Hidden gem of Switzerland: Mürren, the car‑free alpine village

There are views in the world that are so beautiful that once we see them, their memory stays with us forever. A particular Swiss village is undoubtedly on the list of such places. But reaching it is no easy feat. You cannot drive there by car, and walking up takes over three hours of uphill trekking. Fortunately, there is another way.

Mürren is a small village located at an altitude of 1,651 metres above sea level. You need to climb a mountain trail or take a cable car to get there. Cars do not drive here because the road is unsuitable, and letting cars into this picturesque place would undoubtedly diminish its charm and obscure some of the spectacular views.

Mürren is home to 418 people. It's a small number, and everyone knows each other very well. Especially since there are times of the year when the residents, cut off from the world, spend time here only in their company.

When I get off the cable car, the first thing that strikes me is the air. It's hard to explain, but in this place, you can feel its crystal-clear purity in every breath—sharp, distinct, slightly moist, and penetrating.

Mürren doesn't make you wait long to discover its charm. After taking just a few steps, I see this place is extraordinary. The hotel where we stay for the night is right at the village entrance and above a precipice. To understand the village's charm, you must know that it seems glued at the top of a high vertical cliff above the Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Looking in one direction, we have a 700-metre drop below us, and when we look the other way, we see the surrounding peaks of Schilthorn, Jungfrau, Mönch, and Gspaltenhorn.

When I visit Mürren, the summer season in Switzerland is slowly gaining momentum. This means that the small hotels and guesthouses are already full, but on the streets (if I count correctly, there are two streets in the village—one a bit higher and the other a bit lower), this is hardly felt at all. In a few cosy pubs, people are sitting, souvenir shops are already operating, but there is no question of crowds.

For a moment, I wonder what is so captivating about this tiny village—apart from the views that are hard to compare with anything else. It’s probably the unique style, some coherence that ensures every wooden building and every element of small architecture fits into the idyllic convention of this place.

When I enter the room at the Hotel Alpenruh and open the door to the terrace wide, I feel like I’ve won a million Swiss francs—because that’s roughly how I value what I see before me. Raw, snowy rock of the 4,158-metre high Jungfrau peak with waterfalls—one, two, three... After the fifth, I stop counting. The grass in the meadow below is so green that it can’t get any greener. And the birds' song is as loud, diverse, and clear as the best recording of "relaxing music."

Despite the beautiful view, spending the day in the hotel is a pity. I walk through the village back and forth—several times, as its length is just under 800 metres. But walking here doesn’t get boring at all. I discover something new every time, and the surrounding Alpine peaks are lit differently each time. I also realise that there are at least a few places with views from the windows as spectacular as in "our" hotel.

Though Mürren is a tiny village, I find everything here. Shops and stores offer food, cosmetics, souvenirs, and a florist with seedlings because residents eagerly decorate their homes with colourful flowers and other ornamental plants. There are clothing stores and one with branded knives and pocketknives, of which the Swiss are very proud.

There are a few restaurants and a couple of hotels. Yoga classes are held in the local cultural centre, a mini theatre, and shows and concerts are organized. There are also two tiny churches where services are held once a week.

Another place that constantly attracts tourists is the so-called Instagrammer's stump. It's an uncluttered place protruding quite close to the cliff, in the middle of which stands a fallen tree's stump. You can always see people there, more or less professionally prepared, doing photo sessions.

As I stroll through the village, the dominant sound is the cowbells of herds grazing above on a steep meadow. In the evening, this will change because when the sun disappears behind the peaks and the village is enveloped in a mysterious twilight, the bells will fall silent, and the only sound will be the distant but distinct murmur of waterfalls flowing down the rocks of the towering Jungfrau. Around 22:00, behind the hotel terrace, complete darkness will set in. The rock and the precipice will become one big blackness, not illuminated by any light. And so it will be until dawn, which the cowbells will clearly announce to all the sleepy tourists as their route to the meadows leads through the centre of the village.

Mürren is located in the Bernese Alps, in the Interlaken-Oberhasli district, in the canton of Bern. It belongs to the municipality of Lauterbrunnen. You can get there by mountain railway and train from Lauterbrunnen. The hiking trail leads from the town of Stechelberg and is about 10 kilometres long (including very steep uphill sections).

Mürren is an excellent base for trekking and adrenaline enthusiasts. Via Ferrata Mürren is one of the most beautiful "iron routes" in view (containing many steel elements installed to facilitate the passage of difficult places). The North Face Trail and routes leading to Schilthorn are the most attractive.