Snow from December to April, thermal water and trains that reach the villages
8 hotels2 regions
Switzerland is the country that invented winter tourism, and it still does it better than anywhere: a season that runs from December to April, villages reached by train rather than by motorway, and hotels built around a spa and a boot room. St. Moritz has three hotels with three MICHELIN Keys, more than anywhere else in the country, and Gstaad, Zermatt and Vals each give a different version of the Alpine stay: the grand one, the ski-in one, and the one people travel to for a building.
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The Swiss franc, not the euro. Cards are taken everywhere, and prices are the highest in Europe — a mountain lunch is a restaurant bill.
Fondue and raclette in winter, lake fish and rösti the rest of the year, and, in the mountains, an early dinner: kitchens often close by nine.
The train is the way in. Zermatt is car-free, and Gstaad, Vals and most ski villages are reached by rail plus a post bus. The Swiss Travel Pass covers trains, buses, boats and many lifts.
Service is included. Rounding up a restaurant bill is enough, and nobody expects a percentage.
December–April for snow, with Christmas and February the busiest and dearest weeks. July–September for walking. Many hotels close in May and November.
Roughly December to April, later and longer on the glaciers — Zermatt skis into the summer on the Theodul. Christmas and the February school holidays are the busiest and most expensive weeks of the year.
Rarely. Swiss trains reach the villages, Zermatt bans cars altogether, and hotels send shuttles to the station. A car is useful only if you plan to move between valleys.
Switzerland is the most expensive country in Europe to travel in, and the mountains are its dearest part. Half board, which many Alpine hotels offer, is usually cheaper than eating out twice a day.
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Five grand hotels, three of them with three MICHELIN Keys: how they differ, how each one gets you onto the Corviglia, and which suits which kind of stay.
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