Wengen

Wengen occupies a sunny shelf at about thirteen hundred metres on the eastern side of the Lauterbrunnen valley, reached only by the Wengernalpbahn - no road climbs to it, so the village runs on electric carts and hand trolleys. British visitors effectively made it: they came in numbers from the 1880s, founded the Downhill Only Club here, and the Anglican church and the tone of some of the older hotels still show it. The Lauberhorn race, run since 1930 on the slopes above, is the longest downhill in the World Cup at around four and a half kilometres, with a run time approaching two and a half minutes - considerably longer than any other course on the circuit, and January race weekend fills the whole valley.

What you actually see

• No road, only rail - the Wengernalpbahn as the sole access.
• The Lauberhorn - the longest World Cup downhill, run since 1930.
• A British-made resort - the Downhill Only Club and the Anglican church.
• A sunny terrace - the village facing the Jungfrau across the valley.

When to go

June to September, or the ski season. Two days.

Honest expectations

Lauberhorn weekend in January books out the valley a year ahead and prices multiply. Everything is carried by rail, which is reflected in costs. Trains stop in the evening. The village is small and quiet out of season.

Nearby

Murren faces it across the valley; Kleine Scheidegg is up the railway.