Posted by The train ride to the Jungfraujoch is for many vacationers the big highlight of their trip to Switzerland. It is the highest railroad station in Europe (altitude 3,454 meters above sea level). You can see the famous mountains Eiger with North Face and Jungfrau and the largest glacier in Europe up close.
Also, you can walk through corridors of ice underground in the glacier and admire sculptures and other small works of art made of ice. Another highlight is the view during the train ride up to the Jungfraujoch and back down again. The train stops several times. You can get off and enjoy the view and take photos. Among other things, the direct view of the Eiger North Face is great.
Tickets to the Jungfraujoch
Demand is high for the limited capacity on the train, etc., we recommend booking online in advance.
Only tickets for trains and cable car to the Jungfraujoch and back are available on this link: More info and booking
There are complete tours from Interlaken with guide, which are hardly more expensive than the tickets with the trains: More info and booking
Day trips to Jungfraujoch from other cities in Switzerland
You can also take a trip to Jungfraujoch from other places in Switzerland like Zurich. We have picked out some offers with good reviews on the internet for you:
Day tour from Zurich: More info and booking
Day tour from Lucerne: More information and booking
Day tour from Geneva: More info and booking
2-day tour from Zurich: More info and booking
Overview trip to Jungfernjoch
A Joch is the lowest point between two mountains. The Jungfraujoch is between the high peaks of Mönch (4107 m) and Jungfrau (4158 m). You have a good view of the two mountains from the Jungfraujoch. After arriving at the underground station, one continues upwards with a pull-out. One arrives at an observation platform in the middle of the glacier with magnificent views.
From Interlaken you have to change trains twice to get to the Jungfraujoch. First you drive to Grindelwald and from there to Kleine Scheidegg. Alternatively, you can drive from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen and from there via Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg. From Kleine Scheidegg there is then only one route all the way up to the Jungfraujoch. This is the actual Jungfraujochbahn. So you change trains for the first time in Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen, the second time always in Kleine Scheidegg. Of course, it makes sense to take the other route up and down, so you can see both railroad lines and have different views.
The trains are the only way to get to the area. There are roads only to Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald. On foot it is very far, difficult and tedious.
Switzerland is expensive. This is not true for the regular railroads, but it is true for the paywheel railroads. The prices to the Jungfraujoch are dizzyingly high. You have to reckon with 240 to 280 francs (about 200 euros) per person for a day trip from Interlaken to the Jungfraujoch. And that’s if you take food and drinks with you. For lunch in a restaurant and drinks, many tourists spend another 40 or 50 francs.
The train ride to the Jungfraujoch is extremely popular. Outside of Corona times, many thousands of tourists go up every day in the summer. Despite the high prices for the tickets, the trains are full. Switzerland already knows what to charge for what is perhaps the country’s greatest attraction. The train ride to the highest station in Europe is probably also one of the most expensive train rides in Europe. In the advertising of the Jungfrau Railway, the trip is called “Top of Europe”.
Important: Be sure to check the weather forecast. The ride makes little sense if there is fog at the top. The view of mountains, valleys and glaciers is then not possible.
Travel by train to the Jungfraujoch
As I said, there are two routes by train. Once from Interlaken with a change in Grindelwald, once with a change in Lauterbrunnen. Both routes meet again at Kleine Scheidegg station (see picture).
From Kleine Scheidegg you can take the train directly to the Jungfraujoch. Alternatively, for some time there has been a new cable car directly from Grindelwald to the Eigergletscher station. Here it then continues with the old train to the Jungfraujoch. So there are the following possibilities:
Interlaken – Grindelwald (U) – Kleine Scheidegg (U) – Jungfraujoch (all by train 2 times change).
2. Interlaken – Lauterbrunnen (U)- Wengen – Kleine Scheidegg (U) – Jungfraujoch (all by train 2 times change)
3. Interlaken – Grindelwald (U) – Eiger glacier ( U) with cable car Eiger Express – Jungfraujoch (with train and cable car 2 times change: train – cable car – train)
(U) means changing trains
Back there are also these three possibilities. All 3 variants to the Jungfrau mountain cost the same. We recommend to choose up and down different routes. We find the two routes with the train better from the view. But also the new cable car has a lot to offer. All connections are quite frequent, about every 30 minutes.
Station Kleine Scheidegg: Here you have to change trains if you choose one of the two variants by train to the Jungfraujoch. You can also take a break here and not continue right away, great view, some restaurants etc. >>> Our article about Kleine Scheidegg
Eigergletscher station: the train stops here for about a quarter of an hour, you can get off and take photos of the glacier etc. If you come by cable car, you have to change here to the Jungfraujochbahn. Even then you have time to enjoy the view.
Stations Eigerwand and Eismeer: Further up, the train runs in a long tunnel. The Jungfraujoch train usually stops again at one of the two stations when going up. Here you can also get off. Breathtaking view of glaciers, mountains and valleys. In the small Eigergletscher station, you look right out of the world-famous Eigennordwand. Absolutely cool. At the station Eismeer you stand directly in a glacier.
Day trips to Jungfraujoch from other cities in Switzerland
You can also take a trip to Jungfraujoch from other places in Switzerland like Zurich. We have picked out some offers with good reviews on the internet for you:
Day tour from Zurich: More info and booking
Day tour from Lucerne: More information and booking
Day tour from Geneva: More info and booking
2-day tour from Zurich: More info and booking
Tickets to the Jungfraujoch
The demand for the limited capacities on the train etc. is high, we recommend to book online in advance.
Only tickets for trains and cable car to Jungfraujoch and back are available on this link: More info and booking
There are complete tours from Interlaken with guide, which are hardly more expensive than the tickets with the trains: More info and booking
On top of the Jungfraujoch
When you get to the top, there is a lot to see and do. You are standing at the highest train station in Europe. It is in the middle of the mountain, so underground.
Viewing platform Sphinx: With an elevator you go up more than 100 meters. You arrive at the magnificent viewing platform Sphinx. This is probably the highlight of the day trip to the Jungfraujoch. You stand in the biggest glacier of the Alps. You can see the peaks Jungfrau and Mönch in the immediate vicinity. You will probably never forget this for the rest of your life. You can feel the thin air at an altitude of over 3500 meters.
Ice Palace: For about 90 years there has been a system of tunnels in the ice. You can walk through it. Everywhere artists have built figures and the like in the perpetual ice. Pretty well done. Worth seeing.
Snow Fun Park: Here you can ski in summer. There is also a toboggan run.
Inside there are some restaurants and stores. If you have a few francs left, you can make a sightseeing flight with a helicopter. This should be booked in advance, of course.
Jungfraujoch ticket prices and tickets
This is the problem. The ride with the Jungfraujochbahn is very expensive. Extremely expensive! One pays from Interlaken up and down a little more than 200 francs or about 180 euros. If you start further up, in Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen (that’s how far you get by car), it costs only a few euros or francs less. The fare for children is lower.
There was a “Good morning ticket Jungfraujoch” much cheaper for about 140 francs. Then you had to leave Interlaken before 7am with the first train. This was not bad, since weather and view are often better up on the Jungfrau in the morning anyway. Unfortunately, the Good Morning Ticket Jungfrau is not available at the moment. Because of the Corona crisis and the lower number of tourists and passengers, the train does not run so early in the morning at the moment (as of 2022).
Video Jungfraujoch
Good film on the subject (YouTube, partly English)