Zermatt, like Verbier, is a popular mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and hiking. In less than 2 hours by car, you can drive from Verbier to Zermatt which is also in the canton of Valais and park in the large car park in Täsch before ascending to Zermatt by train. Zermatt is a pedestrianised resort where people walk, use small electric vehicles, cycle or travel by horse and carriage. The main Bahnhofstrasse in town is lined with shops, grand hotels and restaurants and bars and there is a lively apres-ski scene. If you haven’t seen the Matterhorn, one of Europe’s most fa ..read more

Gstaad is easily accessible from Geneva Airport with a 2 hour drive or even better, by Swiss train. From Chalet Spa Verbier or Geneva, you can travel to Montreux and take the famous panoramic Golden pass train which transports you over mountains through tunnels and along valleys of snowy landscapes into the centre of Gstaad where you can easily transit to your accommodation. Gstaad town is at an altitude of 1050m and has a large pedestrianised centre of upmarket shops, cafes and bars. We took the new Eggli ski lift to 1557m, and skied along wide groomed pistes to La Videmanette at ..read more

The Barry Foundation in Martigny has welcomed a litter of 5 St Bernard puppies just in time for Christmas. The Foundation has been overseeing the largest and oldest breeding programme of the famous St Bernard dogs since its creation in 2005, with about 20 puppies born each year at the kennel. The famous Swiss National dog from the Hospice de Grand St Bernard Alpine Pass is legendary. Large and good natured, the dogs have been bred on the mountains by the Augustine monks, firstly to help carry supplies through the thick snow but later to save the lives of lost mountaineers. The most ren ..read more

Swiss wine is one of Switzerland’s best kept secrets. Switzerland is not known internationally as a wine producing country, but grapes have been grown here since Roman times, and some 15,000 hectares of the country (148km2!) is covered in vines. This puts the country 10th in the world in terms of the vineyards to country surface area ratio. Switzerland produces around 100 million litres of wines each year and the Swiss drink nearly all the wine they make. Only around 1% of Swiss wine is exported, mainly to Germany. There are over 200 grape varieties grown in Switzerland, the most po ..read more

The largest underground lake in Europe is in the heart of the canton of Valais here in Switzerland. Just a 5 minute drive from the autoroute, you can discover the most fascinating site which was explored for the first time in 1943. Located along the Rhone Valley the lake is around 300 meters long and can be explored by taking a boat trip across its crystal clear waters. Nestled in the middle of the vineyards, the local population were aware of an underground lake and used it to cool their bottles of wine at the edge of its waters but were fearful to venture deep into the lake with ..read more

The Mauvoisin Dam is a 250m high concrete dam making it the largest arch dam in Europe. Built between 1951 and 1958 the dam overlooks the Val de Bagnes in Switzerland and generates 1,000 GWh of electricity a year. It is possible to hike or bike this high mountain route which takes you through a series of tunnels with breathtaking views of the lake, waterfalls, mountains and valleys. The hike around the lake is a demanding 22.2km circuit of wild landscape so you need to be prepared to enjoy the alpine scenery for approximately 8 hours of hiking carrying plenty of refreshments, warm ..read more

Swiss National Day is celebrated on August 1st and commemorates the date in 1291 when the 3 cantons of Schwyz, Uri and Unterwald joined together as the Swiss Confederacy. You will see the Swiss flag everywhere, flying outside homes and businesses and on bunting through the streets, as well as decorating the federal buildings and specialty foods such as the Auguestweggli bread buns. As with all Swiss events, there is plenty of street food and local wine consumed. Cervalet is the national sausage often barbecued, and there are many cheese dishes like Croute which is local bread baked ..read more

You don’t walk far in the mountains around Verbier at this time of year without hearing the distant call of Alpine marmots. Living at heights of between 800 and 3,200 meters, marmots live in the Alpine meadows and sub-alpine grasslands, burrowing into the land up to 3m underground and in burrows of up to 20m long. The moment they sense danger they quickly disappear into their burrows for safety. Marmots live in close knit family units of one male, one female and several young. Individuals that do not belong to the family are normally chased away. By the age of 3, young marmots must le ..read more

One of the most iconic peaks in central Valais, the Pierre Avoi reaches a height of 2,473 meters. Accessed by foot, you can take the Savoleyres ski lift to get a head start on the hike or walk from Verbier following the signs to Pierre Avoi up through the larch forests and steep pastures. The last section of the climb involves some scrambling over rocks, and the last few meters to the peak are climbed using a series of ladders screwed into the rock but are very passable for most people with appropriate footwear and a sense for the high mountains, including children. Once at the to ..read more

Having skied a lot from the top of Savoleyres to the lift at Piste Rouge at the bottom of the mountain, we often use a ‘locals shortcut’ through Le Hameau. Le Hameau de Verbier is a little corner of paradise nestled between two ski pistes with direct access to both. In Winter you can ski from Les Esserts over the road on a special ski track and through Le Hameau to midway down Le Rouge ski piste. In Summer the grass path is beautifully manicured and bordered with Alpine flowers and fresh water streams providing an undeniably beautiful place to walk. We stopped at the lake, resplende ..read more