Männlichen

On Männlichen, a gondola ride can come with a bottle on board: the VIP-Bordbar on the Grindelwald gondola pours Swiss white wine or Champagne, booked 48 hours ahead. At the top, the Royal Walk climbs 120 m to a crown-shaped platform on the 2343 m summit, facing Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. The gondola itself has a record: when it opened in 1978 it was considered the world's longest. A stop on the Grindelwald trail.

From the top station, the Royal Walk climbs 120 m over 1 km to the summit, with information along the way: about 25 minutes up and 15 down. The crown-shaped platform is labelled with the peaks in view. Back at the Berghaus Männlichen, the bottle list leans on Valais wines from Adrian Mathier of Salgesch, including a Heida at CHF 49. The trails are not barrier-free, but in summer a barrier-free platform stands beside the Berghaus.

Männlichen has two seasons. In 2026 the Grindelwald gondola runs from 23 May to 25 October, and the winter season runs from 12 December 2026 to 4 April 2027. From December to March the Royal Walk is a prepared winter trail of 1.0 km, about 20 minutes, and the Berghaus is open. Between 26 October and 11 December no lift runs. In winter the last ride down leaves at 16.30 until 29 January, then 17.00.

Fares from Grindelwald Terminal: CHF 34 one way or CHF 68 return in summer 2026, CHF 36 or CHF 72 in winter 2026/27, half price with a GA, Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass. From Wengen: CHF 31 or CHF 62 in summer. The VIP-Bordbar costs CHF 8 per person for nuts, crisps and water, plus the bottle (Swiss white wine from CHF 15, Champagne from CHF 25) and the ticket. Send the request at least 48 hours ahead. Lift information: +41 33 828 71 12.

From Grindelwald Terminal, the Berner Oberland Bahn stop, 10-person gondolas reach Männlichen in 19 minutes. From Wengen, two 75-person cabins climb 947 m in under five minutes from the valley station at Wengiboden, a short walk from Wengen railway station. Both arrive beside the Berghaus Männlichen. Paid parking is at Grindelwald Terminal and Lauterbrunnen.

Männlichen is the 2343 m mountain top above Grindelwald and Wengen in the Bernese Oberland, reached by a gondola from Grindelwald and a cable car from Wengen. Beside the top station stand the Berghaus Männlichen, a mountain hotel with a self-service panorama restaurant and a 330-seat terrace, and the start of the Royal Walk to the summit's crown-shaped platform.

The Kaufmann family first ran the Berghaus Männlichen from 1955 to 1963, and Daniela Stalder Kaufmann took over the lease in 2010 as the third generation. The Wengen cable car opened in 1954. The Grindelwald gondola followed on 23 December 1978 and was considered the world's longest; its replacement opened on 14 December 2019. The crown platform opened in June 2015, and the open-air balconies on the Wengen cabins came in 2018.

The VIP-Bordbar is also on the winter programme, so a bottle on a moving gondola works from 12 December to 4 April, unlike the fondue gondolas in the village, which are stationary. Non-skiers have prepared winter trails to Holenstein (3.0 km) and Kleine Scheidegg (6.5 km, about 2 h 45), and a sledge run from the summit back to the station after a 30-minute climb.