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A car-free resort village nestled amid the Bernese Alps in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Wengen is the quintessential Alpine town, boasting wooden chalets, modest whitewashed churches and Belle Époque hotels surrounded by mountain pines.

You reach Wengen via the railway up the mountain, and traverse the tranquil village on foot. The valley is in view of the Jungfrau region, one of the highest points in Europe, and you can enjoy numerous outdoor pursuits while you’re visiting.

There’s plenty to do in the summer as well as winter, with hikes up and around the mountains at varying levels of difficulty. Wengen is a particularly family-friendly resort, with manageable day hikes for children. And, even the easiest hikes offer sweeping panoramas of snowy peaks, glaciers and valleys decked in all shades of green.

Wengen’s tranquil setting might make it seem like you’re in another world, yet it’s still close enough to Switzerland’s major cities of Zürich, Lucerne and Bern for a day trip.

Perched halfway up Mount Eiger, Wengen is one of the smaller towns in the Jungfrau region, named for the mountain massif Jungfrau or ‘maiden’, which stands like a wall protecting the countryside around it. The glaciated mountains of this part of the range are the highest in the Bernese Alps, and usually remain snow-capped year-round so you can enjoy the contrasting landscape even in high summer.

Besides the pristine Alpine scenery, one of Wengen’s most striking features is that it’s entirely car-free. To reach it, you must take the Wengernalp Railway up the mountain. Once you’re within the village, most things can be easily reached on foot, and the lack of car traffic adds to the town’s quiet appeal.

The small village is a collection of wide wooden chalets with shallowly-peaked roofs, modern activity facilities, and gabled Belle Époque hotels tucked into the mountainside. There’s no shortage of fine-dining opportunities in Wengen, most of them within the hotels.

Skiing is traditional for Alpine adventurers, but plenty of other activities beckon, whether you visit in winter or summer. Snowshoeing, tobogganing and sledding, or luging as it’s called locally, are all winter alternatives. In the summer, try a zip-lining journey or summer ‘sledding’ on a mountain cart. Hiking is also popular here: you can hike up to Wengernalp to get views of the entire valley, or all the way up to Männlichen — a peaceful route, since most people take the cable car up.

More trails await at the top, including the family-friendly Kleine Scheidegg Panorama Trail, which winds along flat trails but offers sweeping views of the surrounding mountains. Wengen is generally good for families, and young children will enjoy the large and creative playgrounds in the area, including one with a gigantic wooden cow-shaped slide.

Because it faces southwest and is cradled by the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Wengen is protected from the northerly winds and frequently sunny, making it a haven for relaxation as well. Take in the sun on one of the many hotel terraces, with the mountain panorama all around.

Best time to visit Wengen

Wengen is a year-round resort, but the best weather is between June and October. The average temperature in July is around 20°C (64°F), and it rarely rains. The snowy months between November and March are even more popular, however, attracting twice as many visitors as the summer. Temperatures tend to stay around freezing, with January being the coldest month.