Crans Montana

Whether it’s an area of top class skiing or the backdrop for a electronic music festival, Crans-Montana, the resort that Roger Moore called home, knows how to attract the crowds with its particularly wide variety of activities year round.

An ideal ski destination from the UK,  it only takes a couple of hours by train from Geneva to Sierre train station, where a 100 year-old funicular line whisks you up to this chic Swiss ski resort.  With a 927 metre elevation, the route takes just 10 minutes into Montana Gare. Looking out over the Rhone Valley, the resort is at an altitude of 1,500m and claims the sun shines 300 days a year!

The two neighbouring villages of Crans and Montana (Crans to the West and Montana to the East) benefit from an urban lifestyle mixed with a traditional Alpine architecture. Shopping fans will be delighted to discover a large selection of designer boutiques, alongside a wide choice of restaurants and bars.

Through 4 ski areas (the family area, the fun area, the glacier area and the nature area) Crans Montana offers 140km of alpine skiing slopes of various grades. You can even challenge yourself on World Cup level tracks. You’ll feel those legs burning!

On the way up to the glacier area, located at almost 3,000 metres above sea level, you can enjoy a breathtaking view featuring a string of the most famous peaks in the Alps. The Mont-Blanc and the Matterhorn are the easiest to spot. Easily accessible from the gondolas arrival station it offers a high-altitude experience to both skiers and pedestrians. The restaurant Plaine Morte on the Glacier is a perfect lunch spot to grab a cheese fondue with impressive surroundings. You can ski down from the glacier straight to the village via an 8km run.

For the more adventurous, Crans Montana is a paradise for freestylers, from beginners to experienced riders. Its snowpark – the biggest in French-speaking Switzerland – includes a boardercross course, slope style jumps and the only Olympic superpipe in the Valais Alps. Easy to access it is located just at The Cry d’Er ski lifts arrival station.

Thanks to the resort’s south-oriented situation, skiers can benefit from plenty of sunshine.