We stayed in Lauterbrunnen when we were in Jungfrau. The weather was not that great and we only had that one day to visit Schilthorn (and it was in the PM), but since Schilthorn is free with the Swiss Travel Pass up to end of this year, I thought – might as well…
Getting There
From Lauterbrunnen we took the 141 bus to Stechelberg cable car – about 20 minutes from the village. After that, it’s a series of cable car up to Schilthorn. It takes about an hour or so from Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn. If you’re coming from Interlaken, that means you need to add another 30 mins.
An alternative route is take the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp. And then the train from Grutschalp to Murren, and from Murren the cable car to Birg and then Schilthorn. You could do one leg of the journey via Stechelberg and the other via Grutschalp so that you get to see different mountain views going up vs coming down.
If you are travelling between Apr and Nov, I recommend going at least one way via Stechelberg – you can make a stop at Trummelbach Falls, the biggest subterranean waterfalls in Europe.
Thrill Walk at Birg
When you arrive at Birg (last cable car stop before Schilthorn), make sure you do a quick stop and check out the Skyline Walk and the Thrill Walk.
If you’re not afraid of heights – then make sure you do the Thrill Walk – a 200m long steel and glass bridge that clings to side of the rock at Schilthorn!
What To Do At Schilthorn
Skyline View Platform
It was a cloudy day, and we were there around noon. We were fortunate that we were able to get some nice photo shots before everything just turned grey completely. I can imagine if the sky was totally clear – how even more gorgeous the views will be.
Restaurant
360°-Restaurant Piz Gloria
We got here during lunch time – so we were really, really hungry. We decided to have lunch at Restaurant Piz Gloria. It was not the cheapest option but they had halal food and fish option. (Went for something cheap for dinner later on to balance the wallet a bit!) The food was good – and the hot chocolate according to my daughter was the best she had throughout our trip.
Now this is what I would call ‘Lunch with a View’ , fortunately on and off we got clear skies. Its a revolving restaurant, so you get a 360 degrees gorgeous view as you eat. The service was fast and our server was really friendly. One hour well spent!
Fun facts:
- The Piz Gloria restaurant is said to be the first revolving mountain restaurant in the world!
- The name Piz Gloria is inpired by James Bond’s ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ (1963) which was partly shot here.
- The James Bond production partially funded the construction of the restaurant in exchange for exclusive use of the location/building for filming. Which was just as well since the owner was in financial difficulty half way through the construction.
Skyline Take Away
If you want something quick and simple, you can also get drinks, some snacks, hot cup noodle perhaps at the Skyline Take Away cafe.
Bond World
007 Walk of Fame
Beautiful views all around – see below – this is also where The 007 Walk of Fame is located where you can see the details, hand impressions etc of cast and crew members of ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’.
Recommended
An excursion to Schilthorn is really worth it – but make sure you go there when there is good weather. You probably need 3 hours at the top at Schilthorn and maybe another hour at Birg.
Also, what I notice with all the mountain trips, early morning is the best as there is less people. When we went back down, the cable cars were packed. That was not fun. But overall – if we ignored the last bit on the cable cars, it was an excellent trip! Happy that we made the journey!
Click here for Schilthorn website.
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