Every case begins with a base of operations, and this one is no different. Reichenbach Falls sits a short walk above Meiringen, in the Bernese Oberland, roughly an hour by train from Interlaken and about forty minutes by road from Grindelwald. Where you sleep decides how early you reach the ledge, how much you pay, and how much of the valley you actually see. Below, the three practical options, compared without sentiment, elementary as that sounds.
Meiringen: sleeping where the story happened
Meiringen is the village directly beneath the Falls, population under five thousand, and the only base from which you can walk to the funicular station in under fifteen minutes. This suits readers following the Holmes trail closely, since the Sherlock Holmes Museum sits in the village centre, and the funicular itself opens seasonally, so checking the day's schedule before booking matters. Expect modest guesthouses and mid-range hotels, roughly 90 to 160 CHF per night for a double room in high season (June to September), dropping by a third in the shoulder months. Meiringen is quiet after dark, with limited restaurant choice, so this is a base for atmosphere and proximity, not nightlife. Book six to eight weeks ahead for July and August; the village has few rooms and they go early around festival weekends.
Interlaken: the transport hub with volume
Interlaken, twenty-nine kilometres west, is the region's railway junction and by far the largest lodging market, from hostel dorms around 35 CHF to four-star doubles above 250 CHF. Trains to Meiringen run roughly hourly via the Interlaken Ost station, a journey of about fifty minutes, so day-tripping to the Falls is entirely workable if you don't mind an early start. Interlaken suits travellers combining Reichenbach with the Jungfrau region, Lake Thun or Lake Brienz, and anyone who wants evening choice: restaurants, bars, adventure-sports outfitters. It is less suited to those wanting a slow, single-valley stay, since you'll spend an hour a day in transit each way to the Falls.
The funicular and most Meiringen guesthouses operate roughly April to November; outside that window, check closures before building an itinerary around a village base.
Grindelwald: the scenic compromise
Grindelwald lies on the other side of the Grosse Scheidegg pass, about forty minutes from Meiringen by postbus (a seasonal mountain route, not guaranteed to run in winter) or closer to an hour by train via Interlaken. Prices sit between the other two bases, typically 120 to 220 CHF for a double in summer, with ski-season peaks in December and January pushing rates higher still. Grindelwald's appeal is the view, Eiger north face from the village street, and the chance to pair Reichenbach with glacier hiking or the Rosenlaui glacier gorge further up the valley. It suits travellers who want mountain scenery as the main event and treat the Falls as a half-day addition, rather than the centrepiece.
Day trip from Lucerne or Bern: the fourth option
For readers unwilling to commit a night anywhere in the valley, a day trip from Lucerne (around two hours by train, one change) or Bern (about ninety minutes) is feasible if you start before 8am. You will have time for the half-day visit to the Falls and perhaps the museum, but little margin for the Aare Gorge or Rosenlaui on the same day. This suits travellers on a tight multi-city itinerary rather than anyone treating Reichenbach as a dedicated stop.
Which base for which traveller
The case resolves fairly cleanly. Holmes completists wanting to wake within sight of the gorge should book Meiringen, despite its thin evening offer. Travellers juggling multiple regional sights, or watching a budget closely, do better in Interlaken, trading an hour of train time for far more choice. Those prioritising alpine scenery over literary pilgrimage, especially hikers extending into glacier terrain, should favour Grindelwald. Families with young children often split the difference: one or two nights in Meiringen for the Falls and museum, then on to Interlaken for the wider Jungfrau region. None of these choices is wrong; each simply answers a different question about what the trip is for.