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INTERLAKEN isn't much more than its long main street, Hoheweg , with a train station at each end. It has little to amuse the trippers passing through on their way to the mountains, save for the cafes and hotel bars lining Hoheweg and some great views towards the Jungfrau massif, perfectly framed between two hills and best savoured from Hohematte, a central grassy rectangle of parkland. The town lies on a neck of land between two of Switzerland's most attractive lakes , and the best way to arrive is by boat. Interlaken Ost station is the terminus of mainline trains and the departure point for branch lines into the mountains; boats also dock here from Brienz, on the Luzern rail line. Trains from the Bern/Zurich direction pass first through Interlaken West (docking point for Thunersee boats), and this station is nearer to the tourist office , which sits beneath the town's tallest building at Hoheweg 37 (Mon-Fri 8am-noon & 2-6pm, also June-Sept Sat 8am-5pm, Oct-May Sat 8am-noon; July & Aug also Sun 5-7pm; tel 033/822 21 21, www.interlakentourism.ch ). Beware that accommodation fills up very quickly in the summer and winter high seasons; there are hotel lists and courtesy phones at both stations. Interlaken's HI hostel is 2km east, at Aareweg 21 in Bonigen (tel 033/822 43 53, www.youthhostel.ch ; GBP10-15/$16-24; bus #1); you'd do better joining the backpacker crowd at the excellent SB Balmer's Herberge , fifteen minutes south of town at Hauptstrasse 23, Matten (tel 033/822 19 61, www.balmers.com ; GBP5-10/$8-16). There are quieter hostels in town, led by the quality SB Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof , Alpenstrasse 16 (tel 033/826 71 71, www.villa.ch ; GBP10-15/$16-24), which also has Internet access; also try Alp Lodge , Marktgasse 59 (tel 033/822 47 48, www.alplodge.ch ; GBP10-15/$16-24), or the SB Happy Inn , Rosenstrasse 17 (tel 033/822 32 25, www.happy-inn.com ; GBP5-10/$8-16). The nearest campsite is Sackgut behind Ost station (tel 033/822 44 34; closed Nov-April). Of the dozens of hotels , Alphorn , Rugenaustrasse 8 (tel 033/822 30 51, www.hotel-alphorn.ch ; GBP20-25/$32-40) is a charming, well-run little place. For budget food , visit Migros restaurant opposite West station (currently undergoing rebuilding work); PizPaz on Centralstrasse for pasta, pizza and fish dishes; or El Azteca , Jungfraustrasse 30, offering Mexican set-meals from Sfr14. Cafe Runft opposite West station is a tearoom, snackerie and bar open until 3am; Positiv Einfach , Centralstrasse 11, is a small but hip music bar; and Balmer's hostel has cheap beer. In adventure sports , Alpin Raft (tel 033/823 41 00, www.alpinraft.ch ) is the local leader, running loads of activities every day from skydiving to horse trekking.
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