I stayed in Meiringen for a few days recently and was pleasantly surprised as to how much the area offers. It is a relatively undiscovered area compared to Interlaken at the other end of Lake Brienz.
It is easily reached via Lucerne over the Brunig Pass or via Interlaken from the Bern area.
Meiringen offers a range of accommodation from grand hotels to B&Bs yet is not overrun with tourists.
Among the attractions within easy reach are:
The Sherlock Holmes Museum and Reichenbach Falls for all Sherlock Holmes fans. The falls are spectacular in their own right. Above the falls is the Rosenlaui Valley and gorge as well as Schwarzwaldalp leading eventually to Grosse Scheidegg and Grindelwald for the Jungfrau area.
Ballenberg open air museum is just a few minutes down the road, and just beyond that is Brienz. This offers lake trips, trains to Interlaken and the Brienz Rothorn steam railway.
Just outside the town in the opposite direction is one of the most famous attractions of the area, Aareschlucht.
Just on the edge of the town is the cable car to Alpen Tower. The ticket is sold as a day pass so you can stop at the intermediate stations for hiking or a meal etc. If paragliding is your thing, tandem trips are offered from the Alpen tower.
The alpine passes are also within easy reach. I took the Postbus trip over the Grimsel, Nufenen, Gotthard and Susten Passes as a great day trip.
If anything, the area has undersold itself and could do with a few more facilities. The plus side of this is that it is not over crowded.
Here are a few threads about the area:
Trip to Meiringen Lauterbrunnen and Meiringen Apartment/Hostel/B&B recommendation Meiringen Ballenberg - Your experience requested Aareschlucht