Begin at the railway station in Lauterbrunnen and take the cog railway up to Murren (included on your Jungfraurail pass). Stroll around this quaint, car-free village for awhile, then jump on the private railway to Birg (included in your $21 ticket to Schilthorn).

Take the nauseatingly steep tram up to the peak of Schilthorn and have a cheesy, pricey, but delicious, champagne James Bond breakfast in the rotating restaurant. Afterwards, stroll outside and take in the airy views.

Then head down the gondola to Gimmelwald. (Ticket down from Schilthorn to the bottom of the valley at Stechelberg costs around $29 and includes a stop in Gimmelwald.)

This once-sleepy farming village was discovered by Rick Steeves and is now as crowded as Interlaken. But it's still beautiful. Stroll the streets and meadows above the village and have some late-morning tea before heading down the tram to the head of the Lauterbrunnen Valley at Stechelberg.

Now, you can stroll or bike ($15) the valley back to Lauterbrunnen. There are dozens of places to stop and drink in the views of plummeting waterfalls and icy peaks.

Halfway back to Lauterbrunnen, take the obligatory tour of Trummelbach Falls, a spectacular slot canyon with thundering waterfalls. It'll cost you $7.

This is a great overview if you don't have much time. If you have lots of time, do this first and you'll know which spots you want to go back and visit in-depth.

Admittedly, there is little in the way of actual sights in the village, except for a charming little church and a small museum that houses locally themed exhibits, but that does not mean that there is not much to see. It is actually more pleasant than might reasonably be expected of such a spot, partially due to the presence of several of the aforementioned chalet style places to stay that feature the distinctive broad overhanging roofs that are so typical of the Alps, some of which also have exuberant displays of flowers bedecking the balconies. However, the real aesthetic treat comes in the form of the views of the sheer cliffs that rise steeply on two sides, behind which immense mountains are clearly visible. Whether simply walking along the main street during the day or eating hearty rösti on the terrace of the Hotel Oberland as the sun set, I was always in awe of the incredible backdrop, which proved to be a brilliant appetiser to the astonishing beauty of the area.

Meanwhile, even more spectacular scenes are available out in the valley of the same name, which is quite believably reputed to be one of the most picturesque in the whole of Europe. The lush green fields, which are dotted with lovely traditional farmhouses and huge boulders that have fallen from high above, are a fantastic counterpoint to the starker surrounding landscapes, and are also ideal terrain for easy but extremely rewarding strolls.

The best destination for such a walk through the blissful countryside is the Trümmelbach, which is the most impressive of the numerous waterfalls in the vicinity. For thousands of years, it has vigorously carved a passage through the rock, and the constant noisy passage of thousands of gallons of churning white water every second has formed all kinds of unbelievable curvaceous shapes. Visiting the series of caves that the process has created is an utterly breathtaking thing to do, and well worth paying the admission fee and getting a little wet to experience. In comparison to such evident natural power, the somewhat more leisurely Staubbach, which prettily tumbles almost 1,000 feet much closer to the settlement, seems almost whimsical in appearance.

Around 1350 monks from the monastery in Interlaken succeeded in extending their sphere of influence as far as Wengen and Wengernalp and eventually the whole Lauterbrunnen valley fell into their hands. In 1487 a church was established in Lauterbrunnen and adorned with a bell that was ordered from their old home of Gsteig, which can still be seen in front of the newer church here today.

The year of 1811 saw the start of mountaineering in Lauterbrunnen and the 1st ascent of the Jungfrau. The last decade of the 19th century witnessed the opening of a number of railways in the Jungfrau region including the BOB - Bernese Oberland Railway - from Interlaken to Lauterbrunnen, and the Wengernalp, Schynige Platte and Mürren Railways.

In 1965 the first three sections of the Schilthorn cableway, from Stechelberg to Gimmelwald and then to Mürren, were opened. The last stretch to the peak of the Schilthorn was completed in 1967.

(Stechelberg -- a hamlet/resort at far end of valley connected by cable car with Mürren and Schlithorn.)

We walked along the trail alongside the road from the tiny village -- it took us 1 hour 40 min, although you can take a bus too. We watching even more waterfalls –- there are 72 waterfalls in the valley. Trümmelbach Falls (45-minute walk from the cable car station) are the only glacial falls in the world which have been made accessible deep inside the mountain. It's a worthy excursion on a rainy or cloudy day.

The Staubach Falls (280m), inspired Goethe’s poem "Gesang der Geister über den Wassern" "Song of the Spirit over the Waterfall", music by Franz Schubert. Felix Mendelssohn composed "Songs without Words" here; Tchaikovsky, Lord Byron, and many other 'celebrities' visited it.

J.R. Tolkien, my favorite writer, remarked that "The hobbit’s journey from Rivendell to the other side of the Misty Mountains is based on my adventures in 1911". In that year, Tolkien, aged 19, took a hiking vacation in the Swiss Alps visiting Interlaken, Lauterbrunnental, and Mürren. Tolkien’s experiences here gave life to his descriptions not just of Rivendell, but also of the Mountains of Moria (he explicitly likened the mountain of Zirak-zigil, the peak on which Gandalf fights the Balrog, to the immaculate pyramid of the Silberhorn.

A 200m walk up into the village brings you to the tourist office on the main street (Mon–Fri 8am–noon and 2–6pm; July and Aug also Sat and Sun 8am–3pm).

Eating and drinking are best done in the various hotels along the main street. Near the Post Office you will a small co-op supermarket (Mon–Fri 8am–noon, 2–6:30pm, Sat 8am–noon, 1:30–4pm).

Heimatmuseum (Folkmuseum) is over the bridge below the local church. Open Tue, Thu, Sat, Sun 2–5:30pm, 3 CHF.

Unfortunately, pictures just can’t fully capture the beauty of Lauterbrunnen Valley on a warm spring day, with the fields full of colorful flowers.

There are many view-points in this valley:

Mürren, Wengen/Kleine Scheidegg/Jungfraujoch, Schilthorn, Allmendhubel, etc. These places can also be reached by railway Jungfraubahnen) or cableway.

Also the waterfalls in the back part of the valley, the Smadribachfalls, are breathtaking. This part of the valley is a nature reserve, there is no train or bus, but there are many hiking trails.