Visiting Switzerland

The season of chalet-hunting is rapidly approaching. The Swiss mountains are full of charming chalets and for those planning to spend vacation time in Swiss mountain resorts, it’s the moment to consider where the best opportunities are.

For those with ‘total skiing’ in mind, steep slopes, etc., look in areas such as Zermatt (2200m; see www.zermatt.ch), Gstaad/St. Stephan (2050m; see gstaad.ch), Veysonnaz (1980m), Engleberg (1970m; engleberg.ch) or Verbier (1830m; verbier.ch)).

For those seeking large wide open spaces, concentrate your search on stations like Celerina near St. Moritz (70 green slopes, 245 blue slopes, 35 red slopes, and 40 black slopes), or Champéry – les Portes-du-Soleil, which has the largest skiable area in the world with 650km of slopes at all levels, more than 200 lifts and 7 snowparks (www.celerina.ch; www.champery.ch; www.valdilliez.ch;: www.chablais.ch).

For charming villages with family appeal, check out Gimentz (grimentz.ch), Chandolin (chandolin.ch), Bettmeralp (bettmeralp.ch), Les Marécottes (marecottes.ch), Zermatt, Chateau-d’Oex (chateau-doex.ch), Leysin (leysin.ch), Les Diablerets (diablerets.ch), or Saint-Luc (saint-luc.ch).

For the best prices, you need to take the time to compare the sifferent offers, which are very variable, and currently most certainly susceptible to the pressure of somewhat lower volume of tourism. Recently Diablerets was promoting 3-bedroom 4-bed chalets at CHF 680 – 980 according to the choice of week. At Verbier, offers are currently about CHF 1350/week for the same size chalet and CHF 820 at Arolla. (see also www.tourismesuisse.com and www.les-stations-de-ski.ch)

The Evolène region has about 100km of sumptuous ski slopes and also copious cross country ski paths, two natural skate rinks, and helicopter skiing. Situated in the heart of the Valais close to Haudères, Evolène is a handsome station ideal for families. It’s on the Sion-East exit of the A9 highway (see www.evolene-region.ch)

Another cute place is Adelboden in the canton of Bern, which has over 200 km of slopes. The 9th and 10th of January 2010, Adelboden will be hosting a World Cup competition on the legendary Chuenisbärgli, so if that’s where you want to be, a hasty reservation is probably in order. The village is full of boutiques, restaurants and bars. (See www.adelboden.ch)

There’s also the Scuol in Grisons, which is exceptionally sunny and has picture postcard landscapes. It’s a good area for beginners as well as pro skiers. One can take advantage of the thermal baths after skiing. (See www.scuol.ch)

Not far from Geneva in the canton of Vaud there is Les Mosses, which has about 40km of slopes and a couple of snow parks. The domain connects with Leysin for an additional 100km of slopes. Mosses also has skating and under-ice diving in Lake Lioson. (See www.lesmosses.ch)