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The Lauterbrunnen Valley: regional geographic centerpiece of the Bernese Alps Switzerland — the Heart of Switzerland, and part of the Bernese Oberland World Heritage Site.

Photo looking south up the Lauterbrunnen Valley to the wall of north faces of the Bernese Alps copyright Home At First.

Home At First’s Bernese Oberland Region of Switzerland (the “Highlands of Bern”) is a mountainous region just west of the geographic center of Switzerland. The region is bordered on the south by an impressive range of vertical mountain walls fronting famous climbing peaks including Eiger, Mönch, Jungfrau, and Blüemlisalp. This line of glaciated high peaks with forbidding north faces comprise the Jungfrau-Aletsch World Heritage Site, a UNESCO-designated landscape of awe-inspiring natural beauty: the formidable 4,000-meter-high Bernese Alps.

Home At First’s Swiss Mountain Home Lodgings in The Bernese Oberland are set in two “chocolate box” villages surrounded by snowcapped Alps:
• KANDERSTEG: Easy-walking flat village surrounded on 3 sides by imposing Alps. Its train service makes it an ideal base for touring far & wide, but Kandersteg’s stunning setting encourages you to settle in.
• MÜRREN — Car-free alpine village set on a shelf with unmatched views of the great North Faces of the Bernese Alps. Mürren’s amazing location provides jaw-dropping views & tranquility.

THE BERNESE ALPS ARE CHEESE ALPS. THESE MIGHTY HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC — COWBELLS.

Swiss Cheese —  The mountains of the Bernese Oberland are cheese alps. Their grassy slopes are the prime meadows for grazing Braun Swiss and Simmental cows that famously roam the heights, filling the valleys with the cacophony of their large bells, and producing fat-rich milk that alpine farmers transform into richly-flavored cheese: alpine alchemy.

  The cheese, potatoes, pork, veal, beef, and vegetables of many small alpine farms make up the staple cuisine of the Bernese Oberland and the hearty, delicious fare found on restaurant menus through the region. Cheese is made throughout alpine Switzerland. Here in the Bernese Alps the local mountain cheese can be purchased in local dairy stores and groceries. Visitors also enjoy buying fresh mountain cheese at the source when hiking past alpine dairy farms.

home at first alpine village in the heart of switzerland — the bernese oberland

MÜRREN

Mürren — perched high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley with dramatic alpine views — is accessible only by cablecar.

• MÜRREN — Not far southwest of the geographic center of Switzerland, mile-high (5,413′), chocolate box Mürren is reachable only by aerial cablecars. A car-free village of alpine chalets on an alpine shelf a vertical half-mile above the valley floor below, Mürren offers fantastic views of the surrounding peaks and glaciers and features superb walking and hiking possibilities.

  Mürren is ideal for those looking for the romantic Switzerland of Heidi. Despite Mürren’s remote eagle’s nest setting, the village makes a fine base for exploring the Bernese Oberland and its alpine core, the Jungfrau Region.

  Mürren’s popularity as a day-trip destination has much to do with its location along the cablecar route to the 9,742′ high summit of the Schilthorn. With its tourist-magnet revolving restaurant, Piz Gloria, and associations with James Bond and extreme downhill skiing, the Schilthorn ranks with Switzerland’s most popular attractions.

  Mürren can be very busy during the ski season and during the high summer (July-August). But even at these times the village — lacking major hotels, bars, & shopping centers — quiets again at dusk. Mürren’s town grocery and dozen or so small restaurants — all owned and operated by local families — are sufficient to handle its busiest times graciously.

  Active guests choose from hiking, climbing, mountain-biking, or chancing Mürren’s unique via ferrata. Less active guests find Mürren ideal for taking a spa, strolling the traffic-free village streets, or nursing a coffee, a beer, or a glass of wine  and enjoying a meal at any of several cafés in the village or along its alpine trails.

  Regardless of the pace of your visit, Mürren promises exceptional beauty and revitalizing peace.

home at first alpine village in the heart of switzerland — the bernese oberland

KANDERSTEG

Kandersteg — an important stop on the Lötschberg Railway Line —
offers hourly express trains between northern Switzerland & Italy.

• KANDERSTEG — Deep in the Bernese Alps near the western end of the Bernese Oberland, Kandersteg village sits on a high (3,852′), flat plain at the southern end of a “hanging valley” carved by Ice Age glaciers.

  Surrounded on three sides by snow-capped peaks, Kandersteg is the end of the line for auto traffic driving south from the Swiss capital of Bern. But the village’s setting is greatly enhanced by its placement on a major railway that connects Germany to the north with Italy to the south.

  Hourly modern trains provide passenger service to destinations on both sides of the Alps and throughout much of Switzerland, making Kandersteg Home At First‘s top lodging location as a base for exploring Switzerland.

  But Kandersteg is no mere base camp for day-trips throughout Switzerland. Visitors enjoy exploring Kandersteg’s dramatic alpine setting, framed on three sides by 10,000′ high peaks. Guests soon learn that Kandersteg is blessed with some of the finest grazing alps (and best mountain cheese!) in the Bernese Oberland. And they discover that just outside of the village is one of Switzerland’s most stunning alpine lakes, Oeschinensee, and one of its most extraordinary, hidden, natural glacial side valleys, the Gasterntal.

  Kandersteg offers excellent walking, hiking, climbing, exploring, and cheese-tasting. The village features a wide range of restaurants, plus two just-large-enough groceries. A sports center, a via ferrata, and, wonderfully, one of the region’s finest cheese shops reward visitors in significant ways. These attractions combine with excellent rail service to other parts of Switzerland (and into Northern Italy) make Kandersteg the ideal alpine destination for independent travelers looking to see the most and the best of Switzerland.