Interlaken sits on a narrow strip of land between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, with the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau towering above. The name literally means "between the lakes," and water defines the place: clear mountain streams tumble off the hills, waterfalls crash through gorges, and the two lakes shimmer in shades of turquoise and deep blue.
The town has drawn visitors since the early 1800s, when Lord Byron reportedly called it "a dream." Grand Belle Epoque hotels line the Hoheweg, the main boulevard, their ornate facades dating from the tourism boom of the 1860s through World War I. Behind the stately exteriors, the town runs on adventure tourism: paragliding, canyoning, bungee jumping, white-water rafting and skydiving are all on offer, making Interlaken the outdoor sports capital of Switzerland.
Winter brings skiing across the Jungfrau Top Ski Region, with over 160 km of runs above Grindelwald linked to Interlaken by mountain railway. The runs are long by Swiss standards, averaging six to twelve kilometres, and you can ski a different area every day for a week on a single pass. In summer, the mountains shift to hiking, and the lakes open up for swimming, paddleboarding and boat cruises.
Interlaken itself is compact and walkable. It is more a base than a destination in its own right: the real draw is everything you can reach from here. But the setting, wedged between two lakes at the foot of the Alps, is hard to beat.