A village that sits directly under the 1,800m north face of the Eiger, and a mountain station — First — with a real cliff-walk suspended off the rock and an easy hike to a turquoise glacial lake. Free overnight at a friend's in Besançon each way, Swiss vignette sorted once, bike inside with the front wheel off.
Grindelwald is 20 minutes further up the valley from Interlaken and sits face-to-face with the Eiger's infamous 1,800m north face (the Nordwand) — the wall that killed climbers for decades before the first successful ascent in 1938. You don't need to climb anything to feel the scale of it: it's free, visible, and enormous from the village itself. What sets this trip apart from a lake day in Interlaken or a valley walk in Lauterbrunnen is First — the cable car station above the village with the First Cliff Walk by Tissot, a walkway cantilevered straight off the cliff face, plus adrenaline options (First Flyer zipline, Trottibike scooter descent) and an easy, genuinely spectacular hike to Bachalpsee, a turquoise glacial lake reflecting the peaks. This file focuses on Grindelwald and First specifically; it sits 20–25 km from Interlaken and combines easily into one longer Bernese Oberland trip with Trip-Interlaken.html (the two lakes) or Trip-Lauterbrunnen.html (the waterfall valley and car-free villages) if you have more than an extended weekend to spend.
Same pattern as the other Alps/Switzerland trips in this series: break the long haul east with a free night (or two) at a friend's place, working remotely from there instead of burning a vacation day driving. This file is built around Besançon, which also happens to have a confirmed Tesla Supercharger for the outbound leg. If your friend is in Belfort instead, the pattern is identical and the second leg is a little shorter (Belfort sits closer to the Swiss border) — use the Besançon numbers below as the reference point and expect roughly 20–25 km less on the Swiss side.
| Leg | Distance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meudon-la-Forêt → Besançon | ≈ 414 km, ~4h20 | A6/A31/A36, tolled French autoroute — no vignette needed yet, still in France |
| Besançon → Grindelwald | ≈ 233 km, ~3h05 | Via Basel and Bern, then up the valley past Interlaken |
| Direct Meudon-la-Forêt → Grindelwald (for reference) | ≈ 737 km, ~6h35 | Skipping the Besançon stop entirely — the whole point of this trip is not doing this in one push |
Real-world range on this car is ~330–370 km, so the Meudon↔Besançon leg (414 km) needs one Supercharger stop each way — the Besançon Supercharger itself (Rue André Breton, 12 stalls, up to 250 kW, 24/7) sits right at the end of that leg, so a full charge there sets you up for the whole second leg. The Besançon→Grindelwald leg (233 km) is comfortably inside real-world range on a full charge from Besançon, so no charging stop is needed on Swiss soil.
There is no Tesla Supercharger in Grindelwald itself, and none directly in Interlaken either. The nearest confirmed Supercharger to the whole Jungfrau region is Bern-Westside (Riedbachstrasse, Bern — 12 stalls, up to 250 kW, 24/7), useful as a top-up before heading up the valley if you need it, though most trips won't. Grindelwald and Interlaken hotels have slower Tesla Destination Chargers (e.g. the Victoria-Jungfrau in Interlaken) for overnight AC top-ups, not fast charging.
Load the bike inside (front wheel off) before you leave. Arrive Besançon late evening, free night at your friend's.
Full remote workday from your friend's place. No drive today — this is the buffer that makes the whole trip work as an extended weekend rather than a single brutal push. If you have time after logging off, top up the car fully at the Besançon Supercharger ready for the Swiss leg. Free night again.
Morning drive out, arrive Grindelwald by early-mid afternoon. First stop, no ticket required: just look up. The Eiger's north face fills the sky directly above the village — free, and genuinely startling in person. Walk the village, get oriented, and if there's daylight left, take a short valley walk toward Pfingstegg or along the Bort trail for a lower-angle view of the face and the glacier gorge below it.
The full mountain day. Take the gondola up to First (2,168m) — a return ticket runs about CHF 76 in the 2026 May–October season. Once up top, the First Cliff Walk by Tissot, a walkway and viewing platform suspended off the cliff edge, is free to walk — no extra ticket beyond the gondola fare. If you want an adrenaline add-on, the adventure park (First Flyer zipline, First Glider, Mountain Cart, Trottibike scooter descent) runs roughly CHF 69 for one activity up to CHF 99 for all four, on top of the gondola ticket — entirely optional and not in the budget below.
Then walk to Bachalpsee: an easy, well-maintained trail from First station, about 2.7 km / 45–60 minutes each way, mostly flat with alpine meadows, grazing cows, and constant views of the Schreckhorn and Finsteraarhorn. The lake itself sits at 2,265m and the turquoise-glacial colour is real, not an edited photo — on a calm day the peaks reflect in the water. Easy enough to do as an out-and-back before taking the gondola back down. Rösti (or cheese fondue) splurge dinner in the village tonight — expect roughly CHF 25 (≈€27) for a proper plate.
Work remotely from a Grindelwald café in the morning (or the campsite, if the wifi holds), one last look at the north face, then drive back toward Besançon after logging off. Free night at your friend's.
Home in time for Wednesday.
Bike travels inside the car with the front wheel removed — zero range penalty, unlike a roof or hitch rack (see the Car Camping, Food & Bike Guide for the loading method). Grindelwald itself is steep valley terrain, not really a cycling destination the way Interlaken's lakeshores or Aiguebelette are — the realistic use for the bike here is a flatter valley-floor spin near the campsite or down toward Interlaken's lake paths if you're combining this with that trip. Don't plan on riding up toward First; it's a cable car for a reason.
| Category | How it's calculated | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| French tolls | Meudon↔Besançon round trip, A6/A31/A36, ~€35/leg | ≈ €70 |
| Swiss vignette | CHF 40, one-time, valid ~14 months (reusable on future Swiss trips) | ≈ €43 |
| Charging | ~1,294 km × ~0.17 kWh/km ≈ 220 kWh × ~€0.42/kWh blended FR/CH rate | ≈ €92 |
| Lodging | 4 free nights (Besançon friend, both ways) + 2 nights Camping Gletscherdorf (~CHF 48/night ≈€52) | ≈ €104 |
| Groceries + 1 rösti splurge | 6 self-cooked days (~€12/day, Swiss groceries pricier) + 1 dinner (CHF 25 ≈€27) | ≈ €99 |
| First cable car + Cliff Walk (free) + misc parking | Gondola return CHF 76 (≈€82) + parking/village tourist tax | ≈ €92 |
| Total | €500 | |