The Niesen is the mountain you cannot miss from Lake Thun: a free-standing pyramid served by a single funicular. 83 minutes from Interlaken Ost — and unlike the Susten Pass (116 minutes), what shapes the day here is not the timetable but the fare and the season.
Quick Facts
- Getting There
- 83 min from Interlaken Ost, two changes
- Duration
- Half to full day
- Price
- CHF 64.00
- Season
- 25 April to 8 November 2026, daily
- Best for
- Views, mountain restaurant, hiking start
Journey time checked
What your pass is actually worth here
This is the part worth reading before you buy anything, because it is routinely flattened into «mountain railways are included». On the Niesen the operator states three different things, and they do not agree with each other:
- Swiss Travel Pass — reduced, not free. The operator lists it under «Reduktionen» together with the Half Fare travelcard and the GA. That means half the fare: CHF 32.– instead of CHF 64.– for the return trip.
- Berner Oberland Pass — free. The one pass that carries you up at no extra charge.
- Magic Pass — not valid. The fare page says so in as many words.
So if you are travelling Switzerland on a Swiss Travel Pass and budgeting the day, the Niesen costs you CHF 32.– on top, not nothing. Read on the operator's fare page on 19 August 2026.
Every 30 minutes, all season
Measured against the Swiss timetable for Wednesday 12 August 2026, over eight departure times as the daily minimum: train to Spiez, on to Mülenen, then the Niesenbahn up to Niesen Kulm.
- 83 minutes as the daily minimum — the 09:07 from Interlaken Ost is at the top by 10:30. Two changes.
- 91 minutes for the rest — what the other services of the day take, also with two changes.
- Last descent 17:45 from Niesen Kulm, back in Interlaken Ost at 19:26.
The timetable is expressly not the constraint here. In season the funicular runs daily every 30 minutes — every 15 at peak times — from 08:00 out of Mülenen to 17:45 off the summit. You can go on the weather rather than on the clock, which is the opposite of the Susten Pass, where a summer day offers exactly two usable services up.
The fares
- Return, Mülenen – Niesen Kulm – Mülenen: CHF 64.–, reduced CHF 32.–.
- One way: CHF 40.–, reduced CHF 20.–.
- Hiking ticket: CHF 51.– — ride three sections, walk one, sections freely chosen.
That makes the Niesen the fifth-dearest mountain ride on this site. Only the Jungfraujoch, the Schilthorn, the Brienzer Rothorn (CHF 98.00) and the Männlichen (CHF 68.00) cost more; the Oeschinensee sits well below at CHF 40.00.
The longest staircase in the world — and you may not set foot on it
Beside the funicular track runs the railway's service stairway, and it is what the Niesen is known for beyond the region: 11,674 steps, by the operator's own account the longest staircase in the world. It appears in every list of Swiss superlatives. What rarely travels with it is the sentence printed right next to it on the operator's own page:
«Das Betreten der Treppe ist verboten» — entering the staircase is forbidden.
And that is enforced: «Bei Widerhandlung werden die Personalien aufgenommen und 59 Franken einkassiert» — your details are taken and 59 francs collected. There are exactly four legal ways onto the steps, and none of them runs during normal railway operation:
- The «Stäge-Abo» at CHF 490 — an annual pass sold at the Mülenen ticket office; it allows the staircase to be used between 03:00 and 07:00.
- Hiring the staircase for trained groups of around ten people or more, booked with the operator in advance — likewise between 03:00 and 07:00.
- The official stair training evenings, held on selected evenings without regular late services: runners start between 18:30 and 18:45, the finish closes at 21:00 at the summit station.
- The annual Treppenlauf, the official stair race.
If you arrive planning to walk the famous staircase, you are planning a trip that does not exist in that form. The mountain is still worth walking — on the marked hiking paths, which is what the CHF 51.– hiking ticket is for.
A shorter season than most destinations here
Season 2026: Saturday 25 April to Sunday 8 November, daily, with an extension option in fine weather. Outside those roughly six and a half months there is no public transport to the summit at all — the funicular is the only way up. The operator advertises occasional «Winter-Spontanfahrten»; those are an offer, not a timetable you can plan around.
Is it worth it for me?
Probably yes if you want a wide, unobstructed view over Lake Thun, the Bernese Alps and out into the Mittelland, and you like a mountain that stands alone rather than in a chain. The frequent funicular makes it an easy, low-commitment day.
Probably not if you are coming for the staircase — it is closed. And not if the fare decides it: CHF 64.– return is more than the Oeschinensee, and a Swiss Travel Pass halves that figure without removing it.
Fares and timetable at Niesenbahn AG
Where it is
The Niesen stands between the Kandertal and Lake Thun, above Mülenen in the municipality of Reichenbach im Kandertal; the valley station sits on the Spiez–Kandersteg line. From Interlaken it is the same direction as the Oeschinensee, only not as far. Coordinates and altitude come from the federal gazetteer and height service, queried on 12 August 2026: 2,361.8 metres at the point «Hauptgipfel Niesen (BE)». Note that the gazetteer lists a second Niesen in canton Bern — a summit above Oberried on Lake Brienz. Searching the bare name returns both.
Weather at 2,362 m
The forecast applies to 2,362 m above sea level — 1,794 metres above Interlaken (568 m). It is computed for that altitude, not for the valley.
Loading the forecast …
Forecast for 2,362 m — data: Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Niesen covered by the Swiss Travel Pass?
Reduced, not free. The Niesenbahn lists the Swiss Travel Pass together with the Half Fare travelcard and the GA under «Reduktionen» — you pay half the fare, so CHF 32.– instead of CHF 64.– for the return trip. The only pass that rides free here is the Berner Oberland Pass. The Magic Pass is expressly not accepted. Read on the operator's own fare page on 19 August 2026.
How do I get to the Niesen from Interlaken?
Train to Spiez, on to Mülenen, and from there the Niesenbahn funicular to the summit. 83 minutes as the daily minimum with two changes, measured against the Swiss timetable for Wednesday 12 August 2026 over eight departure times. Most connections take 91 minutes; the fastest leaves Interlaken Ost at 09:07 and reaches the top at 10:30.
What does the Niesen funicular cost?
The return trip Mülenen–Niesen Kulm–Mülenen costs CHF 64.– for adults, CHF 32.– reduced. A one-way ticket is CHF 40.–, and the hiking ticket (ride three sections, walk one) is CHF 51.–. Season 2026 prices, read at the operator on 19 August 2026.
Can I climb the Niesen staircase?
No. The 11,674 steps running beside the track are, by the operator's own account, the longest staircase in the world, and for the general public the rule is «Das Betreten der Treppe ist verboten» — entering the staircase is forbidden. Do it anyway and 59 francs are collected on the spot. The stairs may be used on four routes only: with the «Stäge-Abo» season pass at CHF 490 or as a booked group hire of around ten people or more — both between 03:00 and 07:00 — on one of the official stair training evenings, or as an entrant in the annual stair race.
When does the Niesen funicular run?
In 2026 daily from Saturday 25 April to Sunday 8 November, with an extension option in fine weather. Departures are every 30 minutes, the first up at 08:00 from Mülenen and the last down at 17:45 from Niesen Kulm. Outside those months the summit cannot be reached by public transport at all.
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