A luxury guide on where to go in the Swiss Alps

The Swiss Alps are known, in equal measure, for their daring heights, lavishing villages and chalets, warming alpine cuisine, and pristine skiing conditions. Deciding where to go for your Swiss Alps holiday to enjoy all of these endeavours can feel somewhat challenging. With this guide, you can get a taste of our three favourite destinations and some of the luxury holiday homes we have in each. 

Where to go in the Swiss Alps

• Gstaad 
• Verbier
• Zermatt

In the heart of the Bernese Oberland: Gstaad

Known for its winter hiking trails, skiing, and the numerous cross-country slopes that web across the brumal landscape, Gstaad has become a haunt for the wealthy, the famous, and the royal. Its opulence trickles its way down the valley across nine chalet villages between altitudes of 1,000 and 1,400 metres. In the clamour of wealth and its accompanying staff that descend on Gstaad over the Christmas period, the population nearly quadruples.

But set against all this wealth and prestige, you will find on either side of Christmas a traditionally quaint Alpine ambience; one where the locals happily carry on with their modest lives before the billions flood in with their overwhelming glitz. This is a lavishing destination with superb skiing, boasting 200km of piste up to an altitude of 3000m, and a must-do on our list of where to go in the Swiss Alps. 

Where to stay 

Return to Chalet Orpin's cosy embrace, kick off your boots and make your way to the sauna for a sizzling end to a day of carving across the extensive slopes of Gstaad. This chalet is what alpine dreams are made of, with exposed wooden surfaces, which cast their uniquely homely scents around the villa, easing you into a lull beside the crackling fire.

The mountain views from the terrace, the kitchen, or the dining room will be the perfect place to ponder the area's beauty over a cup of coffee before ascending the whitened slopes once more. 

World-class skiing in the winter wonderland of Verbier

Verbier is the charming gatekeeper to the 4 Valleys ski area - the biggest ski area in Switzerland - where over 400km of well-serviced pistes and a bounty of off-piste await exploration. Verbier is the freeride capital of the world; a playground for winter sports enthusiasts who have a penchant for thrills. The ski area allows you access to several resorts on the same ski pass. From many of the mountain restaurants and cafes, the backdrop is inimitable, with sweeping views of Mont Blanc and Combins Massif. 

The skiing in the winter and the mountain trails and Verbier Bike Park in the summer are enough to entice adventurers, but it is the towns and their lavishing touches that complete this Alpine gem. Verbier plays host to upmarket restaurants, a spirited nightlife, and quaint pedestrian streets that are discretely lined with luxury brands and cosy joints for a drink. Verbier has a great reputation for aprés ski festivities, as boot-clad revellers dance their way into the night as heavy snowflakes salt the night sky. 

Where to stay

Rise from your plush, cloud-like bed and pad down to the sitting room, where the yawning windows peer onto the spectacular valley below and the fire roars at the foot of the towering stone chimney. The late afternoons in Chalet Petit Ours are for steady games of table tennis, lapping up the vistas from the terrace jacuzzi, or disappearing into the billowing clouds of the steam room. 

This 11-guest chalet boasts six bedrooms, all with en-suite bath or shower rooms. The boot room has plenty of storage room and heaters, so pull on your now-warm gear and walk off to the slopes nearby. This chalet has all the answers to your question of where to go in the Swiss Alps.