Brienz is a tiny village on the east end of Lake Brienz, with fantastic views of many mountains in the Interlaken region. It's definitely worth a visit, as a stop on a driving tour or day trip from Interlaken via boat or train.

From the Brienz train station or ferry dock, there is a beautiful lakeside promenade that extends about 20 mins down the lake. There are lots of benches where you can rest or picnic with a view. There are several cafes, most with outdoor seating so you can enjoy the view with a meal.

You can loop back through the village, admiring the historic timber chalets, decorated with lots of flower boxes in summer. Along the way, you can walk along the short "Brunngasse," which is often referred to as the "prettiest street in Switzerland." It's nice, but in my opinion, not significantly nicer that many other cute Swiss villages like Mürren.

See suggested walking route (about 45 mins).

Tip: There are free public toilets at the train station.

How to get there

By car:

This is a good stop if you are driving between Lucerne and Interlaken. We suggest the Rössliplatz parking (see on map) or one of the other lakeside parking lots, since the train station parking is usually full and busy.

By boat:

You can ride a boat from Interlaken to Brienz, optionally stopping at the Giessbach falls on your way. Then return by train back to Interlaken. This is a wonderful half-day excursion.

By train:

Brienz can be reached with the Luzern-Interlaken Express scenic train. On SBB.ch, the stop is simply called "Brienz"

From Interlaken Ost, it's about a 20 min ride, free with the Swiss Travel Pass, Jungfrau Travel Pass, and Bernese Oberland pass. From Lucerne, it's 1h30 ride, free with Swiss Travel Pass and Lucerne Tell Pass.

Swimming

In summer, you can swim in the lake. You can enter the water via stairs from a few places along the promenade. But you may have more fun at the "Strandbad," an official swimming area a bit outside the village, with a small beach, shallow swimming area, diving platforms and other water amusements, large grassy area, cafe, changing rooms, etc. Strandbadweg 6, 3855 Brienz.