How To Get to First Cliff Walk (Switzerland) – Magnificent Views of Swiss Alps From 2166 Metres Above!

In this article, I will be showing you exactly how to get to the famous First Cliff Walk by Tissot in Switzerland. This is a bridge walk along “First”, a famous summit in the Jungfrau region of Bernese Oberland. The bridge stands at over 2000 metres above ground, and culminates in a heart-stopping viewing platform that extends 45 metres out over the cliff face. For this year, the bridge walk will be open from 30 November 2019 until 25 October 2020. Click here for the most updated dates. To get to First Cliff Walk, you just need to take a 25-minute cable car ride from Firstbahn Cable Car Station in Grindelwald. There are no entrance fees for the First Cliff Walk. Below are the details. This article was last updated on 03 March 2020.

Method 1

For Method 1, you will be taking a train to Grindelwald before transferring to a cable car to the First summit.

(This is different from Method 2 where you will be taking a gondola to Grindelwald instead before transferring to the same cable car to the First summit. Method 1 is faster, but it offers slightly less scenic views. We used method 1 because the gondola was still under construction when we visited.)

Step 1. Take the Train to Grindelwald Station

First, you will need to take the train to Grindelwald Station. If you are departing from Interlaken OST or Lauterbrunnen, the ride will only take around 30 minutes.

For us, we departed from Wengen and the train ride took about 1 hour. However, it was a very enjoyable ride and we got to see plenty of beautiful scenery along the way.

The wife and I both had the Swiss Half Fare Card so we could buy our train tickets at half price (CHF 7.90 instead of CHF 15.80 per person).

If you are staying in a further town like Murren or Gimmelwald, the travel time will be significantly longer.

Step 2. Walk to Grindelwald Firstbahn Cable Car Station – 15 minutes

From Grindelwald Station, you will need to walk for about 15 minutes along a mostly straight path to the Grindelwald Firstbahn cable car station.

It was a very pleasant walk through the beautiful town of Grindelwald. Along the way, you will first see the Tommy Hilfiger shop, followed by the Sunstar Hotel. Once you see Buri Sport, you will have reached the cable car station.

Alternatively, you can also take Bus 121, 122, or 123. It will be a very short journey of 5 minutes, with just 2 stops.

Step 3. Take the Cable Car to First (Grindelwald) Station – 25 minutes

At Grindelwald Firstbahn, you will need to buy cable car tickets to travel up to First (Grindelwald) Station. The cable car ride will take about 25 minutes, and there will be two stops (Bort and Schreckfeld) along the way.

The cable car runs once every minute. A one-way ticket costs CHF 30 (CHF 15 with the Swiss Half Fare Card).

The cable car runs for most months of the year except November. You can check out the exact operation dates here.

If you are planning to do any of the First activities (First Flyer, First Glider, Mountain Cart, and Trottibike Scooter), you can buy the cable car and activity tickets together as part of a package. It will be significantly cheaper this way.

For us, we bought the package for the cable car (unlimited rides) and one activity. With our Swiss Half Fare Card, this cost CHF 46 per person.

For our activity, the wife and I both chose the First Flyer ride. If we had purchased the two tickets (cable car + First Flyer) separately, it would have cost us CHF 59 instead.

Therefore, it is important to decide on how many activities you want to do before buying the cable car ticket. For example, if you want to do both the First Flyer and First Glider, then you should buy the package for the cable and two activities.

It is still possible to buy the activity tickets after you reach the summit, but as mentioned it will be more expensive to buy them separately.

To help with your decision, you can refer to this helpful Grindelwald-First brochure which contains the full list of activities prices.

Step 4. Walk to First Cliff Walk by Tissot

Once you reach First (Grindelwald) cable car station, you can reach First Cliff Walk in two ways.

First Way: Walk Through The Restaurant (5 minutes)


The first way is to turn left after you alight from the gondola, and walk through a short tunnel to the Berggasthaus First Restaurant.

Once you reach the restaurant, walk through it, and exit out to the patio. You will then see the amazing lookout platform that extends 45 metres over the cliff.

Second Way: Walk Along the Metal Path (15 minutes)

The second way is to turn right after alighting the gondola, and exit the cable car station. We took this route.

Once outside the station, we walked along this snow-covered trail that led around the hill.

After around 5 minutes, we reached a metal pathway. This is the start of the First Cliff Walk! We walked along the narrow metal pathway, which is suspended at a harrowing height of over 2000 metres above the Swiss mountain valleys.

After walking for about 10 minutes, we reached the lookout platform! The wife, ever the thrill seeker, quickly went out onto the platform to take photos. I followed behind, trying my best to conquer my fear of heights in the shortest amount of time.

Summary of Method 1

1. Take the train to Grindelwald Station
2. Walk to Grindelwald Firstbahn Cable Car Station – 15 minutes
3. Take the Cable Car to First (Grindelwald) Station – 25 minutes
4. Walk to First Cliff Walk by Tissot – 5 or 15 minutes

Method 2

For Method 2, you will be taking a gondola to Grindelwald, before transferring to another cable car to First. This method is slower, but it should offer more scenic views because you will be taking the new V-Cableway (also known as the V-Bahn).

Step 1. Go to Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen Cable Car Station

First, you need to take the train to Wengen Station. From the station, walk for about three minutes to the Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen Station.

Step 2. Take the Cable Car to Männlichen – 5 minutes

From the cable car station, take the Wengen–Männlichen Aerial Cableway to Männlichen. The travel time is only around 6 minutes.

The cable car runs every 20 minutes, and costs CHF 23 (CHF 11.50 with the Swiss Half Fare Card).

The cable car is in operation for most of May to October. Check out the latest cable car daily schedule and operation dates here.

Step 3. Take the V-Cableway to Grindelwald Grund (Männlichen) – 18 minutes

From Männlichen, catch the V-Cableway to Grindelwald Grund (Männlichen).

The V-Cableway is a new cable car system that replaces the old Grindelwald-Männlichen Gondola Cableway. Other than having newer gondolas, the ride time will also be reduced from 30 minutes to 18 minutes.

As of 2019, it is still under construction, and should be ready in 2020. You will be among the first tourists in the world to experience this new gondola.

In the meantime, there is an interim bus service running between Männlichen and Grindelwald.

Step 4. Take the Bus to Grindelwald Firstbahn Cable Car Station – 12 minutes

From Grindelwald Grund (Männlichen), take Bus 121 or 123 for about 12 minutes to Grindelwald Firstbahn cable car station.

Step 5. Take the Cable Car to First (Grindelwald) Station – 25 minutes

Refer to Method 1 (Step 3) above.

Step 6. Walk to First Cliff Walk by Tissot – 5 or 15 minutes

Refer to Method 1 (Step 4) above.

Summary of Method 2

1. Go to Luftseilbahn Wengen-Männlichen Cable Car Station
2. Take the Cable Car to Männlichen – 5 minutes
3. Take the V-Cableway to Grindelwald Grund (Männlichen) – 18 minutes
4. Take the Bus to Grindelwald Firstbahn Cable Car Station – 12 minutes
5. Take the Cable Car to First (Grindelwald) Station – 25 minutes
6. Walk to First Cliff Walk by Tissot – 5 or 15 minutes

Useful Tips For First Cliff Walk

we wore completely wrong shoes for the snowy ground!

1. Swiss Travel Pass
We used the Swiss Half Fare Card which means that we can buy most Swiss train, bus and cruise tickets at half price. This pass costs CHF 120 per person, and it was worth it to buy the pass for us because we spent more than CHF 240 on transport in Switzerland.

If you expect to spend quite a large amount, then you can get the Swiss Travel Pass which gives you unlimited rides on the Swiss transport systems.

You can calculate whether it’s worth buying the Swiss Passes by checking your journey costs at www.sb.ch.

2. Wear Proper Shoes!
If you are visiting in winter, make sure you wear proper snow boots! We visited in April, and to our surprise the ground was still covered in snow.

We wore shoes that were completely unsuitable for walking on snow, and ended up slipping many times along the way.

On hindsight this was pretty funny, but it was definitely not funny when we were trying our best not to fall and break our bones on the hard icy ground.

3. Go Early
Try to go The First Cliff Walk early because there will be many tourists later in the day. We managed to take the very first cable car up, but a short while later another big group of tourists came up too.

4. Jungfraubahn Company Helpdesk
For the most accurate and updated information, you can email the Jungfraubahn company helpdesk. I asked them many logistical questions about my trip to First, and they were extremely prompt and helpful in their replies.

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you a good idea of how to get to the First Cliff Walk in Switzerland! In summary, Method 1 is faster by about 30 minutes, but Method 2 should offer more scenic views because you will be riding in gondolas for most of the way. Therefore, I recommend using Method 1 when going up to First so that you can beat the crowd, and using Method 2 when coming down so you can enjoy the beautiful alpine views. The wife and I could only use Method 1 for both ways because the V-Cableway was still under construction when we visited in April 2019.

First Cliff Walk (Switzerland)
Website: www.jungfrau.ch/en-gb/grindelwaldfirst
Helpdesk Email: helpdesk@jungfrau.ch

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate Jungfrau Region Travel Guide. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away?