The hotel amid the falls
An 1875 grand hotel on a terrace among the water.
Markus Giger โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Andrew Bossi โ CC BY-SA 2.5 ยท Andrew Bossi โ CC BY-SA 2.5 ยท Zairon โ CC BY-SA 4.0
Morning: boat from Interlaken Ost across the lake (an hour, among Switzerland's loveliest boat trips) to Giessbach, up by funicular and two hours walking among the falls. Midday: lunch on the hotel terrace with the view. Afternoon: boat on to **Brienz** for the woodcarving village, or to **Ballenberg**, the open-air museum. Return by train or boat. An excellent full day at far less cost than the mountains.
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The Giessbach Falls drop over fourteen terraces some 500 metres in all through dense forest before emptying into the turquoise Lake Brienz โ and their most famous feature is that the historic **Grandhotel Giessbach** (1875) stands on a terrace amid the falls, so the picture looks like a painting from the Romantic era: a white palace among falling water, forest and lake. Getting there is part of the pleasure: a boat across Lake Brienz from Interlaken Ost to the Giessbach landing, then **Europe's oldest cable-operated funicular** (1879), which lifts you to the hotel in four minutes โ or a free uphill path. Walkways and bridges pass **behind** the main fall and between the terraces. The falls, paths and forest are entirely free; the funicular and boat are paid. In season the falls are lit in the evening. One of the region's quietest and loveliest half-days, and an excellent alternative to the expensive mountains.
An 1875 grand hotel on a terrace among the water.
You pass behind the curtain on a stone bridge.
Crossing turquoise Lake Brienz to the landing.
Giessbach, 3855 Brienz