Card).[2]
Lakes Brienz and Thun by boat
The Aare flows out of Lake Brienz into Lake Thun, and BLS’s yellow-and-white steamer-and-boat line links the towns along both shorelines, with Interlaken roughly at the middle. The turquoise of Lake Brienz is fed by glacier melt coming straight off the Jungfrau range; Lake Thun’s deeper blue sits against the castle-topped town of Thun and its covered wooden bridge.[4]
A one-day ticket covers both lakes, so you do not have to choose — hop from Brienz towards Interlaken in the morning, transfer at the water, and finish the cruise loop on Lake Thun before the train home (about CHF 83 for a one-day ticket on both lakes in second class, CHF 41.50 with the Half-Fare Card).[3] Lake Thun’s boats run year-round; Lake Brienz’s run from about early April to early December, and a one-way trip from Brienz to Interlaken takes around 1 h 15 — so the crossing itself is the day.
The town and its promenade
Between the two stations, the Höheweg is Interlaken’s spine: a straight, tree-lined promenade whose benches face the peaks, and whose cafés, grand hotels and parks frame the view when the cloud lifts. The Höhematte, the wide open meadow at the town’s heart, keeps the open space that lets paragliders, strollers and the whole Jungfrau panorama share one front lawn.
None of it is a big museum draw. Interlaken’s charm is the everyday mountain town — a wander, a viewpoint and a lake are more than enough, and the town is best treated as the hub it is rather than a day’s purpose in itself.
Getting there from Montreux
By train (recommended). Montreux has two good options. The scenic one is the GoldenPass Express, whose direct trains run from Montreux to Interlaken Ost through the Pays-d’Enhaut and Gstaad in about three hours. The quicker one is an InterCity to Bern with a change, which reaches Interlaken West in just over two hours. Either way no car is needed, and the mountain views start before you arrive.[5]
By car. The motorway route via Bern is the most direct, and Interlaken is well signposted once you reach the Bödeli — but the trains and the lake boats are the more sensible day-trip default, since parking in central Interlaken is limited and the town’s two stations put everything on foot.
Timing. Take the first direct GoldenPass Express, spend late morning to late afternoon on the Bödeli — funicular up, cruise across, promenade down — and be back on Lake Geneva in time for an evening on the waterfront. Because the boats and the funicular have set (and partly summer-only) seasons, check the current timetable before you build the plan.
When to go and where to base yourself
Harder Kulm runs every year from early April to the end of November, and the boats on Lake Brienz from early April to early December — so the sweet spot for the full Interlaken day is late spring, summer and early autumn. In winter the funicular and most cruises close, and the town becomes a bright base for skiers heading up the Jungfrau region instead.[1]
Where to stay. The easiest base for a week on the Swiss Riviera is Montreux itself. Because both the GoldenPass Express and the via-Bern trains leave from Montreux station, you can run the region’s signature high-alpine day — like Jungfraujoch this way — and a lakes-and-viewpoint day in Interlaken without moving hotels. Stay on the Riviera at Montreux or Vevey and let Interlaken be the day trip.
Base yourself in Montreux
RivieraHost manages apartments in Montreux and Clarens, minutes from the lakefront and the station that puts both the GoldenPass Express and the Bern line on your doorstep. Sleep on the Swiss Riviera, ride into the Bernese Oberland for the day, and come back to your own kitchen and balcony.
Check availabilityRelated reading: The GoldenPass Express: the scenic train from Montreux to Interlaken · Jungfraujoch: a day at the Top of Europe · Best places to visit around Montreux & Vevey
10+ years in hospitality. BBA Hospitality (Glion), MSc Tourism (FHGR), MSc Data Science (HSLU).
Frequently asked questions
How do I get from Montreux to Interlaken?
Either a direct GoldenPass Express train from Montreux to Interlaken Ost (about three hours through the Pays-d’Enhaut and Gstaad), or a faster InterCity with one change at Bern that reaches Interlaken West in just over two hours. Both leave from Montreux station, so no car is needed.
What is the best view over Interlaken?
Harder Kulm, Interlaken’s 1,322 m home mountain. A 10-minute ride on the Harderbahn funicular (running since 1908 on up to a 64% gradient) brings you out onto the cantilevered Two-Lakes Bridge, with Lake Brienz, Lake Thun and the Eiger–Mönch–Jungfrau trio in a single panorama; the viewing platform itself is free.
Is Interlaken worth a day trip from Montreux?
Yes. The direct GoldenPass Express makes it a no-change hop in about three hours, and the day splits neatly into a Harder Kulm viewpoint, a boat cruise on Lake Brienz or Lake Thun, and a walk along the Höheweg promenade. Late spring, summer and early autumn are the best window.
When do the Harder Kulm funicular and the lake boats run?
Harder Kulm runs daily from early April to the end of November, with extended evening hours in summer for sunset. Lake Thun boats run year-round, while Lake Brienz cruises run from early April to early December. Check current timetables before you go.
Sources
- Jungfrau Railways (jungfrau.ch), Harder Kulm pages — altitude 1,322 m; the Harderbahn climbing since 1908 over up to a 64% gradient; the Two-Lakes Bridge (Zwei-Seen-Steg) opened 2012; and the 2026 season running 3 April to 29 November — jungfrau.ch/en-gb/harder-kulm
- Jungfrau Railways / operator Harder Kulm fare information — return fares from about CHF 19 one way via the Half-Fare/Swiss Travel Pass tiers; the free viewing platform — jungfrau.ch
- BLS Lake Cruise (bls-schiff.ch) — one-day tickets covering Lake Brienz and Lake Thun (CHF 83 both lakes, CHF 41.50 with the Half-Fare Card); Lake Brienz boats ran early April to early December, Lake Thun year-round — bls-schiff.ch
- BLS Lake Cruise, routes — the Aare flowing from Lake Brienz into Lake Thun and the boat links between Brienz, Interlaken and Thun — bls-schiff.ch
- SBB timetables — GoldenPass Express Montreux–Interlaken Ost via the Pays-d’Enhaut, and InterCity Montreux–Bern–Interlaken West — sbb.ch
Base yourself in Montreux
RivieraHost’s apartments sit steps from the lake — with kitchens, more space and better value than a hotel for families and groups. Every one is right on this guide’s doorstep.