Interlaken Interlaken Travel Guide: Best Hotels, Restaurants & Experiences

Positioned on the narrow strip of land between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, this Victorian-era resort town developed as a staging post for British mountaineers drawn to the Jungfrau massif. The Höheweg promenade remains the town's central artery, lined with grand hotels built during the Belle Époque when Thomas Cook first brought package tourists to the Bernese Oberland. Today the town functions as a gateway to the high Alps, with the Jungfraubahn departing from nearby Grindelwald.

The dining scene divides between hotel restaurants serving refined Alpine cuisine and village establishments in Unterseen, the medieval quarter across the Aare river where half-timbered houses cluster around a 17th-century church. Local menus lean heavily on Oberland traditions: Rösti, cheese fondue, and dried beef from the Valais. The café culture centers on the Höheweg, where terrace seating offers unobstructed views toward the Eiger's north face.