AUGUST 2023
Visiting Jungfraujoch was something I was very interested in, but also very hesitant about as it is a very expensive activity. The idea of being able to sleigh in the snow in summer seemed like so much fun, so when I found a way to visit the Jungfraujoch in a relatively affordable way, I booked the tickets! In this blogpost you will discover whether visiting was really worth it and I will tell you all about the activities on top of the mountain.
Practical information
The Jungfraujoch is the land that is in between the Jungfrau and the Mönch mountains. Here you can find the Aletsch Glacier, meaning there will be snow year-round. The Jungfraujoch advertises itself as the “Top of Europe”, as it is the highest accessible point in Europe with 3,454 meter. You can access it by train, which goes through a super long tunnel. This railway has already been here since 1912, which is really impressive. As you mostly travel by tunnel, you probably won’t be amazed by the views along the way, but it certainly is an impressive piece of engineering.
Getting to the Jungfraujoch is a very expensive activity. Regular tickets often cost over 200CHF. I personally think this is too expensive if you have been to glaciers before. The Jungfraujoch is stunning, but this price is excessive. We were able to visit for 80CHF per adult (Hugo was free) because we already had the Jungfrau travel pass and this gives you right to a hefty discount. Because I was interested in visiting the Jungfraujoch, I did the math and decided that the Jungfrau travel pass would be a good deal for us (about 280 CHF for 6 days of unlimited travel in the Jungfrau region). Make sure to buy your tickets a few days in advance, or you will be forced to buy a ticket with a seat reservation, making the visit even more expensive.
Things to do on Jungfraujoch
When you have paid the hefty entrance fee, there actually is a lot to do on the Jungfraujoch. Most activities are free, but you do need to pay extra for the zipline and to rent a sleigh (15CHF). I actually felt a bit guilty for visiting the Jungfraujoch as it is the perfect example of how much entertainment people need. They created so many activities just to entertain people, while the views should have been good enough. I shouldn’t lie, I loved getting to visit an ice palace, this was one of my main reasons for visiting. Hugo was a bit too young for the ice palace and couldn’t really see the fun in it though.
The tunnel system itself was also very impressive and the sleighing during summertime was magical! But, at times it just felt a bit too capitalistic. You can find a fancy restaurant on top, and also a canteen style restaurant. The first one being way too expensive and the second one being way too crowded (we brought sandwiches to compensate for our spending this day). You can also find a chocolate factory and a watch store; all trying to seduce you to spend even more, we skipped those immediately.
One thing that also seemed fun was the hike to an alpine hut, we saw many people embarking on it. We didn’t realize how intense the snow would be in the sunshine, so this was too much for us with Hugo who doesn’t want to wear sunglasses. And one thing I think you should know before visiting: it gets really crowded. Apparently, many people have enough money to do such lavish activities that even when it is not high season it gets busy up here. Especially when the train has just arrived and everybody still needs to spread out over the complex, it feels really busy. We did encounter a boy on our hikes, who was able to get a discounted ticket by taking up the first train to Jungfraujoch. This seems like a win-win in price and to avoid crowds, so that would be another way to visit Jungfraujoch.
All in all I was very happy that we visited Jungfraujoch, but I also wouldn’t have want to visit for the full-price.
