Meiringen summer holidays

Holidays in Meiringen

Near the River Aare and at the meeting point of some seriously stunning alpine passes, this market town is a great base in the Bernese Alps. Get the train to places like Interlaken and use the mountain railway for high altitude hikes. As well as being the hometown of the meringue (picture a world without Eton Mess...), the Reichenbach Falls are the locals’ claim to fame – the site of Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty’s legendary final struggle.

Highlights: • Gelmer – Europe’s steepest funicular • Aare, Alpbach & Rosenlaui gorges • Sherlock Holmes museum & tours

Meiringen Walking

Being allegedly the birthplace of the meringue, you’d expect there to be plenty going on to justify the odd sugary snack... Hiking’s a terrific for working up an appetite for them and the countryside is perfectly suited to it. There’s a smashing circular route called the Hochmoor oberhalb Meiringen; it starts at the Chaltenbrunnenalp and stretches through glorious flowered pastures before reaching Willigen. From here it’s not far to Meiringen, the views are stupendous for the whole of the 17km trip so you might want to go round again!

The Via Alpina, one of Switzerland’s massive national routes, runs through the village too. Take stage 10 past the Reichenbach Falls and over the Grosse Scheidegg to Grindelwald – or make your way to Engstlenalp. This is the start of stage 9, so hike over the Balmeregghorn ridge – with astonishing views of the Jungfrau, Eiger and Monch – to finish the trip in Meiringen.

Meiringen Cycling

Meiringen is great if you’re looking for an attractive base to launch some rides but also after some diversity with alpine walks or a visit to the Thun and Brien lakes. First up, try the Meiringen–Grindelwald trail, which is 28km long. It starts with a long ascent through Reichenbachtal up to Grosse Scheidegg at the foot of the imposing Wetterhorn cliffs. The second section into Grindelwald has awesome views of the glacier and snow-covered summits. Once you’ve covered that, move onto the Andermatt–Meiringen trail, which, at 57km, is the longest ride in Meiringen. It begins smoothly in Meiental but gradually becomes more Moon-like, the path breaking up the higher you climb. The subsequent downhill into Gadmental lives up to its name – mental – it’s packed full of testing trail sections. Remember: you’ll be sharing the turf with ramblers at most of these spots so keep a look out.

For an easy-going warm up, we love the 30 minute jaunt through woodland to neighbouring village, Innertkirchen. The route along the Aare River to Brienz is lovely and gentle too, and you’ve got the option to head down the southern shore of the lake for sights of the Giessbachfalle. It’s worth mustering your energy for a trip to Spiez on Lake Thun (you’ll spot it by its 1000 year old church) where you can wander the castle gardens and watch the boats go by.

E-Bikes can be hired from the Zentralbahn – take the gondola to Hasliberg Reuti (bike transport usually costs about a pound), where the battery power will take some of the effort out of the steep climb, letting you fully enjoy the descent to the Susten pass road.