Free parking in Interlaken: what actually works in 2026
If you are trying to park for a Jungfrau day trip, the useful answer is not "circle the streets and hope". Official Interlaken and Jungfrau sources point drivers toward the public parking map, Park+Ride Matten, Interlaken Ost and rail-linked parking around Wilderswil instead of promising a magical free all-day central space.
Compare options and terms
Heading to Interlaken?
Book a hotel with its own parking and skip the daily hunt for a space — and reserve a rental car early to save 20-40% versus booking on arrival.
Smarter than circling for parking
Skip Interlaken parking entirely — book a Jungfrau day trip
Most visitors who search "free parking Interlaken" are heading to Jungfraujoch or a Lake Brienz/Thun cruise. Pre-booked tours with hotel pickup remove the parking problem entirely — and you skip ticket queues at Jungfraujoch.
See Interlaken tours & Jungfrau tickets →Affiliate link · cancellation terms are shown by GetYourGuide
Hotels with parking included
Filter Booking.com for hotels with parking — many Interlaken hotels have on-site guest parking (Wilderswil and Matten especially).
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Start with the official paid options, not a hunt for mythical central free parking
- Official pages do not advertise a dedicated free all-day tourist car park in central Interlaken
- Best value official option: Park+Ride Matten at CHF 5 up to 12 hours
- Most convenient station option: Parking Interlaken Ost, right at the Jungfraujoch trains — Jungfrau's station page lists 200 spaces; the parking.ch directory shows CHF 10 per day and 24/7 access, but no official page publishes this car park's tariff, so read the signage on arrival
- Useful rail-linked alternative: Wilderswil station parking with 195 spaces
What the official tourism and Jungfrau parking pages point you to
| Option | Best For | Official Details | My Take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park+Ride Matten | Full-day Jungfrau trips | Jungfrau currently lists CHF 5 up to 12 hours, CHF 10 for 12 to 24 hours, 207 spaces, 24-hour access and direct public-transport links. | The clearest low-cost official answer for a full day. |
| Interlaken Ost station parking | Maximum convenience | Jungfrau's official station page lists 200 parking spaces at Interlaken Ost and no tariff. The parking.ch directory, which states that it does not operate the car park, shows CHF 10 per day and 24/7 access — the same CHF 10 Matten charges for 12 to 24 hours, and double the CHF 5 Matten charges for up to 12 hours — so treat that price as unconfirmed until you see the signage. What you pay for is being right at the Jungfraujoch trains. | Best if proximity matters more than price. |
| Wilderswil station parking | Rail-linked alternative before the centre | Jungfrau currently lists 195 spaces at Wilderswil, CHF 3 up to 3 hours, CHF 10 for 3 to 12 hours, then CHF 5 per additional 12 hours, with 24-hour access. | Useful if you want to switch to rail before the tighter Interlaken approach. |
| Interlaken public parking map | City-centre paid parking | Interlaken Tourism links a public parking map for Interlaken, Matten and Unterseen rather than a single free tourist lot. | Useful if you already know exactly where you need to be in town. |
When "free parking" can still make sense
- If your hotel includes parking, that is usually the cleanest free-parking win for an overnight stay.
- If you only need a short stop, local on-street rules may matter more than all-day tourist parking logic, but you still need to read the signs on site.
- If you are doing a Jungfrau day trip, paying for a predictable official lot is often worth more than the small cash difference.
- Do not assume residential streets or blue-zone spaces are a safe all-day strategy without checking the local rules on the day.
Skip the parking stress and stay nearby
If Interlaken is an overnight stop, a hotel with included or easy parking usually saves more stress than squeezing one last franc out of the day. For road trips, I would rather lock in the right base and spend energy on the mountains.
From Zurich Airport it is 130 km, about 2 hours, to Interlaken.
Arriving from Geneva Airport? The Geneva Airport to Interlaken drive (220 km, about 2.5 hours) ends exactly where this parking search begins.
- Best stops driving from Zurich to Interlaken to plan the arrive-by-car leg with the top scenic stops en route
- Where to Stay in Interlaken if you are deciding between station convenience and quieter areas
- Train vs Car in Switzerland if parking costs are making you rethink the whole transport plan
- Switzerland parking rules for broader parking etiquette and signage
- The scenic Interlaken-to-Lauterbrunnen drive for the top onward drive after your Jungfrau day
Park+Ride Matten in full, and how it connects to Interlaken Ost
If you are searching for parking at Interlaken Ost, this is usually the answer you actually want: you do not park at the station, you park at the Park+Ride and ride the last few minutes in. Jungfrau publishes the whole tariff, and it is worth reading past the headline CHF 5.
- Tariff: CHF 5 up to 12 hours, CHF 10 for 12 to 24 hours, and CHF 10 for each further 12 hours. A single Jungfraujoch day sits inside the CHF 5 band; leaving the car for a multi-day hike does not.
- Capacity and access: 207 spaces, open 24 hours, with EV charging on site. Jungfrau shows a live count of free spaces on its parking page, which is worth checking on a summer morning.
- Payment: cash, credit card, TWINT, Easypark or a QR ticket. You can scan the parking ticket with your phone, store a payment method, and the fee is charged automatically when you drive out.
- No overnight parking for campers. Jungfrau lists a “Nachtparkverbot” for campers at Matten, so a motorhome can use it during the day but cannot sleep there.
- The rail connection runs all year from the Matten b. Interlaken stop: line R61 towards Interlaken Ost and Grindelwald, and line R62 towards Interlaken Ost and Lauterbrunnen. That is what makes this a genuine alternative to hunting for a space at the station.
Wilderswil works the same way and its tariff starts lower for a genuinely short stop. Both Park+Rides are signposted from the same A8 Wilderswil exit, so the choice between them is about which train you want rather than which direction you arrived from.
Official facts used for this page
- Interlaken Tourism links the public parking map for Interlaken, Matten and Unterseen, plus Park+Ride Matten and Park+Ride Wilderswil.
- Jungfrau's regional parking overview recommends switching to public transport early in Matten or Wilderswil.
- Jungfrau's Matten page currently lists 207 spaces and CHF 5 up to 12 hours.
- Checked again on 14 September 2026: Jungfrau's Matten page lists the CHF 5 / CHF 10 / CHF 10-per-further-12-hours tariff, 207 spaces, 24-hour access, EV charging, cash, credit card, TWINT, Easypark and QR-ticket payment, no overnight parking for campers, and a public-transport connection at the Matten b. Interlaken stop; the R61 and R62 line numbers come from the SBB timetable.
- Jungfrau's Interlaken Ost station page lists 200 parking spaces and publishes no tariff; the parking.ch directory listing (which says it does not operate the car park) shows CHF 10 per day, 235 spaces and 24/7 access. Both checked 14 September 2026.
- Jungfrau currently lists 195 spaces at Wilderswil station plus the CHF 3 / CHF 10 / CHF 5 extra 12-hour tariff bands.
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