Tourismuseum Unterseen

The Tourismuseum Unterseen is described as Switzerland's first museum of tourism, housed over three floors of an old house at Obere Gasse 26 in Unterseen Old Town, beside Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland. It covers about 500 years of Alpine tourism, from early travellers and writers who came to see the mountains, through the grand hotel era, to the development of mountaineering, railways and souvenir culture. Displays include period posters, travel gear, postcards, hotel memorabilia and objects relating to the Jungfrau region, arranged room by room so that the building itself feels part of the story. The museum is small and quirky, and it suits a wet afternoon or a slower stop between walks along the cobbled lane. A visit takes about one hour. Opening is limited: from 1 March to 23 November 2026, it is open Wednesday to Sunday from 2:00PM to 5:00PM, closed on public holidays, with shorter hours in winter. Adult admission is about CHF 8, paid in cash, and youths up to 16 pay about CHF 4, though confirming at the door is sensible. The museum phone is +41 79 476 96 26. Visitors reach it with a 10-minute walk from Interlaken West station across the Aare bridge. The building has steep stairs and no step-free access. Crowds are rarely an issue, and weekday afternoons are generally the quietest, while rainy days bring the most visitors. Information is mostly in German with some English, so a phrasebook or translation app helps. The museum pairs well with a stroll through Unterseen Old Town and a coffee on Obere Gasse.