Wengen – A car-free mountain village
Wengen lies in the Bernese Oberland of central Switzerland. Located in the canton of Bern at an elevation of 1,274 m (4,180 ft) above sea level, it is part of the Jungfrau region and has approximately 1,300 year-round residents, which swells to 5,000 during summer and to 10,000 in the winter.
Wengen is one of the picturesque villages you may have in mind when you try to picture what the Swiss Alps look like: no cars, mountains all around, green meadows and forests surrounding the village.
Not surprisingly, the area is well known for famous sports events like the Lauberhorn ski races and the Jungfrau-Marathon. In winter, Wengen is the ideal starting point for the family-friendly ski region of Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen with 110 km of predominantly easy to medium-difficulty pistes, and the renowned World Cup piste on the Lauberhorn as its crowning glory. The first ski races were held in the early 1920s with the British downhill championship held in 1921; the following year a ski race was held between Oxford and Cambridge.
The village offers panoramic views of the Lauterbrunnen valley, and mountains like the Jungfrau, Breithorn and Schilthorn. Nature is overwhelming here. Wengen has three churches; Protestant English and Swiss and Roman Catholic.
Facts about Wengen
- Location: in the Alps
- Region: Jungfrau region(Bernese Oberland)
- Wengen can be reached by train
- Popular attractions: Jungfraujoch -Top of Europe, Golden Pass line, Schilthorn
- Town size: village
- Wengen is car-free
- Wengen is a winter sports resort
- Elevation: 1268 m (4160 ft)
- Travel time from Zurich: 2h50 by train, 2h30 by car
Ideas during bad weather
Staying in Wengen means you are dependent on the weather as nearly all activities are in the outdoors. Some ideas for rainy days:
- Visit Interlakenfor some shopping;
- The national capital Bern;
- The town of Thun;
- The Trümmelbach Falls down in the Lauterbrunnen valley (they’re in caves).
How to travel
- By train
Via Bern or Lucerne to Interlaken-Ost. Change to the Bernese Oberland Railway to Lauterbrunnen. Change to the Wengernalp Railway to Wengen. - By car (Wengen is car-free)
Via Bern or Lucerne to Interlaken. Or from the south via the Grimsel Pass (summer only) or the Simplon Pass and the Lötschberg car-transport train to Interlaken. Then follow the signs to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen. Parking is available in the car park at the railway station. With the Wengernalp Railway to Wengen. Wengen is car-free.
Location: Lauterbrunnen
May 12
8:00 am
7.57 °C
May 12
11:00 am
9.11 °C
May 12
2:00 pm
11.51 °C
May 12
5:00 pm
11.42 °C
Address
3823 Lauterbrunnen
Switzerland
Tickets
Swiss travel pass
Duration
2.30 hours
Location: Lauterbrunnen
2:00 am
May 13
7.43 °C 94 % 1016 hPa 1.95 m/s 148 deg
overcast clouds
5:00 am
May 13
6.92 °C 87 % 1016 hPa 1.3 m/s 147 deg
overcast clouds
8:00 am
May 13
9.22 °C 88 % 1016 hPa 0.17 m/s 90 deg
overcast clouds
11:00 am
May 13
11.33 °C 96 % 1016 hPa 0.87 m/s 339 deg
light rain
2:00 pm
May 13
11.69 °C 98 % 1015 hPa 1.35 m/s 358 deg
light rain
5:00 pm
May 13
11.16 °C 100 % 1015 hPa 1.57 m/s 9 deg
light rain
8:00 pm
May 13
10.04 °C 99 % 1017 hPa 0.69 m/s 38 deg
moderate rain
11:00 pm
May 13
8.85 °C 98 % 1018 hPa 1.24 m/s 137 deg
light rain
2:00 am
May 14
7.73 °C 92 % 1018 hPa 1.47 m/s 146 deg
overcast clouds
5:00 am
May 14
6.82 °C 60 % 1017 hPa 0.81 m/s 72 deg
broken clouds
8:00 am
May 14
9.45 °C 58 % 1016 hPa 0.66 m/s 25 deg
broken clouds
11:00 am
May 14
12.35 °C 69 % 1014 hPa 0.98 m/s 360 deg
broken clouds
2:00 pm
May 14
11.96 °C 84 % 1013 hPa 2.08 m/s 358 deg
light rain
5:00 pm
May 14
11.53 °C 98 % 1013 hPa 1.73 m/s 358 deg
light rain
8:00 pm
May 14
10.72 °C 93 % 1012 hPa 1.78 m/s 9 deg
light rain
11:00 pm
May 14
8.48 °C 81 % 1014 hPa 0.87 m/s 45 deg
light rain
2:00 am
May 15
8.54 °C 81 % 1012 hPa 0.81 m/s 21 deg
broken clouds
5:00 am
May 15
8.35 °C 88 % 1010 hPa 1.66 m/s 17 deg
overcast clouds
8:00 am
May 15
9.16 °C 90 % 1010 hPa 1.77 m/s 359 deg
overcast clouds
11:00 am
May 15
11.01 °C 95 % 1007 hPa 2.32 m/s 6 deg
light rain
2:00 pm
May 15
12.36 °C 97 % 1005 hPa 2.56 m/s 358 deg
light rain
5:00 pm
May 15
12.07 °C 100 % 1003 hPa 2.73 m/s 2 deg
light rain
8:00 pm
May 15
10.69 °C 98 % 1002 hPa 2.46 m/s 357 deg
light rain
11:00 pm
May 15
9.76 °C 100 % 1003 hPa 2.04 m/s 0 deg
light rain
2:00 am
May 16
9.46 °C 100 % 1001 hPa 2.45 m/s 359 deg
light rain
5:00 am
May 16
9.01 °C 100 % 1000 hPa 2.71 m/s 346 deg
light rain
8:00 am
May 16
8.87 °C 100 % 1000 hPa 2.4 m/s 344 deg
moderate rain
11:00 am
May 16
8.8 °C 100 % 1001 hPa 2.07 m/s 351 deg
light rain
2:00 pm
May 16
9.04 °C 100 % 1002 hPa 1.8 m/s 336 deg
moderate rain
5:00 pm
May 16
8.97 °C 100 % 1003 hPa 1.66 m/s 327 deg
light rain
8:00 pm
May 16
8.38 °C 100 % 1005 hPa 1.54 m/s 337 deg
light rain
11:00 pm
May 16
8.04 °C 100 % 1007 hPa 1.14 m/s 337 deg
light rain
2:00 am
May 17
7.85 °C 100 % 1008 hPa 1.26 m/s 334 deg
light rain
5:00 am
May 17
7.78 °C 100 % 1009 hPa 0.8 m/s 335 deg
light rain