Day Trip to Meiringen from Interlaken: Gorge First

In 1893, Arthur Conan Doyle sent Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty into the 110-metre Reichenbach Falls above Meiringen. A 13-minute walk from the funicular that climbs to those falls, the Aare river has cut a gorge through the Kirchet rock that narrows to 1 or 2 metres in places. Most visitors to the Haslital see one of the two and leave the other for next time.

On Saturday 8 August 2026, I drove two guests from Interlaken and we did both before lunch. I took my first photo inside the gorge at 10:00 and stood at the falls viewpoint at 11:52. The order we followed made the morning work.

My advice is simple. Give Meiringen half a day and follow one sequence: the cold, wet gorge first, the sunny falls second, the village and its meringues last. If you are still choosing your trips, our guide to the best day trips from Interlaken puts Meiringen next to the others.

How do you get from Interlaken to Meiringen without a car?

Take the train from Interlaken Ost. On Tuesday 22 September 2026, trains leave at :04 and :33 past the hour and reach Meiringen in 31 to 33 minutes. From Meiringen station, the Aare Gorge west entrance is an 18-minute walk, or 2 minutes on the zb train to the Aareschlucht West stop.

With the 09:04 train and the short connection at Meiringen, you stand at Aareschlucht West at 09:47. That is 43 minutes from Interlaken Ost to the gorge. The last train back that Tuesday leaves Meiringen at 22:21 and reaches Interlaken Ost at 22:55.

The same line runs along Lake Brienz. If you want a second stop another day, our day trip to Brienz covers the village, the boat and the Rothorn.

By car, the Aare Gorge has free parking for cars and coaches at its west entrance. The Reichenbach funicular does not, and that changes how you plan the falls.

What is the Aare Gorge like inside?

The Aare Gorge is a walk of about 45 minutes through a limestone gorge the Aare cut into the Kirchet rock. You follow walkways, tunnels and a wooden footbridge on steel girders. The path is 1 to 2 metres wide and secured the whole way, and it stays cool on the hottest summer day.

I use the west entrance, the one on the Meiringen side, because it is the first you reach from Interlaken. Inside, it was about 10 °C in August and everything dripped. The walkway is narrow, so you squeeze past people coming the other way.

Adults pay CHF 13, children aged 6 to 15 pay CHF 8, and children under 6 go free. There is no reservation, and none is possible: you pay at the entrance. Guest cards from Interlaken, Brienz and the Jungfrau Region give 20% off.

Insider tip: My phone had no signal inside the gorge. Agree on a meeting point before you walk in, in case part of your group turns back early.

At the east end, you do not have to walk back. The zb train from Aareschlucht Ost to Meiringen is included in your gorge ticket. You can also take the signposted path over the Lammi, which takes about an hour.

The gorge works for most visitors. From the west entrance to the middle, simple wheelchairs and narrow strollers can pass. Dogs are welcome on a short lead at no charge.

Fun fact: Twelve men financed the first walkway. The Willigen community received the concession on 28 September 1887 and handed it over on 5 April 1888 to Johann von Bergen, its former president, and a company still to be formed.

How does the Reichenbach Falls funicular work?

The Reichenbachfall-Bahn has carried visitors from Willigen up to the 110-metre Reichenbach Falls since 1899, in its original 24-seat carriages. In 2026 it runs from 2 May to 4 October, from 9:00 to 17:30, with the last ride up at 17:15. A return costs CHF 15 for adults.

Children aged 6 to 15 pay CHF 10 return. A single ride costs CHF 10, or CHF 7 for a child. You buy online or from the driver. The line is 20 years younger than the Giessbach Falls funicular on Lake Brienz, which opened in 1879.

The valley station sits on the grounds of the Meiringen private clinic, and it has only a few parking spaces. The operator sends drivers to the Alpbach car park instead.

Insider tip: When I drive guests, I drop them at the funicular, park at Alpbach and walk back while they buy the tickets. Nobody waits for a space.

The ride takes a few minutes. Plan more time than that at the top. Three viewing terraces sit near the mountain station, and you climb steps to reach the viewpoint. This is not a two-minute stop.

If you visit both sites, the combined ticket for the gorge and a funicular return costs CHF 25 for adults and CHF 16 for children. Paid one at a time, the gorge and a funicular return cost an adult CHF 28.

Aare Gorge or Reichenbach Falls: which one if you only have time for one?

Choose the Aare Gorge. It opens from 3 April to 1 November, it works in the rain, it takes about 45 minutes and it costs CHF 13 with the train back included. The Reichenbach funicular stops on 4 October, and the falls make a short visit you enjoy most when you are already at the gorge.

Travellers who have done both say much the same. Visitor reviews call the gorge the part not to miss, and rate the falls as worth it on the day you visit the gorge, not as a trip on their own. Forum posters ask whether they can fit both in, and the replies say yes: the walk to and through the gorge is flat for the most part.

If you have the time, do both, and do them in this order.

Pierre says: Gorge first, Reichenbach second, Meiringen last. The cold and the damp at the start, the viewpoint in the sun after, something sweet to finish. The three sites sit within 4 kilometres of each other.

Pierre Vetsch, founder and head guide at Swiss Local Adventures

The order also follows the clock. The gorge opens at 8:30, the funicular at 9:00, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum only at 13:00. Start with the gorge and the day fills itself.

Why do Sherlock Holmes fans come to Meiringen?

Conan Doyle staged Holmes's fight with Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls in The Final Problem. Meiringen answered with a museum in its English church, opened in May 1991, with a rebuilt sitting room of 221B Baker Street. It opens daily from 13:00 to 17:30 until 31 October 2026, and adults pay CHF 7.

The museum opened for the 100th anniversary of Holmes's fall, with the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and Dame Jean Conan Doyle, the author's daughter, present. The architects John and Sylvia Reid designed it. The Swiss Museum Pass gets you in for free, and children aged 6 to 15 pay CHF 4.

Outside, a life-size bronze of Conan Doyle stands on Conan Doyle Place. According to the museum, it carries 60 riddle symbols, each tied to a Holmes novel. From November to April, the museum opens on Saturday and Sunday only, from 13:30 to 17:00.

A combined ticket for the funicular return and the museum costs CHF 18 for adults. Because the museum opens at 13:00, keep it for after lunch.

Fun fact: The English church that houses the museum burned in Meiringen's village fire of 1891 and was rebuilt the same year. In 1937 the Hotel Sauvage took it over and used it above all to store empty bottles, and during the Second World War it served as a soup kitchen.

Was the meringue invented in Meiringen?

Meiringen says so, and you should take that as a local legend. The story, told by the Zentralbahn among others, says an Italian confectioner named Gasparini first whipped egg whites and sugar into crisp shells in Meiringen around 1600, and named them after the village. The meringues themselves are real: Frutal bakes over 30 tons a year.

Frutal's tea room and shop sit at Bahnhofstrasse 18, on the same street as the Sherlock Holmes Museum at number 26. The Sherlock Holmes meringue costs CHF 4.50 a piece. The tea room opens Monday to Saturday from 07:30 to 18:00, and on Sunday from 08:00 to 18:00.

The shop has shorter hours: Monday to Friday from 07:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 18:00, Saturday from 07:00 to 17:00, and it closes on Sunday.

On my private tours, Meiringen comes last for this reason. We end with ten minutes at a bakery and a meringue for each guest, after the gorge and the falls.

When should you go, and how much walking does it take?

Go between 9 May and 4 October 2026, when both gorge entrances and the funicular run. From 21 September, the gorge closes at 17:30 instead of 18:30. The walking stays gentle: about 45 minutes through the gorge, 13 minutes to the funicular, then steps up to the viewpoints.

The west entrance opens from 3 April to 1 November 2026, the east entrance from 9 May. You can only walk the gorge end to end when both are open. On Friday and Saturday evenings from 3 July to 29 August, the gorge stayed lit until 22:00, from the west entrance to the gravel banks and back.

After 4 October, a Meiringen day shrinks to the gorge, the museum and the bakery. After 1 November, the gorge closes for the winter.

Rain does not ruin the gorge. The operator calls it an all-weather destination, and the water runs bigger after a downpour. Bring a warm layer and shoes with grip in any season, because the walkway stays wet.

The fitness question sits at the falls. Forum travellers describe the hike up to the Reichenbach Falls without the funicular as quite steep. With the funicular, you only climb the steps near the top.

Your questions about a day trip to Meiringen

Travellers ask the same five things in forums before a Meiringen day: whether to book, whether both sites fit into one day without a car, who can walk the gorge, which entrance to use and what to add. The short answers are no booking, yes, nearly everyone, the west entrance, and Brienz.

Do you need to book Aare Gorge tickets in advance?

No. The Aare Gorge takes no reservations at all: you pay at the entrance. On 8 August 2026, at the height of summer, I paid on the spot in cash. Adults pay CHF 13 and children aged 6 to 15 pay CHF 8. Show your guest card from Interlaken, Brienz or the Jungfrau Region and you get 20% off. The funicular is different: you can buy online or from the driver.

Can you do the Aare Gorge and Reichenbach Falls in one day without a car?

Yes, and a morning is enough. Take the 09:04 train from Interlaken Ost and you reach Aareschlucht West at 09:47. Walk the gorge in about 45 minutes, ride the zb train back from Aareschlucht Ost with your gorge ticket, then walk 13 minutes to the funicular. The last ride up leaves at 17:15 until 4 October 2026. Trains back from Meiringen run until 22:21 on a Tuesday.

Is the Aare Gorge suitable for children, dogs or strollers?

Yes. The operator describes the gorge as a safe outing for every age, with a secured path 1 to 2 metres wide. Children under 6 enter free. From the west entrance to the middle of the gorge, simple wheelchairs and narrow strollers can pass. Dogs are welcome on a short lead at no charge, but on the partner railways the public transport rules apply. The main restaurant at the west entrance has a large playground.

Which Aare Gorge entrance should you use?

Use the west entrance if you come from Interlaken. It sits on the Meiringen side, opens from 3 April, and has the main restaurant and the free car park. The east entrance opens from 9 May and sits about 10 minutes on foot from the Aareschlucht Ost stop, on a path with steps. Starting in the west and finishing in the east lets you ride the zb train back on your gorge ticket.

What else can you combine with Meiringen?

Stay on the same railway line. Brienz is on the way, and from there you can plan Ballenberg in half a day on another morning. Above Brienz, the Hinterburgseeli hike from Axalp makes a quieter day. Do not squeeze either into your Meiringen morning: the gorge and the falls fill it.

Plan the morning around the closing dates

The hard part of Meiringen is the calendar and the car park. The Aare Gorge closes at 17:30 from 21 September. The Reichenbachfall-Bahn makes its last trip of 2026 on 4 October. The walk from the gorge's west entrance to the funicular takes 13 minutes. The Sherlock Holmes Museum opens at 13:00.

Get those four facts right and the morning runs without a hitch. Get one wrong and you stand in front of a closed door or circle a clinic car park.

I drive this route with guests, park at Alpbach and keep the order that works. If you would rather not plan it yourself, you can design a private day around Meiringen with us, from the gorge at opening time to the last meringue.

Source: Aareschlucht AG, Grimselwelt, Reichenbachfall-Bahn, Sherlock Holmes Museum Meiringen, and a private tour to Meiringen on 8 August 2026.

Written by Pierre Vetsch, founder and head guide at Swiss Local Adventures