Kids can get in on the mountain of summer and winter activities available to tourists in Interlaken. While many people come here for the excellent skiing, if skiing isn’t to your fancy, there are many other activity-based things you can do including hiking and sledging.

Adventure sports
Apart from the obvious allure of the skiing, Interlaken also offers a slew of adrenaline sports for the intrepid traveler. Bungee jumping, paragliding, hang gliding and white water rafting are worth getting exited about, while canyoning, rock climbing, and mountain biking are also big hits.

Golf
The 18-hole Interlaken-Unterseen course has the best golfing in town, yet it is only open from April to October. The fairways and greens at Unterseen are superb and the views equally impressive but prices can be a bit steep on weekends. Those with an Interlaken Visitor's Card can get significant discounts during the week. Phone: ++41 33 823 6016.

Horseback Riding 
Interlaken offers some excellent horseback riding during the summer months and there are some particularly good bridle trails along the river and around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz. The Voegeli Riding School on Scheidgasse in Unterseen offers short lessons and has impressive animals to boot.

Skiing and snowboarding
Many visitors to Interlaken in the winter come for the excellent nearby skiing and snowboarding and there are several world-class resorts within the cityt. The main ski region within reach of Interlaken is Jungrau, which lies to the south in the Alps and includes Grindelwald First, Kleine Scheidegg-Männlichen, and Mürren-Schilthorn. Nearby Habkern has easier skiing and is more family-friendly.

Sledging
There are loads of quality sledging runs within reach of Interlaken, of which the Faulhorn to Grindelwald is the longest run in Europe at about 14 kilometres. You can get to Faulhorn, the starting point, by cable car and a hike from Grindelwald before sledging all the way back to Grindelwald. Other decent runs in the area include Bussalp to Grindelwald and the Eiger Run.

Walking and hiking
Paths around nearby lakes Thun (Thunersee) and Brienz (Brienzersee) provide ample opportunity to go for a stroll. One popular walk goes west of Interlaken along the Aare River to the nature reserve at Neuhaus on Lake Thun. Boats and buses run back to town from here. For hikers the nearby Harder Mountain has some wonderful hikes and is accessible by mountain train from Interlaken Ost station.

Interlaken does well on the cultural side. The wonderful landscape surrounding the city is its biggest draw, with the nearby lakes, the majesty of the Jungfrau Mountain, the lofty Piz Gloria revolving restaurant and the imposing Aare Gorge. In addition, the Tin Figure Museum is fun for the whole family while Unterseen shows off the city’s oldest architecture.

Aare Gorge
The Aare Gorge near Interlaken was carved by the Aare River over millennia and is a stunning natural attraction of the Swiss Alps. Accessible by car along the Grimsel to Susten line to the south of town and open from May to October, the gorge is loaded with caves, arches and sheer drops and a kilometre and a half long and over 195 metres deep in places.

Cruise the lakes
Boat companies offer cruises on Interlaken’s two lakes, Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, with half-day or evening excursions available. Modern motorboats and authentic paddle steamers ply the waters and many have excellent catering facilities, entertainment and bars. There is even a paddle steamer for kids with a children's club.

Saint Beatus Caves
The St Beatus Caves are a must see for those interested in exploring. They are about two and a half kilometres deep. Stalactites, stalagmites, waterfalls and lakes are all present in the well-lit caves, which are accessible by car, bus, boat, or on foot along the Pilgrims' Path from Interlaken. Phone: +41 33 841 1643; website: www.beatushoehlen.ch/eng.

Schilthorn Piz Gloria
Situated at over 2,956 metres above sea level is the world's first revolving restaurant at this altitude. Although pricey, the 360° Alpine panorama is very impressive with views of 200 peaks stretching from the Bernese Alps to France’s Mont Blanc and on to the Black Forest in southern Germany. Piz Gloria is accessible by cable car. Phone: +41 33 826 0007; website: www.schilthorn.ch.

Tin Figure Museum 
Located in Interlaken Castle, the Tin Figure Museum covers world history via well laid out figurine scenes. The museum is especially interesting to lovers of model everything and to kids, blending art with entertainment. There are thousands upon thousands of figures in scores of scenes from world history. Phone: +41 33 823 1332.

Unterseen
Lying just to the north of Aare River is the ancient city of Unterseen, founded in 1279 by Berthold von Eschenbach. Unterseen still displays many of its original buildings and also has the best views of the nearby Jungfrau, Eiger, and Mönch mountains due to its being the highest town on the Aare in the region. Be sure to check out the ancient parish church with its Gothic tower.

Many restaurants and cafés are grouped up along Centralstrasse, Hoheweg, and nearby pedestrian streets in the town centre and the good thing about dining out in Interlaken is that you can get just about everywhere on foot. Everything from traditional Swiss restaurants to McDonald’s burgers can be had here.

A restaurant of note is Bebbis Restaurant on Bahnhofstrasse, opposite West train station, a touristy place best known for its fondue and raclette. Also on the same street is a McDonalds, while My Little Thai, a very popular Thai restaurant, is on Huptstrasse, and El Azteca, an authentic Mexican restaurant, is situated in the Hotel Blume.

Interlaken has loads and loads of souvenir shops and is also a great place to pick up a Swiss Army Knives, watches, and chocolates. The Swiss Knife Center on Höheweg has the much desired Victorinox and Wenger Knives. For watches have a look at Bucherer and Kirchhofer, who stock Rolex, Tag Heuer and Omega. Stick to Swatch and Swiss Military for cheaper Swiss brands.

Those who are really into their chocolate would be better off heading for the Coop supermarket by the Ost train station where prices are significantly cheaper than the souvenir shops. Cow bells, cuckoo clocks, cheap Swiss watches, and leather goods can be had in the string of souvenir shops in the town centre. For authentic Swiss wood carvings, head for Brienz, which lies on the northern shore of Lake Brienz.