Are you searching for a cozy and picturesque winter getaway in Switzerland? The charming village of Bergün, Switzerland is the next place to be. Nestled in the heart of the Alps in the Grisons canton, this idyllic destination offers a perfect winter weekend retreat. With snow-covered mountains, quaint streets lined with romantic restaurants, and a variety of outdoor activities, Bergün is the ultimate winter wonderland.
Get ready to bundle up and experience the magic of this hidden gem as we take you through a dreamy itinerary for a winter weekend in Bergün, Switzerland.
This personal post is based on visiting Bergün Switzerland during the winter time of January. We arrived Friday late afternoon and departed on Sunday around lunch time. For our weekend in Bergün we visited with our own car from Ticino, so for us it was an easy 2.5 hours driving one way. However for those without a car, you can also do the same weekend with public transportation.
Bergün Switzerland
Bergün is located in the Albula District of Switzerland. This is in the Grisons canton based in the South East of Switzerland.
We were visiting from Lugano, our home city in Ticino. So for us it was just a short 2.5 hours drive to Bergün easily with main highways. Through arriving in the village meant we were driving on the fresh snow and ice covered roads, so winter tires was best (even though they are not mandatory in Switzerland).
Fun Fact: They speak a few languages in Bergün – Italian, German, Swiss German and Romansh! We also met a local person speaking French and Dutch!
Our Weekend Summary
Here is how we visited Bergün for a weekend during Winter as well as our suggestions:
Friday Late Afternoon
We decided to leave early from work and arrive before 6pm in Bergün. So we had everything already packed the day before and we were ready to leave as soon as we closed our work laptops. This gave us a nice opportunity to already explore the village of Bergün when we arrived.
It’s a stunning little village, with a local bank, post office, supermarket and bakery. There is also a few restaurants dotted throughout the village and museums – such as the well known Bahnmuseum Albula (Rhaetian Railway museum) right next to the SBB train station.
We didn’t make a dinner reservation for our Friday night, which at first meant we couldn’t try the restaurant we wanted as it was already full. But we walked around and found a table at the restaurant of Hotel Ladina. Though our tip would be to make a reservation in advance to be sure you have a table for your preferred time, else you might not get a spot until late in the evening.
Our Bed and Breakfast Darlux was the perfect location for our stay, with free parking, a spacious room and a view of the snow white mountains opposite! We also had a balcony, but was too cold to sit outside.
Check posts about the Grisons canton in our main post: Grisons Switzerland: The Largest Eastern Swiss Canton
Saturday Whole Day
For the whole day, we were ready for excitement, fun and adventure. Saturday was the best day as we had all day to have fun with the local sledging runs!
The sledges and a day card for transportation is something we had booked about a month in advance, all easily reserved and paid for online from Mark Sport. That allowed us to enjoy our breakfast and simply walk to the train station for the first train of the day heading towards Preda.
Preda – Bergün Sledging Time!
We took the 10:14am train, which was just a regional train and not the specific sledging train. But this was okay since we didn’t yet have the sledges with us.
For our sledges, we picked them up in Preda right at the SBB train station where you also start the first sledge run. We were off the train first, so we were lucky to be in the queue first too. They gave our sledges and day public transportation cards easily with our reserved barcode that we already had from Mark Sport. It was also possible to queue up and get a sledge and pay on the spot without a reservation, but we suggest to reserve as it’s simply easier and quicker!
It had snowed a lot in the night, but the sledge run was great fun! We didn’t go so fast in the beginning, as it was also quite busy with others of all ages. It was also our first time, so we were learning the technique of going round the corners and staying straight!
We were down back into Bergün in no time, and had an easy hotdog for lunch and a small rest at our apartment. We were planning to next take the Darlux to Bergün sledge run, but unfortunately the lift was broken, so this was not an option for us. So this is something you can consider doing next, instead of the winter hiking that we did.
Winter Bergün Hiking In The Snow
From here we decided to enjoy a few hours with a wintery walk around Bergün and down by the river nearby. It was the perfect opportunity to get away from everyone, as it seemed no one was on the same walking route! We saw the village of Bergun from above and through the snow it was quaint but very pretty!
Like I mentioned before, you could skip this winter hike if the Darlux – Bergün route is open for sledging. Since it was closed for us, we decided to hike!
Preda – Bergün Night Sledging
By 5.47pm we were on the sledging train with our sledge back to Preda. This was for us to explore the run by night, which was specially illuminated this time to enjoy in the dark.
We waited for everyone from the train to get ahead of us this time, so that when we started the sledge run, we wouldn’t have to go slow because of others. It worked our perfect, and seemed like we had the sledge run all to ourselves!! This time we went what felt like extremely fast, with the speed camera on the road showing 19kph! Which ain’t much in the end, but felt brilliant to experience this night sledging!
We finished the night by refreshing up at the B&B, then heading back out for our dinner reservation at 8pm to Piz Ela (recommended for pizza and pasta!). We also handed back in the sledges at the drop off point in Bergün.
Sunday Morning
Since we had to check out by 10am on Sunday from the Bed and Breakfast Darlux, we took the morning slow and enjoyed breakfast with the view of the snow outside. We had to clean off all the snow from the car and then we were ready to pack up our things and leave Bergün.
The B&B Darlux was a lovely stay and we definitely recommend it to others. The host Anna was very welcoming, helpful and provided a delicious choice of breakfast options.
We decided for Sunday that we would explore and have a snowy walk in the valley a little North of Bergun – at Filisur. This was just the next village North of Bergün which we had to drive through anyway.
Landwasser Viaduct
We wanted to see the Landwasser Viaduct that is famously photographed in Switzerland, which was not far from Filisur. It’s a beautiful site, especially with a fresh cover of snow on the bridge and surrounding area. Absolutely stunning to see in person and watch the SBB red trains pass over.
Our full post shares how amazing our visit and winter hike was at the Landwasser viaduct. Check it out!
Summary Bergün Switzerland
Our weekend in Bergün Switzerland was so special for us, with snow the WHOLE time falling, low fluffy clouds making it mysterious and pretty at the same time.
Sledging was 100% fun to try for our first time, and definitely something we would do again in the near future. The night sledging made it even more special to experience together as a couple. Once we do more of these, we’ll link the posts here together so you can see more of Swiss sledging.
Staying and exploring the village of Bergün was also a special time, where we were fully relaxed at the B&B Darlux, enjoyed two restaurants for dinner and loved our snowy winter walk in the hills nearby.
Inspired to see more in the Grisons Canton? Check below:
Bergün Preda Sledging: The Darlux & Preda Routes
Night Sledging in Switzerland: Preda – Bergün Route!
Winter Weekend Itinerary For Bergün Switzerland
Scenic Swiss Explorations At The Lukmanier Pass
Driving the San Bernardino Pass
Winter Sports at San Bernardino Resort
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