DESTINATIONS SHORT BREAKS | SWITZERLAND
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Hiking in the Nendaz region; Hôtel Nendaz 4 Vallées & Spa; Nendaz; rustic dish raclette (inset) PICTURES: Inghams/Etienne Bornet, Hôtel Nendaz 4 Vallées; Nuno Acacio
3
OF THE BEST
local dishes
Assiette Valaisanne: This platter features raclette
cheese, rye bread and several kinds of charcuterie.
Tomato fondue: A classic fondue recipe but with
tomato sauce in the mix, typical of the Valais region. Served with potatoes and cornichons for dipping.
Croûte au fromage: As hearty as mountain food gets, this
garlicky, white-wine-spritzed grilled sandwich is topped with ham, gut-busting quantities of melted cheese and a fried egg.
active pursuits – and given we’re here off-season, there are few other visitors. As well as e-biking, it’s a wonderful place to hike.
The Swiss Travel Pass includes buses in the region (as well as train travel from Geneva and Zurich airports), so clients can easily reach a variety of starting points across a network of mountain trails. Veysonnaz, a short bus ride from Nendaz, even has a yoga path through the forest, where you can follow a trail with a yoga mat and try the different poses signposted at each stopping point.
SELLING TIPS
Evelyn Lafone head of trade UK and Ireland, Switzerland Tourism “Switzerland is a year-round destination for outdoor sports,
walking and hiking trips, biking, wine tours and nature. “The winter season ends in mid-April. Les Celliers de
Sion will welcome clients for wine tourism all year long, but the guided walk along the traditional bisses and the raclette experience, for six or more people, start in May. “In autumn, the weather is still nice, the colours are
stunning and guests can enjoy outdoor activities and wine tours, and visit the cities for a day of culture. “For the trade, we offer a sales guide to Switzerland
(free with this week’s copy of Travel Weekly), which highlights many of these experiences, along with our new 30-minute training videos, or ‘Swisscasts’.”
54 20 MARCH 2025
The region is also known for its eight bisses (irrigation channels), originally created in the 14th century to carry water to the mountain region and now making up around 60 miles of popular mountain trails. We spend a day hiking along Bisse de Vex and Bisse Vieux – following a flat route along rocky paths and wooden decking, passing by waterfalls and through thick forest, the trees periodically giving way to panoramic valley views. The high point of the day, though, is our evening hike to the Alpage Tortin with mountain guide Anita. We hear the cows’ bells before we see hundreds of them returning from a day’s grazing – the region’s version of rush hour – and continue to a quiet circle of rocks by a mountain path, where Anita lights a fire to make us some raclette. This rustic dinner of bread with molten cheese is a welcome end to a day’s hike.
VALAIS VINES The wine in Valais is just as wonderful a reward – and getting down the mountain by public bus to Sion, the canton’s capital, for a tasting at Les Celliers de Sion ‘wine park’ is quick and simple. We’re picked up at Sion station by a handy ‘wine bus’ laid on by the cellar, which takes us to see the vineyards, before we get to try a variety of delicious wines that are rarely exported outside Switzerland. They call it ‘heroic winemaking’ here, because
the terraces are so steep it’s like mountain climbing. Suddenly, my mind flashes back to our heroic uphill pedalling two days earlier – I’ve never felt like I’ve earned a wine-and-cheese platter more in my life.
BOOK IT
Inghams offers seven nights’ half- board at Hôtel Nendaz 4 Vallées from £1,389 per person, based on two sharing. Includes transfers and flights from Heathrow with Swiss, departing September 13, 2025.
inghams.co.uk
Swiss offers flights to Geneva from £54 one-way.
swiss.com
A Swiss Travel Pass, covering all public transport and access to 500-plus museums, costs from £229 for a three-day ticket.
travelswitzerland.com
One night’s B&B starts from £88 at Hotel Chalet Royal in Veysonnaz and £198 at Mad Mount Hotel in Nendaz.
chaletroyal.ch madmount.ch
TW
Switzerland Tourism’s trade team can help agents can find out more about how to book hotels and activities listed in this feature.
switzerland.com/trade-uk
travelweekly.co.uk
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