The tourist office, Hauptstrasse 143 (July & Aug Mon–Fri 8am–6.30pm, Sat 8am–noon & 4–6pm; Sept–June Mon–Fri 8am–noon & 2–6pm; April–June & Sept also Sat 8am–noon; 033/952 80 80) is metres from the jetty where boats dock from Interlaken Ost and directly opposite the train station. A stone’s throw away is the Rothornbahn station, departure point of the vintage locos.

Brienz’s comfortable HI hostel is at Strandweg 10, a fifteen-minute walk east around the head of the lake (033/951 11 52, fax 951 22 60; a; mid-April to mid-Oct), with dorms from Fr.24 and bike rental. A little further east is the Aaregg campsite (033/951 18 43, fax 951 43 24, www.aaregg.ch; April–Oct). Hotels within Brienz include the pleasant Schützen, Hauptstrasse 156 (Tél. & fax 033/951 16 91; b), within minutes of the train station, with OK doubles, en suite and not. There are a couple more generic hotels in the b range along the lakefront, but a better choice is up on a slope above the town: the Schönegg, Talstrasse 6 (033/951 11 13, fax 951 38 13; b) is a rustic chalet, carefully managed by an attentive owner, and providing neat, pretty rooms, also en suite and not. On the Rothorn summit is the Rothorn Kulm hotel (Tél. & fax 033/951 12 21; b) with plain, unremarkable rooms. All along the waterfront Hauptstrasse are any number of restaurants, all offering fresh lake fish: the best by a long streak is the Steinbock chalet, at no. 123 (033/951 40 55; closed Tues), a rather fussy place but with the best fish in town (menus from Fr.20).