10 fabulous reasons to visit Murren
Murren in Switzerland is most famous for its starring role in the James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
Published on Big Plane Travel: http://bigplanettravel.co.uk/top-picks/10-fabulous-reasons-visit-murren/
At the end of the 1960s, the film-makers were taken by the futuristic revolving restaurant on the Schilthorn mountain and the scenes involving the imaginary Piz Gloria were shot there.
Murren is the highest, continually inhabited village settlement in the canton of Bern and lies on a terrace at 1,650m, high above the Lauterbrunnen valley.
A double-cable ropeway leads up onto the plateau from Lauterbrunnen, while a cableway runs from Stechelberg, past turbulent waterfalls and craggy rock faces, into the centre of the car-free village of Mürren, and further to the Schilthorn at 2.970.
Here are 10 reasons why Murren should be on your ‘must-visit’ list:
- The Village – Murren in the Jungfrau region of Switzerland is one of the most beautiful villages in the Alps. Perched on the side of the mountain, it really is picture postcard material. Car free and maintaining snow on the village paths throughout the winter it doesn’t get more attractive than this.
- The View – with views across the valley to the Eiger (3970m) , Monch (4099m) and Jungfrau (4158m) mountains, a stay here takes your breath away. The panoramic doesn’t fail to impress each time I visit.
- The new Thrill Walk at Birg. Not for the faint hearted, this new 200m metal path clings to the side of the mountain at Birg, wrapping around the mountain from its access at the back of the terrace behind the Birg restaurant, to the front side looking down the mountains. One section is just a thin metal wire…don’t look down!
- 007 –The James Bond Film, ‘ On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ was filmed here – watch the movie and see the revolving restaurant at Piz Gloria still looking remarkably similar. The revamped Bond Experiencea within the Piz Gloria building is really fun to spend some time in.
- The skiing – The ski area doesn’t look huge but with it has something for everyone. The top steep sections down to the narrow Kanonenrohr run between the rocks; the blue runs through the trees down to the village; the lovely long s-bends down to Lauterbrunnen (when snow allows) and the easy nursery slopes in the middle of the village.
- The restaurants – choose from the old Suppenalp restaurant just above the village (you can even stay the night there), so cosy inside, or the little hut below the top of the Schiltgrat chair for hot chocolate with rum and cake, the lovely terrace at Birg for lunch with a view, or ski down to the village and sit outside the Hotel Jungfrau on its terrace and watch the beginners slopes under the sunshine. Again plenty of options for all tastes.
- The Inferno – each January over 1,800 skiers descend on the village to take part in The Inferno. A huge 14.9km downhill race (including several uphill sections) where competitors are set off at approx. 10 second intervals. Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2018, there are plans for a new Inferno team event, the ‘Sir Arnold Lunn Cup’ where the competitors will start at the same time.
- History – British ski pioneers the Lunns still have family living in Murren. Sir Arnold Lunn organised the first slalom race here in 1922, a few years after his father Sir Henry Lunn first brought winter holidaymakers to the village. The Kandahar Ski Club, which was founded in Murren in 1924, is still going strong and runs a regular ski race training programme for children and is fundamental in the number of British taking part in the Inferno ski race each winter.
- Access – as Murren is car free, all cars park in Lauterbrunnen in the valley. Why not travel by train? All the airports close by – Basel, Bern and Zurich offer train travel to Lauterbrunnen and then connect with the cable car and small cog railway to the village itself.
- Not just for winter – Murren in summer is stunning too. Covered in wild flowers, perfect for short or long hikes, try the via ferrata. Take the train down to Interlaken for some shopping or a swim in the lake.
For further information visit: https://mymuerren.ch/en/winter/
