Top of Europe

Top of Europe, Jungfraujoch, Switzerland (May 20th, 2016)

Jungfraujoch, also called 'The Top of Europe', is the saddle between Mönch and Jungfrau two 4000+ meter mountains in the Swiss Bernese Alps. The sphinx observatory platform is one of the highest observatories and weather research station. I took the famous cogwheel train from Grindelwald to Jungfraujoch Railway Station, the highest railway station in Europe. Along the way, we switched trains in Kleine Scheidegg and had two stops, one in Eigerwand and one in Eismeer. Although they are raiwlay stations, they are really more stops along the way for a lookout since they are in the middle (literally inside) of the mountain tunnels. The summit is self explanatory and had a nice exhibit as well as the ice tunnel and few stores. Afterwards, the train back down to Lauterbrunnen was taken.

Jungfrau Switzerland Travel Guide - The Top of Europe

A travel guide for riding the train to the Jungfrau in Switzerland and exploring the Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe. The Jungfrau is one of Switzerland's most visited attractions, and is also home to Europe's highest elevation train station. It's an amazing place where you can see glaciers and snow all year round. I begin by giving you an overview of the Jungfrau region itself, then we ride to the Jungfrau on the train from Lauterbrunnen via Wengen and Kleine Scheidegg. Then I explore the various attractions at the top of the Jungfrau at the Jungfraujoch including the Sphinx Platform, the Ice Palace, and the various outside snow play areas. We'll even take a look at how expensive a cup of instant noodle is up here!


The Jungfrau summit is one of the most famous peaks in the Swiss Alps. It has an elevation of about 4000 meters or 13,000 feet. It used to be fairly difficult to access well, until 1912 when Switzerland built the world's highest elevation cogwheel railway which takes you up to about 11,000 feet. And once you're at the top, there's a lot of neat stuff to do.

The Jungfrau is a pricey attraction. It can be a hundred, to a hundred and fifty Swiss franks depending upon where you're coming from. But I think it's really worth it. A lot of people, including Rick Steves say it's too manufactured for them, but let me tell you, I enjoy this manufactured platform that I can view the amazing view from. Otherwise I'd have to be like an ice climber and climb up this mountain. Which I never would.

If you're coming to Switzerland the Jungfrau is a must see for the natural beauty and splendor. It is truly amazing. Most trips to the the Jungfrau will start at Interlaken Ost. It's a station at the bottom of the valley. There's a few different ways to work your way up to the top ultimately to the Jungfraujoch or the saddle that's in between the two mountains. In this video I'll be going up the way by Wengen. You can also go up via Grindelwald. And you can also make it a circle trip. You can go up one way and then down the other.

The beginning of the journey up to the Jungfrau, you take the cogwheel train. It'll come up from Lauterbrunnen, and it stops in Wengen. And then it goes up to the station where you take the main train to actually go up to the Jungfrau. This train is kinda cool because it's a cogwheel train. You can actually see there's a track in the middle of it that has all these spikes on it that has the wheel so this train can be really steep. And I'll tell you, the train is really loud. And what's interesting is, the windows you can actually put your hand outside you get fresh air coming in which is really great on a day when it's probably not too hot.

There's a really popular travel quote that says, It's not the destination. It's the journey. And this is one of those trips that it really is the journey. I mean the destination's cool, but the views on the journey are epic. So enjoy the views on the train ride. Have your camera at the ready.

The different facilities at the Jungfrau are connected via these underground tunnels. You come in and it's the restaurant complex. The tunnel will take you out to a lot of the outdoor activities. One of the coolest places at the Jungfrau is at the high climate altitude research station. This is the Sphinx Terrace. It's an altitude of 11,782 feet. From up here you can see snow and what looks like to be a big glacier, in this direction. You can see down into the valley where there's no snow. You can see the snow tubing and the snow hiking paths. I will say why you're up here be careful not to drop anything small because it's open grating and that is a long way down.

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You might enjoy watching some more of my series from Switzerland:

Zurich Travel Guide:

Bern Travel Guide:

Murten Travel Guide:

Switzerland's longest summer toboggan run:

Things I love about Swiss Travel:

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