Mürren: The stunning car-free village reached by cable car

Throughout history, this medieval hamlet has remained relatively secluded from the outside world. But now, the world's steepest cable car whisks travellers to the 430-person village.

On a freezing day in December 2024, I took a scenic three-hour train ride from Geneva to Lauterbrunnen, an Alpine village nestled between Interlaken and the Jungfrau massif in central Switzerland. I was now at the gateway to the car-free mountain hamletof Mürren.

For most of Mürren's history, residents would lead their mules three hours down to gather essential supplies in the valley before trekking back up. Then in 1891, a narrow-gauge railway opened, connecting Mürren to the nearby mountain village of Grütschalp and a funicular that reached Lauterbrunnen. In 1965, a single-track cableway opened that could ferry residents down to another traffic-free village, Gimmelwald, above the valley.

But the day I arrived, this formerly secluded 430-person hamlet perched 1638m in the Bernese Oberland became directly connected with the outside world and valley below through the opening of the world's steepest cable car: the Schilthornbahn, which whisks travellers 775m up through some of the Swiss Alps' most jaw-dropping scenery in just four minutes.

After arriving at the Stechelberg car park, I was soon being hoisted from the valley floor up in a glass-enclosed cabin, staring down towards the storybook cottages below and surrounded by craggy mountains and snow-covered pines. The trip up the vertical Mürrenfluh rockface was so smooth that I barely noticed the 159.4% gradient (the world's previous steepest cable car, the Loen Skylift in Norway, rises 133%), until my ears started to pop.

Perched on a natural terrace at the foot of the Schilthorn summit (2970m) overlooking the Lauterbrunnen valley, Mürren is a 13th-Century village with traditional stone and timber cottages that looks like it's clinging to the edge of a cliff. Because of its unique position, engineers have never been able to connect it to the outside world by road.

"Taking the cable car to school might seem unusual to many, but it was an everyday ritual for me," said Mürren native Michael Abegglen. "Most everyday necessities and services are available in Mürren, but every time we need a doctor, hairdresser or dentist, we need to go down to the valley where many of us have our cars parked."

According to Abegglen, the village's few year-round residents have long relied on one another. "When you grow up here like I did, you know almost everyone, and there's a strong close-knit community," Abegglen adds. "Some guests are like locals, as they return to Mürren every single year."

After checking into the Hotel Alpenruh, and admiring the awe-inspiring, 360-degree views of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks from my balcony, I soon discovered that – unsurprisingly – this pocket-sized, car-free village is best explored on foot.

Mürren's few streets are lined with cosy inns; rustic restaurants serving Alpine cheeses and dry sausages; bars offering evening aperitifs; and quaint souvenir shops selling postcards, fine Swiss chocolates, cuckoo clocks and cowbells. One of Mürren's main landmarks is the Hotel Mürren Palace, built in 1874 and nicknamed "Switzerland's first palace" after its history of hosting celebrity skiers and Hollywood actors like Rita Hayworth. Oozing elegance and grandeur, its ballroom served as a meeting point for high society back in the 20th Century. As the snow fell, I popped into the pub at the Eiger Guesthouse to warm up over a mug of glühwein (traditional mulled wine).

Despite its diminutive size, Mürren is a major winter sports hub. This former sleepy Walser settlement transformed in the late 1800s when British skiers discovered the village and fell in love with its scenery (and slopes).

"My great-grandfather Henry Lunn first came to Mürren in the 1890s and was smitten by its breathtaking beauty," said Bernard Lunn, a self-proclaimed "ski bum" and village resident. "He soon started bringing British tourists here to witness the glorious 'triumvirate' of [the] Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks. Later, my mountaineer grandfather Arnold Lunn and his wife Mabel started living here, and in 1922, Arnold founded the [world's] first slalom ski races. Mabel and a group of British Women established the Ladies' Ski Club here as well."

Arnold's arrival also paved the way for the formation of the Kandahar Ski Club in 1924 and the inauguration of the country's first ski school in Mürren in 1930.A year later, the first Alpine World Ski Championships kicked off in this tiny town in February 1931.

Nearly a century later, the surrounding mountains are laced with 54km of fresh, powdery pistes connected through cable cars, funiculars and chairlifts. When snow conditions allow, you can ski 16km from the Schilthorn summit to the valley floor in Lauterbrunnen.

"A coffee at the peak and a trip down on skis with family and friends is how I love spending my winter days in Mürren," said Alan Ramsay, a sociable Scot who has called the village home for more than 25 years and helps organise the International Inferno, the world's biggest amateur ski race held in the town annually (21-24 January 2026).

But locals say there's more to Mürren than just skiing. From June through September, the area becomes a popular paragliding destination, offering magnificent birds-eye views over the region's soaring crags, turquoise lakes and more than 70 cascadingwaterfalls.You can also stroll the flower-studded trails and meadows dotted with grazing sheep.

"The mountains are an ever-changing canvas," said Belinda Bühler, an avid trail runner who has lived her whole life in Mürren. "In the winter, they wear a beautiful white coat. In the summer, the mood changes depending on whether we are having hot, rainy or foggy days. However, as winter slowly departs, you can already smell the scent of spring. As the earth starts to warm up, you see early summer blossoms and soon there are flower-filled meadows."

Bühler's main advice for those coming outside of ski season? "Get out into nature onto the trails. You don't have to walk too far but as soon as you're on a trail, you're alone and can savour the stillness and beauty most palpably. The air is so pure and clean. I have grown up in Murren but I always call myself a local tourist, as I still tend to stop and take photos during my hikes. What I feel, see and hear on the trails in Mürren is indescribable!"

Bernard's wife, Julia Lunn, who leads families and women on hikes in Murren added, "People don't come here to shop or sightsee, but to experience life through skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, or simple pleasures like taking in the unrivalled views in solitude and dipping into the streams or the unspoiled Grauseeli lake."

At Ramsay's advice, I decided to experience one of those simple pleasures for myself. After grabbing a wooden sledge from the local Intersport rental shop, I took the funicular up to the Allmendhubel mountain station (the starting point of the infamous 3km Bob Chase featured in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service). After a few quick practice runs, I whisked down the soft, powdery slopes of the Blumental Valley, peppered with pines and chalet-like holiday homes with a sense of wonder and a child-like grin plastered across my face.

"When growing up in Mürren as a child, I didn't realise how lucky I was because I took [this] all for granted," said Bühler. "As a teenager, I even found the village too small and limiting. However, after I travelled around a bit and returned to Murren, I fell in love with it all over again, especially with the sense of freedom it gave me. Today, I often feel speechless when I wake up here and find it hard to describe Mürren, because no words seem to do its beauty justice. It is a place that needs to be experienced and felt."

Even after just a two-day visit, I think I know what she means.

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