Calendar/December/Itinerary

December · Season Opens

How to spend 2 to 5 nights in Lauterbrunnen in December

The lifts spin up, the upper slopes open and the valley lights up for Advent, festive magic before the holiday-week prices arrive.

Four ready-made plans for the valley, built around what is actually open and worth doing this month. Everything below is reachable from Lauterbrunnen by train, cable car and postbus, so none of it needs a car. Lift and restaurant opening dates move with the snow and the season, so confirm anything critical before you travel.

2 nights in December

  1. Day 1

    Arrive and walk the valley floor

    Come in by train to Lauterbrunnen, drop the bags and walk out to the Staubbach Falls behind the village. In deep winter the spray freezes and the cliff turns to ice. The valley floor path is flat, lit in the village and free, which makes it the right first afternoon when the light is already going.

    How to get here by train →
  2. Day 2

    Best piste: Early-season Kleine Scheidegg

    First-tracks cruising on freshly opened pistes with the whole massif to yourself, early December is the season's quiet sweet spot.

    Everything else on in December → Official source →
  3. Day 3

    Up to Mürren and the Schilthorn

    The cable car lifts you out of the village to Grütschalp, then the ridge train runs to car-free Mürren. Above it sits the steepest terrain in the region and the Schilthorn at 2,970 m. Even without skis the ride up and the view from Piz Gloria are the point.

    Mürren or Wengen, which side to pick →

3 nights in December

  1. Day 1

    Arrive and walk the valley floor

    Come in by train to Lauterbrunnen, drop the bags and walk out to the Staubbach Falls behind the village. In deep winter the spray freezes and the cliff turns to ice. The valley floor path is flat, lit in the village and free, which makes it the right first afternoon when the light is already going.

    How to get here by train →
  2. Day 2

    Best piste: Early-season Kleine Scheidegg

    First-tracks cruising on freshly opened pistes with the whole massif to yourself, early December is the season's quiet sweet spot.

    Everything else on in December → Official source →
  3. Day 3

    Up to Mürren and the Schilthorn

    The cable car lifts you out of the village to Grütschalp, then the ridge train runs to car-free Mürren. Above it sits the steepest terrain in the region and the Schilthorn at 2,970 m. Even without skis the ride up and the view from Piz Gloria are the point.

    Mürren or Wengen, which side to pick →
  4. Day 4

    Advent in a car-free village

    Wengen and Mürren at Christmas, Advent lights and not a car in sight.

    December in full →

4 nights in December

  1. Day 1

    Arrive and walk the valley floor

    Come in by train to Lauterbrunnen, drop the bags and walk out to the Staubbach Falls behind the village. In deep winter the spray freezes and the cliff turns to ice. The valley floor path is flat, lit in the village and free, which makes it the right first afternoon when the light is already going.

    How to get here by train →
  2. Day 2

    Best piste: Early-season Kleine Scheidegg

    First-tracks cruising on freshly opened pistes with the whole massif to yourself, early December is the season's quiet sweet spot.

    Everything else on in December → Official source →
  3. Day 3

    Up to Mürren and the Schilthorn

    The cable car lifts you out of the village to Grütschalp, then the ridge train runs to car-free Mürren. Above it sits the steepest terrain in the region and the Schilthorn at 2,970 m. Even without skis the ride up and the view from Piz Gloria are the point.

    Mürren or Wengen, which side to pick →
  4. Day 4

    The Wengen side, and as high as you want to go

    A cog railway climbs from Lauterbrunnen to car-free Wengen and on to Kleine Scheidegg under the Eiger north face, the heart of the Jungfrau ski region. Non-skiers can ride up for the view and the winter walking paths.

    Is the Jungfraujoch worth it? →
  5. Day 5

    Advent in a car-free village

    Wengen and Mürren at Christmas, Advent lights and not a car in sight.

    December in full →

5 nights in December

  1. Day 1

    Arrive and walk the valley floor

    Come in by train to Lauterbrunnen, drop the bags and walk out to the Staubbach Falls behind the village. In deep winter the spray freezes and the cliff turns to ice. The valley floor path is flat, lit in the village and free, which makes it the right first afternoon when the light is already going.

    How to get here by train →
  2. Day 2

    Best piste: Early-season Kleine Scheidegg

    First-tracks cruising on freshly opened pistes with the whole massif to yourself, early December is the season's quiet sweet spot.

    Everything else on in December → Official source →
  3. Day 3

    Up to Mürren and the Schilthorn

    The cable car lifts you out of the village to Grütschalp, then the ridge train runs to car-free Mürren. Above it sits the steepest terrain in the region and the Schilthorn at 2,970 m. Even without skis the ride up and the view from Piz Gloria are the point.

    Mürren or Wengen, which side to pick →
  4. Day 4

    The Wengen side, and as high as you want to go

    A cog railway climbs from Lauterbrunnen to car-free Wengen and on to Kleine Scheidegg under the Eiger north face, the heart of the Jungfrau ski region. Non-skiers can ride up for the view and the winter walking paths.

    Is the Jungfraujoch worth it? →
  5. Day 5

    Over to Grindelwald

    Half an hour by train puts you in the next valley. Grindelwald First and Männlichen sit on this side, and the Männlichen link brings you back over to Wengen, so you can loop rather than retrace.

    Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald? →
  6. Day 6

    Advent in a car-free village

    Wengen and Mürren at Christmas, Advent lights and not a car in sight.

    December in full →
If your dates line up: Wengen mulled-wine festival & Interlaken New Year

Dec 2026 / 31 Dec–2 Jan · Advent Glühwein festivals at the foot of the Eiger, then Interlaken's three-day 'Longest New Year's Eve' with concerts and the masked Harder-Potschete on 2 Jan. Official source →

Swap for a bad day: Sherlock Holmes Museum, Meiringen

When snow blows in hard, the Sherlock Holmes Museum down the line in Meiringen, near the Reichenbach Falls of the stories, is a quirky, cosy indoor hour. Official source →

Working out the cheapest way to move

Most of these days involve a lift or two. The pass calculator compares the Jungfrau Travel Pass, the Berner Oberland Pass, the Swiss Travel Pass and plain tickets for the exact days you are planning, and tells you honestly when no pass is worth it. Open the pass calculator →

The same plan, a different month

Where to base yourself in December

Every plan above starts and ends on the valley floor, a short walk from Lauterbrunnen station and the trailheads.

4:3, 1200×900The Apartment, your hot tub + waterfall photo
The Apartment
2 guests · the premium option
The premium choice and the only one with its own private wood-fired hot tub, closest to the falls with a side terrace. A Top 1% home on Airbnb.
Private hot tubWaterfall viewTop 1% on Airbnb
View on Airbnb →
4:3, 1200×900The Studio
The Studio
Full kitchen · best for longer stays
The best pick for longer stays, with a full kitchen for self-catering, in the same prime valley-floor spot.
Full kitchenLonger staysValley-floor address
View on Airbnb →
4:3, 1200×900The Nest
The Nest
Cosy · the budget option
The smallest and cosiest of the three, not much bigger than a hotel room but with a great terrace. The budget way into a prime valley-floor location, ideal for short stays.
Great terraceBudget optionPrime location
View on Airbnb →