Jungfraujoch Top of Europe Day Trip from Zurich

Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe

Jungfraujoch is the saddle between the Mönch and the Jungfrau peaks, and its station at 3,454 metres has been the highest railway station in Europe since the line opened in 1912. The complex built into the rock includes restaurants, exhibitions and viewpoints, all linked by tunnels so you can explore in comfort whatever the weather outside.

The area belongs to the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage site, recognised for its spectacular high-Alpine landscape. A Jungfraujoch day trip is one of the most famous excursions in Switzerland, and on this tour you have a minimum of two hours at the top. The best time to visit Jungfraujoch is on a clear day, when you can see as far as the Black Forest in Germany.

The Eiger Express from Grindelwald

The journey up begins at the Grindelwald Terminal, where the Eiger Express, a tricable gondola opened in December 2020, climbs to the Eiger Glacier station in about 15 minutes. The ride runs right beneath the famous north face of the Eiger, with glaciers and waterfalls unfolding below the cabin windows.

At the Eiger Glacier you change to the Jungfrau Railway, a cogwheel line that disappears into a seven-kilometre tunnel carved through the Eiger and the Mönch. The railway took 16 years to build, and its centenary in 2012 was marked by the Alpine Sensation, an illuminated passage at the top that tells the story of the line and the region.

The Sphinx terrace and the Aletsch Glacier

A fast lift inside the rock takes you up to the Sphinx Observatory, a research station with an outdoor viewing terrace at around 3,570 metres. From here the Aletsch Glacier stretches south as a vast river of ice, about 20 kilometres long, making it the longest glacier in the Alps. On the other side, the view falls away to the green valleys of the Bernese Oberland.

You can also step out onto the Plateau to feel the snow underfoot and see the Mönch and Jungfrau up close. Temperatures are often below zero even in summer, and the sun reflecting off the snow is intense, so sunglasses are essential for any Jungfraujoch tour.

The Ice Palace and the descent via Wengen

The Ice Palace is a network of passages carved about 20 metres below the glacier surface, decorated with ice sculptures of animals and figures. The walls, floor and ceiling are pure ice, and the temperature stays at about minus three degrees all year, so walk carefully and hold the handrails.

After your time at the summit, the train takes you down past the Kleine Scheidegg pass and through the car-free resort of Wengen, perched on a terrace above the Lauterbrunnen Valley. From Lauterbrunnen the coach brings you back to Zurich, closing a round trip that shows the region from two different sides.