Free Walking Tour Mürren: Village to Schilthorn Summit

Your Mürren Walking Tour, from Cable Car Base to Piz Gloria

1. 1

   Schilthornbahn (Mürren Base)

   

   Start where the machines live. The Schilthornbahn station at 1,638 metres explains Mürren's geography better than any map: one cable line runs down toward Gimmelwald and Stechelberg, the other climbs toward Birg and the Schilthorn. Almost everything on this walk hangs off those two lines and the small funicular you meet shortly.

   The station is free to walk into; you only pay when you ride. That makes it the right place to sort out money before the mountain does it for you. A return trip from Mürren to the Schilthorn is expensive. If you plan to hike the climbs and ride only the descent, ask at the counter what a one-way ticket down costs, and decide now how much of the day you want on foot.

   This is also your moment for an honest check. The full route on foot ends with a long climb from Gimmelwald, and the cable cars are the easy exit at several points. Knowing your options here takes the pressure off later.

   From the station, walk 800 metres into the village, about 12 minutes, to the memorial for the man who gave skiing the slalom.

   Hours

   Daily: 06:30–17:00 (seasonal, June–October)

   Price

   CHF 91.40 (return Mürren-Schilthorn)

   Location

   Schilthornbahn (Mürren Base) on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Sir Arnold Lunn Statue

   A statue on a village lane is usually decoration. This one carries weight. The memorial honours Sir Arnold Lunn, the pioneer of the slalom, and it stands in Mürren because the slalom was pioneered here, on the ground under your feet rather than in a rulebook far away.

   Lunn's name returns on the next stretch: he encouraged the building of the Allmendhubel funicular, and when the line turned 100 in 2012, the celebrations included a tribute to him. Two minutes here are enough, and they are well spent. The rest of the route is cable cars, meadows, a farming village and a summit restaurant; this is the only place on it where the history has a face.

   The memorial is free and open at any hour. From here it is 570 metres, about 9 minutes, to the funicular's village station.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Location

   Sir Arnold Lunn Statue on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Allmendhubel Funicular

   

   The Allmendhubel Funicular, locally the Seilbahn Mürren-Allmendhubel, has climbed out of the village since 1912. Look at the track: it is only 551 metres long, but at its steepest it rises at 61%, lifting the car from 1,650 metres to 1,907 metres on metre-gauge rails.

   At first it ran only in winter, carrying people to a bobsleigh run that closed in the 1930s. Decades later, Bond brought it back: for On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969, the run was rebuilt for a chase between James Bond and Ernst Stavro Blofeld. A toboggan run remains at Allmendhubel to this day.

   The line nearly vanished. In 1996 Jungfraubahn wanted to replace it with a chairlift. The plan failed, Schilthornbahn AG took over under Max Kopp, and by 2000 the tracks, carriages and restaurant had been refurbished. The centenary in 2012 celebrated Britain's part in the region's story, with Eddie the Eagle as guest of honour.

   Cars leave every 20 minutes. The route itself walks up instead: 1,980 metres and about 43 minutes of steady climbing to the viewpoint. Riding saves your legs for the big climb later in the day; walking saves the fare.

   Local name

   Seilbahn Mürren–Allmendhubel

   Hours

   Daily journeys every 20 minutes from 09:00 to 17:00 (last uphill/downhill 17:00); maintenance/closed: 19.10. – 11.12.2026

   Price

   CHF 16.00 return, CHF 8.00 return with Swiss Half Fare Card / GA / Swiss Travel Pass

   Location

   Allmendhubel Funicular on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Allmendhubel Viewpoint & Flower Trail

   At the top, the trail and the playground cost nothing, a welcome change on a route full of fares. The flower trail is a themed loop of roughly 20 minutes that starts at the Panorama Restaurant and returns to it, built so the meadow explains itself instead of just looking pretty.

   Twenty minutes is the whole argument: short enough for any schedule, long enough to change how you read the slopes on the way down. Families get a second reward, because the Flower Park adventure playground sits at the trailhead and is the only part of this tour built for children.

   Timing matters more than opening hours. The trail is always accessible, but it comes alive from June to October, when there are flowers to read. Outside that window you can still walk the loop for the panorama and the quiet.

   Then the route drops 4 km, about 63 minutes on foot, to Gimmelwald.

   Hours

   Always accessible (recommended during daylight and summer season June–October; funicular operates 09:00–17:00)

   Price

   Free admission to trail and playground (funicular ride to Allmendhubel requires separate ticket or hike)

   Location

   Allmendhubel Viewpoint & Flower Trail on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Gimmelwald

   

   Gimmelwald sits at 1,364 metres, and the first thing you notice is what is missing: cars. No road reaches the village, which makes it one of the few places in Switzerland you simply cannot drive into. The cable car links it with Mürren and with Stechelberg on the floor of the Lauterbrunnen valley, and a footpath runs to Mürren.

   Look at how the houses line up along the lane. Gimmelwald is an Alemannic linear village and a Walser settlement, first recorded in a bill of sale in 1346, and its townscape is listed in the Swiss heritage inventory. It lies at the foot of the Jungfrau-Aletsch Protected Area, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

   This is a working village. Farmers raise hay on tiny plots to feed small herds of cows, and in winter many of them work for the Schilthorn cable car, running ski lifts or grooming slopes. In 2003, 130 people lived here. The school closed in 2010 for lack of pupils, and children now go to school in Lauterbrunnen. In 2019 a cooperative bought the old school building to turn it into flats, precisely so it would not end up as a holiday let.

   Entry is free and the village is open at any hour. Give it half an hour, walk quietly and remember that people live and farm here.

   Now comes the big decision. The walking route continues 8.4 km to Birg, about 190 minutes and more than 1,300 metres of climbing, with more of the Lauterbrunnen Valley opening up the higher you go. If that is too much for your day, the Schilthorn cable car stops in Gimmelwald and takes you up instead.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Gimmelwald on Google Maps ↗

6. 6

   Birg Station (Thrill Walk + Skyline Walk)

   

   Birg stands at 2,684 metres on the east flank of the Schilthorn, high above Mürren and looking out over the Lauterbrunnen valley. It is the intermediate station between Mürren and the summit, and in winter part of a ski area, with several cable car stations on top.

   Two walkways make it a stop in its own right. The Thrill Walk and the Skyline Walk are free once you are up here; the cost lies in getting here, the cable car return from Mürren to Birg if you ride. After the long climb from Gimmelwald, half an hour on the platforms is a fair reward.

   Bond fans will recognise the place. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Birg appears as the ski station nearest to Blofeld's alpine headquarters, first seen from a helicopter and later the setting of a scene of its own.

   The last stretch to the summit is 2.21 km, about 41 minutes. Up there, Bond World 007 and the Piz Gloria Panorama Terrace are part of the visit.

   Hours

   Operating daily approx. every 20-30 minutes; regular mountain railway operations

   Price

   Thrill Walk and Skyline Walk free; a cable-car ticket is needed to reach Birg (Mürren–Birg return CHF 55)

   Website

   schilthorn.ch ↗

   Location

   Birg Station (Thrill Walk + Skyline Walk) on Google Maps ↗

7. 7

   Schilthorn Summit (Piz Gloria + Bond World 007)

   

   You finish at 2,970 metres on the Schilthorn, at Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant that Bernese architect Konrad Wolf designed together with the cable car station. Building at this height was so hard that parts had to be prefabricated. The round upper floor is clad in aluminium-covered wooden panels; the roof, once bare aluminium, has since been coated.

   Sit down and the view comes to you. A 12-metre core with a 3-metre ring turns the whole upper floor in about an hour, so every guest gets the panorama in turn. Since an enlargement in 1990 it seats some 400 diners. The restaurant claims to be the world's first revolving restaurant, though others existed when it opened in 1969, among them the “Eye of the Needle” in Seattle from 1962.

   The name comes from fiction. In Ian Fleming's 1963 novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Piz Gloria is Blofeld's mountain hideout with an allergy clinic, set in the Engadine near St. Moritz, where piz is the Romansh word for a peak. Nobody speaks Romansh here in the Bernese Oberland, but the film team found the building half finished, helped pay for its completion in exchange for exclusive filming rights, and the name stayed after the 1969 film.

   On the lower floor, the Bond exhibition shows memorabilia and film clips; a larger exhibition, the 007 Walk of Fame, opened in July 2015 with George Lazenby and members of the film crew at the launch. Plan about an hour and a half up here.

   Ride down by cable car and ask at the summit station about the last departure so your day ends without a rush.

   Hours

   Schilthornbahn cable car runs roughly every 20 minutes from 09:00 to 17:00 (last ascent 17:00); extended early-morning hours (from approx. 05:50) can apply seasonally. The revolving Piz Gloria restaurant, Skyline View Platform and Bond World 007 interactive exhibition are open during cable-car operating hours.

   Price

   Cable-car round trip from Mürren CHF 91.40 adult (from the valley at Stechelberg CHF 115.00); Bond World 007 and the summit terraces are included in the ticket. ~50% reduction with Swiss Half Fare Card / GA; Swiss Travel Pass & Berner Oberland Pass give large discounts.

   Website

   schilthorn.ch ↗

   Location

   Schilthorn Summit (Piz Gloria + Bond World 007) on Google Maps ↗

Shorter Ways Through Mürren

The full route is a serious mountain day. These versions keep the best parts and fit a shorter day or tired legs.

Village and meadow

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4

For a relaxed morning or families. 3,350 metres and 64 minutes of walking, plus about 20 minutes for the flower trail. Everything is free if you walk up to Allmendhubel; only the funicular costs a fare if you ride.

Mürren to Gimmelwald

Stops: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

For walkers who want the village life without the big climb. 7,350 metres and 127 minutes of walking. No entry fees on foot; from Gimmelwald the cable car takes you back to Mürren.

Summit by cable car

Stops: 1, 6, 7

For Bond fans and anyone short on time or energy. You ride from the base to Birg and the Schilthorn and only walk on the platforms. The summit return from Mürren is not cheap; ask at the counter whether your ticket lets you break the journey at Birg.

How Long Does This Mürren Tour Take, on Foot or by Cable Car?

Pure walking time is 5 h 58 min for 17.9 km. A realistic day on foot: leave the Schilthornbahn at 07:30, reach the statue at 07:42 and the funicular at 07:56, then climb to Allmendhubel by 08:44. After the flower trail and the view, set off at 09:14 and arrive in Gimmelwald at 10:17. Leave at 10:47 for the long climb, reach Birg at 13:57, walk the platforms until 14:27 and stand on the summit at 15:08. With an hour and a half up top you finish at 16:38.

The village and meadow version takes about an hour and a half. Adding Gimmelwald makes it roughly three hours with time in the village. The cable car version is a half day, most of it spent at Birg and on the summit.

Before You Set Off from Mürren

• Start: At the Schilthornbahn (Mürren Base). You can join at any stop, but this order is the recommended one.
• Finish: On the Schilthorn summit. Ride the cable car down; if you wish, the GPS navigation in your browser leads you back to the start.
• When to go: June to October. Start early if you plan to walk the whole way, so you reach the summit well before the last cable car ascent.
• Costs: Walking the route is free. You pay for the rides you choose. The AI Tour Guide starts with 100 free credits; after that, this tour costs €19.99 all-inclusive with no time limit, or €5 per hour.

Common Questions about Mürren and the Schilthorn