Villars Ski Holidays

Situated in the heart of the Rhone Valley, Villars-Gryon offers an inspiring view of the Swiss Alps and of Mont Blanc. The traditional chalets nestled into the hillside, surrounded by beautiful Alps provides the most idyllic setting for a ski holiday.

The French speaking resort is favoured by families and those who are after a short ski break - the transfer time from Geneva is incredibly quick - 1 hour 20 mins drive or 2 hours on the super-efficient rail network.

The resort lends itself well to beginners and intermediates and children are very well catered for with a ski school nursery slope right in the centre of the village.
 
A number of runs converge at Bretaye where there are a couple of restaurants, a cafeteria and a coffee bar as well as a rental shop and ski school office. This works well as a meeting place for a mixed ability group. Bretaye is easily accessed by train from the centre of Villars and you can either take the train back down at the end of the day or ski down.
 
The ski area has a rather unconventional layout consisting of several interconnected smaller ski areas, including an open bowl area at Les Chaux above Gryon. The ski over to Les Mazots, where there is a lovely rustic restaurant, makes a good day trip. For stronger skiers it is possible to connect from Les Mazots to Les Diablerets and the Glacier 3000 area where there is good off-piste skiing. However, the connection requires a short walk and then short ski-bus ride, so it is not particularly easy or convenient.
 
Villars is a picture-postcard Swiss village. The compact core is home to the station, a good selection of shops, a couple of small supermarkets and a handful of bars and restaurants. It is a predominantly family-orientated village, but the Moon Boot and Gringos get lively, especially at weekends..