Spend the day exploring Schilthorn, a high mountain destination that offers an unobstructed view of this part of the Alpine range. Your cable car ride begins from one of the resort villages below and allows you to take in the cascading layers of mountains that spill out to the east, including the Jungfrau massif with its triple peak. At the base of the mountains is the lush Lauterbrunnen Valley, also known as the Valley of the 72 Waterfalls.
At the top, you can roam the observation platform for 360-degree views, and in the warmer months, set off on hiking trails. You can also eat at the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant, which featured in the 1969 James Bond movie, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The site takes advantage of its association with the superspy with an interactive exhibit and cinema.
Using the excellent public rail system, make your way to the tiny village of Mürren, where you’ll board a series of cable cars to ascend the Schilthorn, one of the tallest summits in the Bernese Alps at 2,970 m (9,744 ft) above sea level. At this height, the mountain’s observation deck and rotating restaurant provide incomparable views of the three celebrated snow-capped peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, as well as the variegated green-and-blue sweep of the Lauterbrunnen Valley below.
While the cable car system to reach Schilthorn is one of the longest and most complicated ever built, it can take you to the top of the mountain year-round, with a few exceptions for closures, which we’ll help you avoid. The journey itself moves you up through rocky ravines, over red-roofed villages and past green or snow-covered mountainsides before the final ascent.
At Birg station, the last stop before the peak, you can disembark and take in some more viewing possibilities. The Skyline Walk, a terrace that hangs partially over a precipice, leads down to the newer Thrill Walk. This pathway is built into the vertical rock face and lets you go where only mountaineers could go before, leading you through a series of metal paths, glass floors and climbable mesh tunnels.
In the colder months from November to March, the Schilthorn is snow-covered, and forms the start of the world’s longest amateur downhill ski race, The Inferno. In the warmer months, from May to October, wildflowers sprout on the hillsides and waterfalls tumble into the valley. The observation platform is the main attraction, but a multitude of hiking trails — most of them challenging — lead you to different viewpoints from the top.
At the pinnacle of the Schilthorn is Piz Gloria, a revolving restaurant that makes a full 360-degree turn every hour, giving each guest a complete view while they dine. The restaurant was used as the villain’s headquarters during the filming of the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service in 1969.
Near the restaurant, you can visit the interactive Bond World exhibition, the Bond Cinema and 007 Walk of Fame, and learn how the filmmakers achieved the action stunts and mountain scenes without the benefit of today’s technology.
Start planning your tailor-made trip by contacting one of our Switzerland specialists
These activities are designed to give you the most authentic experiences around where you're staying. We work with local guides, who use their knowledge and often a resident's eye to show you the main sights and more out-of-the-way attractions. Our specialists can suggest tours and activities that will introduce you to the local ways of life.
Jungfraujoch
The highest train station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch gives you sweeping views of the Jungfrau, the Mönch and the Eiger, the storied peaks of the Bernese Alps. Walk the decks of the Sphinx Observatory and see the continent’s longest glacier, the Aletsch, on this day-long tour.
