Grindelwald

Grindelwald needs 2 days: the village at the foot of the Eiger, one of the three most feared north faces in world mountaineering alongside the Matterhorn and the Grandes Jorasses, on one, the Firstbahn cable car up to the First region, with trails, zip lines and the suspended First Cliff Walk, on the other. June-September is best for snow-free hiking; December-March for skiing. It's cheaper than Zermatt. The Eiger's north face, an 1,800-meter near-vertical wall, wasn't first climbed until 1938 after several fatal attempts, and remains one of the great challenges in world mountaineering.