Swiss adventure capital — paragliding over two lakes, Jungfrau views, and cheese fondue
Interlaken sits in a flat valley between Lake Brienz and Lake Thun, with the Jungfrau massif (the highest railway station in Europe) as its constant backdrop. It is Switzerland's adventure capital — paragliding, skydiving, canyon swings, and rafting are all on offer within minutes of the town centre — yet it also has a beautifully preserved Victorian resort town character, with grand Belle Époque hotels and manicured parks that date from when it was Europe's favourite mountain retreat in the 19th century.
Interlaken grew from a 12th-century Augustinian monastery founded between the two lakes — 'inter lacus' is the Latin source of the name. The modern town emerged as a tourist destination in the early 19th century when wealthy British travellers discovered the Jungfrau region; the first Jungfrau Railway opened in 1912 and reached the Jungfraujoch (3,454m) the same year, making the highest railway station in Europe accessible and turning Interlaken into the gateway to the Bernese Oberland alps.