Jungfraujoch Sphinx Observatory — Attraction in Fieschertal

This was just utter chaos. We bought a Good Morning Ticket at a discount which allowed us to get on any of the first three trains in the morning "at our convenience." We got to the Grindelwald station by 7:00am and boarded the first train up. Then we changed trains once and thought we were good. Nope. There was a second train change and that's where chaos ensued.

There were hundreds and hundreds of people in a mob more than a line and a couple employees with no ability to exert any control. Apparently the good morning ticket doesn't guarantee you a seat on the first three trains, and they clearly overbooked by hundreds of tickets. We watched the 8:15, 8:45, 9:15, and 9:45 trains leave as our mob moved forward like penguins once every 30 minutes. We finally got on the 10:15 train after getting up at 5:30am, arriving at Jungfraujoch close to 11:00.

It wasn't much better inside Jungfraujoch. One of the attractions is elevators to take you up to a viewing platform. Again there were no employees and no lines, just a mob. When the doors opened it was a mad push to funnel people into the elevators. It was dangerous, and they will absolutely hurt someone someday. There was a little girl with her family in front of my wife and I, and we did what we could to help them protect her. Chaos.

We did finally make it completely outside to a trail that goes about a mile and a half uphill. I would say that 98% of visitors never venture more than 25 feet outside. We loved the walk / hike up to a restaurant. We were practically alone the whole way at 12,000 snow covered feet. However, then we had to re-enter the tunnel and reboard the train back down. Terrible again.

The leadership and management of Jungfraujoch should be embarrassed and ashamed of the chaos they drove by overselling tickets and then grossly mis-managed with a lack of leadership, employees, and order. It's a shame, because good leadership could have made this a great place to visit. It's not that hard to manage large crowds, enforce lines and distancing, and sell the right number of tickets. Parks and attractions all over the world do...

A visit to the Jungfraujoch mountain is probably on every tourist’s bucket-list esp. if they have read a guide-book or a website selling the Top of Europe train ride. We checked the weather in Interlaken and bought tickets for the group at an expensively jaw-dropping price. Since we were staying in Wengen, we conveniently hopped on this train for a quicker ride. The views and weather at ⁨Kleine Scheidegg base station were other-worldly beautiful. Our excitement was building as we were seamlessly transferred to the smaller train for ride to Europe’s highest train station. Upon arrival, we were delivered into a multi-level tourist indoor complex full of multiethnic fast-food type joints selling samosas and chai for Indian crowd, and other items; if you had more money you could have a sit down experience. And plenty of shops selling chocolates, trinkets, toys and high-end items. You could also take tour of museum for history of this train station, or check out the the man-made ice-cave corridors. As we were wondering, how about the glaciers and mountains. Ah! Just wait. You come outside to soak-in scenery from outdoor viewing area. There comes the disappointment - limited vistas from a rather small viewing station. The open-air outdoor views are limited. I could see the more adventurous kind going down the slopes for more real fun. For an average tourist, the train ride, the views and what few things you could do was definitely not worth the hype or the price. Jungfrau region is gorgeously beautiful and an amazing place for skiers and snowboarders. I am afraid that the Top of Europe train ride comes short.

By comparison, for more pristine views and at fraction of cost, Schilthorn is worth considering. Our ride up from Lauterbrunnen was free with the travel pass. A stop-over to indulge in adventurous walk over a rope (James Bond style!) was thrilling. We started in the afternoon and by then the clouds had covered peaks and we could be go all the way to the highest level....

Absolutely stunning! Not just the ride up to the top in the cog wheel railway, but once you get up there it will blow you away.

Yes it's expensive, and yes the food up the top is also very expensive, still 100% worth the price for the trip up, maybe take your own snacks though.

We booked well in advance and I would recommend you do the same, we also reserved seats but didn't really notice anything different in terms of whether it was actually worth it. Perhaps if you travel during a busy period you would want to, although keep in mind we travelled up on the 26th of December.

There is so much information about the general area and also all the good work that is being done up there in terms of research. Although it was very disappointing to see other tourists smoking cigarettes outside in the clearly signposted areas saying "NO Smoking". There is sensitive air quality research happening up there and it's very disrespectful for people to just smoke anyway.

Perhaps a plain clothed staff member in the outside areas to watch for this would be ideal? Although it can get VERY cold over time so not sure how viable it would be.

Definitely bring some warm clothes if you plan on waiting in any of the lines to take photos with the top of Europe flag outside, we were there on quite a nice day and it was still freezing after 15 minutes standing there.

The views need no explanation, stunning.

We had some issues with the 25% discount that you get from the Eurail pass, the information has only just changed and we were unaware. You need to be on a travel day for the 25% discount to be valid, rather than just having a valid pass as what it used to be.

If you are not then you'll need to pay the extra 25% on the train heading up. Thankfully the Jungfrau team was very helpful and has refunded the difference for us as the information had only just changed and we were unable to know. We appreciated that.

If you're in the area, make Jungfraujoch a top of your to...