The milkier, greener of Interlaken's two lakes. Take the steamer to a waterfall with a grand hotel and a Victorian funicular, then on to a castle and the woodcarving village of Brienz.
Glacial silt gives Lake Brienz its milky jade colour. It is narrower and wilder than Lake Thun, walled by steep wooded slopes.
Boats run from Interlaken Ost. The highlight is Giessbach, where a waterfall drops in fourteen steps through the forest to the lake. A funicular from 1879, one of the oldest in Europe, climbs from the landing stage to the Grandhotel Giessbach.
A path from the hotel leads behind one of the falls. Further along the shore, Iseltwald has a little castle on its peninsula.
At the head of the lake, Brienz is a village of woodcarvers, under the Rothorn's steam railway.
Boat out, funicular up, steam train optional.
Board at the pier behind the station and sit on the open deck.
Hop off for the village and its little castle by the water.
Ride the 1879 cars up to the hotel terrace.
Walk the path that passes behind one of the cascades.
Wander the carving workshops or ride the Rothorn railway up the mountain.
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Boats leave from the pier behind Interlaken Ost station; most Swiss rail passes cover them.
The full timetable runs from spring to autumn; winter service is limited.
The steam railway runs in summer only; check departures before you plan around it.
Bernese Oberland practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
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