Braunwald, canton Glarus, at 1256 m, seen from the Hüttenberg cliffs.

Where to stay in Braunwald

Stay in Braunwald if a car-free village reached only by funicular is the point of the trip: Dorfstrasse puts you by the Panoramahotel and the Märchenhotel, Schwändibergstrasse by the family-run Tödiblick, and the Hüttenberg gondola mid-station by Hotel Cristal. If you would rather drive right up to your hotel, sleep in Linthal, the valley station at the foot of the funicular, instead.

1256metres above sea level7minutes up from Linthal by the Braunwaldbahn funicular1.5hours by train from Zurich to Linthal

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Photo: Roland Zumbuehl, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Braunwald at a glance

Why Braunwald

Because the funicular from Linthal replaces the road entirely, not just the parking. Step off after seven minutes and the village itself has no car traffic to work around, a fact confirmed by Switzerland Tourism and by the hotels here on their own sites.

Where to sleep

For the village centre: Dorfstrasse, home to the Panoramahotel and the Märchenhotel. For a family-run address with more than a century behind it: Schwändibergstrasse and the Tödiblick. For skiing and the shortest walk to the slopes: the Hüttenberg gondola mid-station and Hotel Cristal.

Watch out

The operator’s own site and the regional tourist board could not be reached to confirm the funicular’s exact ascent, its opening year or current timetable, so this guide states only what Switzerland Tourism and the hotels themselves publish. Check the current funicular timetable directly before you travel.

Braunwald, before you book

Braunwald sits at 1256 metres in canton Glarus, at the top of the Braunwaldbahn funicular line from Linthal, and no road continues past that valley station. The seven-minute ride up replaces the last stretch of any drive, and once you step off, the village is entirely car-free, exactly as Switzerland Tourism and the hotels here describe it on their own sites.

Where you sleep here follows the streets the hotels stand on. Dorfstrasse, the village’s main street, carries the Panoramahotel at number 3 and the Märchenhotel at number 24. Schwändibergstrasse holds the family-run Hotel Tödiblick, now in its third generation after more than a hundred years. Further out, Hotel Cristal stands at the Hüttenberg mid-station of the gondola to Grotzenbüel, five to ten minutes on foot from the centre and close to the ski school.

The choice of hotels runs from two four-star houses on Dorfstrasse, the Panoramahotel with its sauna and steam bath and the Märchenhotel with its adults-only rooftop wellness area and heated outdoor pool, to the smaller, century-old Tödiblick with larch-wood beds made in the Glarus region, and Hotel Cristal by the gondola, with its own restaurant and mountain-view terrace.

Winter here means sledging and winter sports, and summer belongs to the Braunwald-Oberblegisee-Weg and a four-peak via ferrata above the village, both named directly by Switzerland Tourism. Whichever season you choose, the journey is the same: about an hour and a half by train from Zurich to Linthal, then seven minutes up the funicular, with the GlarnerlandPass covering public transport around the canton for the length of your stay.

Summer or winter?

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Summer in Braunwald

Where to stay this season

For the Oberblegisee walk and the via ferrata, the Dorfstrasse hotels sit on the village’s main street, while Hotel Cristal is nearest the gondola towards Grotzenbüel and the trails beyond it.

3613

m, the Tödi, seen from the Oberblegisee walk

minutes up from Linthal by the Braunwaldbahn funicular, the same way in summer

The Braunwald-Oberblegisee-Weg, the four-peak via ferrata and the Bartli forest trail are all named by Switzerland Tourism. Sources: myswitzerland.com, checked 16 September 2026.

4 hotels in Braunwald, from budget to top end

Mid-range

Panoramahotel Braunwald

Dorfstrasse, the village centre · 4 stars

From

CHF 291/ night

Summer average CHF 290

Standing at Dorfstrasse 3, at the village’s own altitude of 1256 m, the Panoramahotel is a four-star house with 32 rooms and 3 suites. Guests can use the sauna, steam bath and relaxation room, and every guest receives a free GlarnerlandPass for public transport across the canton.

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Mid-range

Hotel Tödiblick

Schwändibergstrasse · 3 stars

From

CHF 347/ night

Summer average CHF 345

Hotel Tödiblick has 17 rooms at Schwändibergstrasse 19, run by the same family for over a hundred years and now in its third generation. The beds are larch wood and the mattresses come from Riposa, both made in the Glarus region, and the restaurant works with regional produce.

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Märchenhotel Braunwald

Dorfstrasse, the village centre

No price collected on our sample dates

At Dorfstrasse 24, the Märchenhotel is a four-star superior house built around families, with suites in Standard, Exklusiv and Paradies categories and its own “Märliland” fairy-tale area for children. Adults get their own space too, in the rooftop “Wellness on the top”, and the hotel belongs to Swiss Family Hotels.

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Hotel Cristal

Hüttenberg, gondola mid-station

No price collected on our sample dates

Hotel Cristal stands at the Hüttenberg mid-station of the gondola to Grotzenbüel, 5 to 10 minutes on foot from the centre of Braunwald. Its restaurant runs a seasonal menu on a mountain-view terrace, and the hotel is close to the ski facilities and the Swiss Schneesport School.

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Prices: lowest and average nightly rate seen on Booking.com for 2 adults and 1 room, on 2 winter dates and 1 summer dates, collected on September 21, 2026. They are indicative, the real price depends on your dates. Hotel facts come from each hotel’s own website. Some hotel links are affiliate links.

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Where to stay, area by area

Dorfstrasse, the village centre

The village’s main street

This is the street at the heart of Braunwald: the Panoramahotel at number 3 and the Märchenhotel at number 24, both four-star houses on the village’s main artery. It suits a stay built around the village centre itself, close to the funicular arrival and to what the resort offers within walking distance.

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Schwändibergstrasse

Where Hotel Tödiblick stands

Schwändibergstrasse is home to Hotel Tödiblick, a chalet hotel that has stayed with the same family for more than a hundred years and is now run by its third generation. The larch-wood beds and Riposa mattresses, both made in the Glarus region, and the restaurant’s regional sourcing make it a house built on continuity rather than change.

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Hüttenberg, gondola mid-station

At the mid-station of the gondola to Grotzenbüel

At the Hüttenberg mid-station of the gondola towards Grotzenbüel, Hotel Cristal is five to ten minutes on foot from the centre of the village. Its position close to the ski facilities and the Swiss Schneesport School makes it a practical base for a winter stay built around skiing, in exchange for a longer walk to the Dorfstrasse hotels.

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What to do in Braunwald

Braunwald’s own tourist office names a short list of places and routes that give a stay its shape. These are the ones with published facts behind them.

On foot

A lake walk and a via ferrata above the village

Braunwald-Oberblegisee-WegGlärnisch massif
This trail climbs into the Glärnisch massif to the Oberblegisee lake, with views along the way of the Tödi at 3613 m and of the Ortstock.
Four-peak via ferrata routeSummer route above the village
One of Braunwald’s named summer routes, this via ferrata is described by the tourist office as leading across four summits above the resort.

Up the mountain

Up from Linthal, then on towards Grotzenbüel

Braunwaldbahn7 minutes from Linthal
This funicular is the only way up from Linthal to Braunwald, without a road, covering the climb in seven minutes.
Gondola to GrotzenbüelVia the Hüttenberg mid-station
From the Hüttenberg mid-station, this gondola continues up towards Grotzenbüel, close to Hotel Cristal and the village’s ski facilities.

Typical here

A children’s trail and the village’s own museum

BartliChildren’s forest trail
The tourist office names this themed forest trail after Bartli, a dwarf character, as one of Braunwald’s family activities.
Alpinmuseum BraunwaldThe resort’s own alpine museum
Braunwald’s own alpine museum is named directly by the tourist office among the resort’s attractions, close to the village centre.

Places, routes and figures come from Switzerland Tourism, checked on 16 September 2026. We publish no ratings and no route descriptions: check conditions on the spot before you set off.

Found your area? Check what is still free in Braunwald.

Prices and availability change daily in the Alps, especially in July, August and over Christmas.

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Car-free, in practice

No road at all

Private cars cannot reach Braunwald: the village sits at the top of the Braunwaldbahn funicular line from Linthal, so every stay begins and ends with a seven-minute ride rather than a drive to the door.

Funicular from Linthal

The Braunwaldbahn leaves from Linthal and reaches the village in seven minutes. Linthal itself is about an hour and a half from Zurich by train, so plan the rail journey before the short climb up.

GlarnerlandPass for guests

Overnight guests receive the GlarnerlandPass, which covers unlimited public transport across the whole canton of Glarus for the length of the stay, a benefit several hotels here confirm directly on their own websites.

Moving around the village

Once you are up in Braunwald, a gondola from the Hüttenberg mid-station continues towards Grotzenbüel, and horse-drawn carriages are used within the resort in place of any motorised traffic.

Braunwald is car-free, but a car still earns its place elsewhere in the country. Compare rental prices and see where you leave it in the valley.

Car rental in Switzerland →

Frequently asked questions

How do you get to Braunwald, since it has no road for cars?

By the Braunwaldbahn funicular from Linthal, a seven-minute ride with no road alternative. Linthal itself is about an hour and a half from Zurich by train, so allow time for both the rail journey and the short climb up to the village.

Is Braunwald really car-free?

Yes: Switzerland Tourism describes it as a car-free holiday resort, and three of the hotels in this guide, the Panoramahotel, the Märchenhotel and Hotel Tödiblick, each describe their own setting as car-free on their own websites, so there is no ambiguity about what to expect on arrival.

What do overnight guests get for local transport?

Anyone staying overnight receives the GlarnerlandPass, which gives unlimited use of public transport across the whole canton of Glarus for the length of the stay, a benefit confirmed both by Switzerland Tourism and directly by the Panoramahotel’s own website.

What is there to do with children?

Braunwald’s tourist office names the Bartli-themed forest trail and the resort’s own Alpinmuseum among its family activities, both reachable on foot from the village centre without needing a car at any point of the stay.

What is the Oberblegisee hike?

The Braunwald-Oberblegisee-Weg climbs into the Glärnisch massif to the Oberblegisee lake, passing views of the Tödi at 3613 m and of the Ortstock, and is named directly by Switzerland Tourism among the resort’s summer routes.