The Schilthorn

The cable car climbs in stages out of the Lauterbrunnen valley, through the car free villages of Gimmelwald and Mürren, on to the rock station at Birg and finally to the Schilthorn at just under three thousand metres. The summit building carries a revolving restaurant that opened in 1967 and was used two years later as a location in a James Bond film, which the operators have never let anyone forget: there is an exhibition and a walk through film sets at the top. Set that aside and the reason to come is the line of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau standing directly opposite across the valley. At Birg a metal walkway is bolted to the outside of the cliff below the station.

What you actually see

• The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau - the three peaks in a row directly across the valley.
• The revolving restaurant - a slow full turn of the horizon while you sit still.
• The walkway at Birg - a metal gangway and glass floor fixed to the cliff face.
• Gimmelwald and Mürren - car free villages on the shelf above the valley.

When to go

The lift runs year-round. Clear winter days above the valley fog are excellent, and June to September opens the ridge walks and the paths down to Mürren. Cloud tends to build from late morning in summer, so go early and check the summit webcam first; there is no reason to pay for fog.

Honest expectations

It is one of the more expensive lifts in a country full of them, and the summit is heavily themed around the film, which grates if you came for mountains. Queues at Stechelberg and at each change build through the high season. The exposed walkway at Birg is not for anyone uneasy with heights and shuts in bad weather.

Nearby

Mürren on the shelf below, the Lauterbrunnen valley beneath that, and the Jungfrau region opposite.