by Sitting on a sunny shelf, Wengen shares a ski area with Grindelwald, and most of the slopes are above its neighbour, under the high north face of the Eyre.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, Wengen was an Alpine farming community, and had been for centuries. Then discerning British visitors started skiing here and convinced the locals to keep the summer railway to the top of the mountain open in winter too. That way they would no longer have to walk up the mountain to ski down – and celebrate the aptly named Downhill Only (DHO) Club, which is still going strong today.
The resort has a large British presence, much apart from the DHO, with many generations of the same family visiting year after year. There is even an Anglican church called the Church of England.
Stay on track with the essential facts from the resort below, and scroll down for our insider’s guide to a day on the piste, expert ratings and advice. For more Wengen inspiration, check out our guides to the resort’s best accommodation, restaurants and après ski.
In this guide:
Inside the resort
Wengen is a charming village perched on a shelf above the Lauterbrunnen valley. For a resort so famous for the annual Lauberhorn World Cup downhill race, which takes place every January, it is remarkably small and one of the most quaint destinations in the Alps. The focus of the resort is on a short main street lined with shops and a number of large Victorian style hotels.
Adding to its charm, the village is only reached by cog railway and is largely traffic free, although hotels run electric vehicles and some petrol vehicles including taxis. The railway continues up the mountain, as one of the ski lifts. The other way up is by cable car, which has cabins with roof-top viewing platforms, from the center of the main street.
The views from the ski area are a highlight, with the iconic Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains as a stunning backdrop. For more expansive views, the railway continues above the ski area, through a tunnel in the Eiger to Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454m. Along the way there are stops at two viewing galleries carved out of the north face. The trip is not included in a lift pass – it’s CHF63 return with a lift pass of three days or more – but on a clear day the views are some of the best in the world.
The local ski area has 103km of piste. In total the Jungfrau lift pass covers 211km of piste and is served by 45 lifts and covers the separate ski areas of Mürren (linked by cog railway and then cable car) and Grindelwald First (reached via the village of Grindelwald, where there is a bus) . The ski area is best suited to intermediates but the slopes in Mürren have some challenges.
Après is quiet compared to other major Swiss resorts such as Verbier and Zermatt, but there are a few lively bars on and off the mountain.
Wengen offers several family-friendly toboggan runs. The most obvious is the 4.5km run from Wengernalp, but there are also long runs from the top of the mountain towards Grindelwald. In the center of the village there is curling and outdoor skating.
On the slopes
From the village, the local Wengen ski area is reached by a 26-minute scenic train ride to Kleine Scheidegg or a five-minute cable car ride to Männlichen. These peaks can also be reached from Grindelwald in the next valley and the two centers share the 103km of piste.
Most of the pistes are on the Grindelwald side, where the upper part of the mountain is well served by fast chairlifts. Thanks to a 10-person gondola to Männlichen (2,229m), with a mid-station at Holenstein, and the Eiger Express, a 26-person cable car that takes 15 minutes to reach the Eiger Glacier station (2,328m) and transports 2,200 passengers per the. hour, links from Grindelwald are fast. The Männlichen gondola takes 19 minutes to climb 1,282m from Grindelwald to Männlichen, and carries 1,800 people per hour. Of course you can also catch the train from Grindelwald up to Kleine Scheidegg and Eigergletscher.
On the Wengen side it is possible to go back to the village for a long time and despite the relatively low altitude of Wengen, with the village at 1,275m, the snow is usually good, thanks to extensive snowfall.
There is a good slope for beginners right in the center of the village. The best long, gentle blue run to get on to is 22 down from Kleine Scheidegg towards Grindelwald but it can get very crowded. Blue run 2 from Männlichen starts with a long narrow traverse, crossing several red piste, but then opens up into a beautiful wide, gentle run that is usually quieter than run 22.
Most of the pistes in the Wengen/Grindelwald area are graded reds suitable for confident intermediates.
The First area, reached by a free ski bus ride from the bottom of Grindelwald’s slopes, has many very easy blue runs – well worth the trip for timid intermediates, who can take the train or gondola down to Grindelwald if they want. .
The experts will enjoy following the Lauberhorn downhill race course, the black run 45. There are only two really steep sections and the other is a steep red run. The other particularly steep run here is the black run 27 from Eigergletscher down to the Wixi chair – aptly named ‘Oh God’ by early British visitors.
There are other challenging slopes in Mürren, which is reached from Wengen by taking the train down to Lauterbrunnen, followed by a connecting cable car up and another train, which offers stunning views back over the valley to the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains. The journey takes about 40 minutes to Winteregg, where the Mürren ski area begins.
The highest part of the Mürren ski area usually has excellent snow due to its altitude – the top is 2,970m, around 500m higher than the top of the Wengen/Grindelwald shared area. The top run of around 300m vertical is very steep but generally well groomed so a great fast burst. The intermediate slopes below are often covered in well-packed powder.
Wengen itself does not have a terrain park but there are good ones for all ability levels at First and Mürren. The two Wengen ski schools have a good reputation and many English instructors.
Who should go
Wengen’s design is perfectly suited for families. It’s basically car-free, and at its heart is a snow-covered park that doubles as a combination playground and gentle nursery slope, as well as a number of family-friendly outdoor toboggan, curling and skating runs. During the festive season the resort comes into its own, when the streets are decorated for Christmas. There are good slopes for beginners and much of the ski area is suitable for confident intermediates.
Know before you go
Essential information
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British Embassy/Consulate: 00 31 359 77 00
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Ambulance: dial 144
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Police: dial 117
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Fire: dial 118
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Tourist office: See wengen.swiss, the website of the Wengen Tourist Board, for weather reports, lift status, webcams, traffic data and local event listings. Pick up maps, leaflets and other information from the office in the center of the village
The basics
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Currency: Swiss franc (CHF)
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Telephone code: from abroad, dial 00 41, then leave the zero at the beginning of the 10-digit number.
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Time difference: +1 hour
