Things to do

Favourite Towns

In the Villars, you will find a selection of shops and places to eat. There is an ice rink and bowling alley.

The Villars swimming pool and spa are excellent, with a recently opened gym next to the swimming pool and ice-rink.

In Barboleuse, there is a delicious bakery next to the Tourist Office and Marche James, a small supermarket. You can hire skis and mountain bikes from Paragon Rental in Place de Barboleuse.

Our favourite restaurant is Refuge de Solalex. It is 5 mins drive from Barboleuse to the car park where a skidoo takes you to an amazing restaurant. You must reserve in advance as it is extremely popular.

Where can I eat in Villars & the mountains?

Villars has some of the best restaurants in the Alps with over 30 situated in the town and surrounding mountains and villages. We recommend reserving in advance given their popularity and the time of year.

Shopping

We recommend the Coop in Villars for a wide range of products or Marche James in Barboleuse, for everyday items. There is an excellent cheese shop near the UBS bank and wine shop opposite the Coop in Villars.

There are EV chargers for electric ares in the Place de Barboleuse, behind the Tourist Information Office. Shop at Marche James or head to the bakers for some of the best pastries in the Alps and return to a fully charged car.

Access to the ski slopes

The chalet is extremely close to two pistes. Turn right out of the chalet and walk 50-75m and you will find the piste down to Barboleuse. You can take the gondola up from Barboleuse to Chaux and ski from Chaux over to Bretaye, the main Villars ski area. Alternatively, walk up the road 150m on to the piste, walk a further 30m up the piste and ski down the pisted track on the left. This will take you to the mainpiste. You can then take the chair over to Bretaye. 

From Villars, a gondola or the train will whisk you quickly up towards Bretaye at 1810m and the heart of the ski area. There are some excellent slopes, which are ideal for beginners and the rest of the slopes radiate from this point. More adventurous intermediates may want to catch the two-way Laouissalet chairlift to access the pretty wooded slopes at Les Mazots, which are north facing and are served by a slick new gondola. Those looking for more challenging slopes should ski towards Les Diablerets, unless there has been fresh powder when the tree runs come into their own. Day trips to Glacier 3000 are possible via the Ski Bus from Les Diablerets. Finally, Verbier is not too far away. It takes approx 40 mins to drive to Le Chable lift and take the gondola up to Verbier in 7 minutes.

Drinks

Enjoy going for evening drinks to the terrace of The Villars Palace, The RoyalAlp, The bar at The Victoria Hotel and Mountain Lodge.

Favourite walks

The cable cars operate all year round as well as the mountain rack railway. This gives access to many mountain walks.

There are two great walks from the chalet, walk down to Place de Barboleuse in 40 mins. Take the gondola from Place du Barboleuse up to Chaux. Have a drink at the restaurant and admire the view. Walk down the winding road back to the chalet in 40 mins.

Alternatively, take the rack railway up from Villars to Bretaye. Enjoy a meal at Hotel du Lac, Le Golf restaurant (our favourite) or Col de Soud. Follow the road/path down to Villars. It takes approximately 90 minutes.

Favourite places to visit locally if you do not want to ski

Between lakes and mountains, the Lake Geneva Region offers an exceptionally rich natural environment, its breath-taking scenery affording some of the most stunning views in Switzerland. Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, the Lavaux vineyard terraces plunge into Lake Geneva and the region’s highest point, Glacier 3000, reveals the highest peaks of the Alps with their eternal snow.

To take advantage of this exceptional scenery in an exclusive ambiance, the tourist transport on offer combines comfort and views. Cross Lake Geneva on a CGN Belle Epoque boat or make the journey from lake to Alps in the classic or panoramic carriages of the GoldenPass.

In addition to the region’s natural beauty, visitors can enjoy fascinating cultural attractions, preserved historical sites and delicious cuisine.

Our favourite is a 30 minute drive to Montreux, where you can do boat trips around the lake, visit a medieval castle or just walk along the lakeside. Great for shopping, a broad selection of restaurants from Thai to Pizza and ice-cream.

From Montreux, you can get the panoramic Glacier express train which is a beautiful trip which takes one hour to Gstaad. We often go for the day and have lunch in Gstaad which is in the German part of Switzerland and very different.

About one hour from the chalet, other great trips include a mountain zoo, the St. Bernard museum at Martigny with lots of mountain dogs. Our children's favourite still remains the Caillet chocolate factory which has a great tour that shows the history of chocolate as well as a tour of the machinery and a tasting room where they get to try all the chocolates! 

Things to do with children

Parc Aventure
https://parc-aventure.ch/en/home-en/

Bains to Saillon
https://www.bainsdesaillon.ch/

Bains to Bex
https://www.bains-lavey.ch/en/

Transport

The closest train station is Aigle and only 20 mins drive from the chalet. From here, you can get trains to Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux or further afield to Milan etc

We recommend Zorro Taxis in Villars for regular trips.