Zweisimmen sits at a natural hub. The MOB railway continues south over the Saaner ridge to Gstaad and beyond to Montreux — a scenic route that gives you the full sweep of the pre-Alpine landscape for the price of a train ticket. Gstaad itself is worth a half-day if expensive shopping and the sight of a very wealthy village interest you; most people find an hour or two there sufficient.
Thun is 45 minutes north by train and has a proper old town, a medieval castle, and a lakefront worth an afternoon. It is the natural base for anyone using Simmental as a quieter alternative to the Bernese Oberland tourist circuit.
The Jaunpass road (closed in winter) leads west into Fribourg canton and the Gruyère region — a half-day drive through increasingly French-influenced countryside to the town of Gruyères, with its namesake cheese and intact medieval townscape.
