Here is the answer people actually come for: the First Cliff Walk takes about 15 minutes, and it is free once you have the gondola ticket. That is not a criticism — it is the single best-value quarter hour in the Jungfrau region. But it does mean the real question is not whether the Cliff Walk is worth it. It is what else you do with the day you spent getting up there.
The short answer
First Cliff Walk at a glance
| How long it takes | 10 to 15 minutes to walk out and back, longer if you stop for photos |
| Cost | Free — included with your First gondola ticket |
| Altitude | 2,166 m, at the First top station |
| Getting there | Gondola from Grindelwald, about 25 minutes — 50% off with a Swiss Travel Pass |
| What it is | A steel walkway bolted to the cliff face, with a suspension-bridge section and a platform projecting into open air |
| Underfoot | Solid steel on most of it, open mesh in sections |
| Difficulty | Flat, handrails throughout, no scrambling — accessible to almost everyone |
| Season | Open year-round, closing in high wind or ice |
What it is actually like
The walkway starts a few steps from the top station, so there is no approach hike. It runs along the rock face with the valley dropping away beneath you, crosses a short suspension-bridge section that moves slightly underfoot, and ends on a viewing platform cantilevered out into open air facing the Eiger north face.
The floor is solid steel for most of the route with mesh sections where you can see straight down. Handrails run the whole way. There is no point at which you have to climb, duck or squeeze past anyone, and it is wide enough for two people to pass comfortably.
Is it frightening? For most people, no — it feels secure because it is. The exposure is real but the structure does not sway beyond the bridge section, and the handrails are chest-height. If you have serious vertigo the mesh floor panels are the part that will get you, and you can walk the solid sections and turn back at the bridge without missing much. Children generally love it.
How to make the day worth it
Fifteen minutes does not justify a gondola ride and a morning. These do, and all three start from the same top station:
Bachalpsee — the one to add
An easy, mostly level hour each way on a good path to a small lake that reflects the Schreckhorn and Wetterhorn.
Go early: the reflection needs still air, and by midday the wind has usually taken it. This is the reason to be at First, more than the Cliff Walk is.
The descent options
First Flyer zipline, First Glider, mountain carts and trottibikes all run down the mountain in summer. None are covered by your pass and all are seasonal.
Worth booking on arrival once you can see the weather, rather than in advance.
The full picture of the mountain, including which of these is worth paying for, is in our Grindelwald First guide.
Practical points
- Go first thing. The Cliff Walk is narrow and it fills with tour groups from mid-morning. At 9am you can have the platform to yourself; at noon you queue for a photo.
- Check the webcam before buying the gondola ticket. The point of the walk is the Eiger, and in cloud you are paying to look at fog.
- It closes for wind and ice. Not often, but it happens — the top station will tell you before you buy.
- Dress for 2,166 m. It is consistently colder and windier on the platform than in Grindelwald, even in August.
- No reservation needed for the gondola or the walk, so you can move the day to whichever morning is clearest.
Cliff Walk or the other one?
Two walkways in this region get confused constantly. The First Cliff Walk above Grindelwald is free with your gondola ticket. The Thrill Walk at Birg, on the way up Schilthorn, is also free with that ticket and is arguably the more dramatic of the two — it has a tunnel crawl and a rope bridge, and Schilthorn is better value on a pass.
Both are worth doing if you are in the region for several days. If you can only do one and you hold a Swiss Travel Pass, Schilthorn is the stronger day out overall.
When the Cliff Walk is not reason enough
The walk is genuinely good and it is also short — worth knowing before you build a day around it.
- It is minutes, not hours. If the Cliff Walk is the single reason you are going up, the cost per minute of experience is poor. It works as one part of a day up there, not as the day itself.
- Vertigo is a real filter. The design is the point: it hangs off the rock face. Travellers who are uneasy with exposure sometimes reach it and turn back, having paid the full fare up.
How this fits the rest of your trip
First works well as an arrival-day half-day, leaving a clear morning for Jungfraujoch or Schilthorn later in the stay. Our 3-day Interlaken itinerary shows how to balance one big peak against the lakes, and the family pass itinerary covers the same ground at a gentler pace.
For how a day up here compares with the other Swiss summits, and what a pass covers, see the mountain excursions guide.
First Cliff Walk questions
How long does the First Cliff Walk take?
About 10 to 15 minutes to walk out and back, longer if you stop for photographs. It starts a few steps from the First top station, so there is no approach walk to add on.
Is the First Cliff Walk free?
Yes, it is included with your Grindelwald First gondola ticket at no extra cost. The gondola itself is 50% off with a Swiss Travel Pass.
Is the First Cliff Walk scary?
For most people, no. It is flat, has chest-height handrails throughout and does not sway except on the short suspension-bridge section. The open mesh floor panels are the part that troubles anyone with serious vertigo — you can walk the solid sections and turn back without missing much.
Is the Cliff Walk worth going up for on its own?
Not really — fifteen minutes does not justify the journey by itself. Pair it with the walk to Bachalpsee, about an hour each way on an easy path, which is the stronger reason to be at First.
What is the difference between the First Cliff Walk and the Thrill Walk?
The First Cliff Walk is above Grindelwald and free with the First gondola ticket. The Thrill Walk is at Birg on the way up Schilthorn, also free with that ticket, and arguably more dramatic — it includes a tunnel crawl and a rope bridge.
When is the best time of day to go?
First thing in the morning. The walkway is narrow and fills with tour groups from mid-morning onwards, and the light on the Eiger north face is better early. Check the summit webcam before buying, since the whole point is the view.
Visit Grindelwald First
Gondola tickets and Swiss Travel Pass discounts for the Cliff Walk and Bachalpsee.