Meiringen

Set apart from the twin lakes and saddled between the roads to the Sustenpass and the Brünigpass, Meiringen is a resort town with more than 300 km (186 miles) of marked hiking trails and 60 km (37 miles) of ski slopes at the Hasliberg ski region. Historically, its claim to fame is as the place where meringue was invented—the (dubious) legend is that the resident chef had too many egg whites left over and decided to do something different for visiting celeb Napoléon. But there is little history left here, and today Meiringen is merely a pleasant town whose main street is lined with shops selling all sorts of kitschy Swiss merchandise (don't laugh—this stuff is hard to find in many parts of the country).