Best Ski & Snowboard Resorts in Switzerland

With high snow sure slopes and scenery dominated by the mightily impressive Matterhorn, Zermatt is a must go place for all keen enthusiasts. With mile upon mile of piste to explore and a link to the neighbouring resort of Cervinia in Italy, Zermatt really has it all – well almost! Zermatt’s pistes are not for the faint hearted and some may find it all a bit too challenging, however the link to Cervinia opens up not only a total area of 360kms but pistes much more suited to beginners and early intermediates.

With beautiful scenery, 3 decent sized ski areas, (2 of which are shared with Wengen) and the nearby resort of Murren combining to make a total area of 213km of skiable piste, Grindelwald seems the perfect Swiss resort. However this unfortunately is not the case. Getting to the slopes can be a real drag, and Grindelwald’s low altitude means that snow may not always be in plentiful supply.

Verbier is a large high mileage resort which is part of the 4 Valleys network with a skiable area of 410kms. The resort will appeal typically to those of advanced ability seeking tough runs and in particular off piste. In fact it’s the lift served off piste runs that attract so many to this resort. Its height is also appealing rising to 3330m ensuring that it’s reasonably snow sure. For the rest of us and particularly those who are a little less adventurous Verbier may be a bit overwhelming. That’s not so say there aren’t any long easy cruisey runs, there are, but just not very many.

With spectacular scenery, a charming traffic free village, snow sure skiing, an impressive vertical, and a glacier that provides summer skiing Saas Fee has an awful lot going for it as a skiing resort. However there are drawbacks especially if you are a confident intermediate whose main focus is mileage.

Set in the Junfrau region of Switzerland, Wengen is situated in an absolutely wonderful area of outstanding natural beauty; the scenery will take your breath away. The skiing here is also good with many intermediate slopes, direct access to Grindlewald and the runs of Murren only about 1 hour away. All these areas total up to an impressive 213kms of pistes. However as with other Swiss resorts Wengen does have its drawbacks, namely low altitude, and a slow mountain railway.