Having spent nearly 20 years in Switzerland, primarily in the German and Italian regions, our exploration of the French part was long overdue. Excitement filled us as we eagerly anticipated our trip to the picturesque Villars-Gryon-Diablerets-Bex region. Collaborating with the Tourism Board provided a unique opportunity to craft an exhilarating itinerary, offering a perfect blend of excitement and relaxation, from thrilling sled rides to breathtaking cable car journeys and ski touring experiences.
Let’s delve into the details of this unforgettable winter escape in the region of Villars-Gryon-Diablerets-Bex.
If you’re planning a visit, save this post for a wonderful winter getaway in Switzerland. We had a delightful week exploring the region and can’t wait to go back.
Arriving in the quaint village of Les Diablerets, nestled at the base of a beautiful ski resort, marked the beginning of our adventure. The interconnected resorts of Villars, Gryon, and Les Diablerets create a vast ski area with over 130 km of slopes.
Despite being avid skiers, the allure of a 7.2 km sled run was too enticing to resist. Renting sleds at the bottom, we took the easy ride up the Diablerets Express cable car for a family-friendly sledding experience. The Diablerets sledge run, over 7 km, offered an exciting run, making it one of our favorites. After enjoying the sled runs, we explored the charming Les Diablerets village on foot.
Where to stay:
Eurotel Victoria Les Diablerets proved to be the perfect location, within walking distance of everything, including ski lifts and a bus stop for trips to the famous Glacier 3000. With free parking available, the beautifully renovated rooms with a Glacier view, heated swimming pool, and wellness area enhanced our stay. What a beautiful hotel.
Where to Eat:
We had a delightful lunch at La Potinière near the ski slopes and then for dinner we savored a three-course dinner at Eurotel Victoria Les Diablerets.
Both restaurants I can definitely recommend. Our hearty breakfast at our hotel in the morning was also delicious.
Day 2: Glacier 3000 Expedition
Embarking on the Glacier 3000 expedition, we marveled at the Glacier Walk, a long-awaited experience on our Swiss bucket list.
Thanks to our centrally located hotel, we walked to the bus station, took a short 15-minute ride to Col-du-Pillon, and caught the cable car to Glacier 3000.
The scenic cable car ride and the world’s only suspension bridge on the Peak Walk by Tissot provided breathtaking views.
What an Experience to go across the world’s only suspension bridge linking two summits on the Peak Walk by Tissot. Wow! The views were breathtaking too. Definitely, add this to your list.
After enjoying the Peak Walk we took the ski lift down the mountain and enjoyed a gorgeous 1-hour walk along the Glacier to Quille du Diable.
Now this was also an experience, perched on a ridge this time Refuge had the views of a lifetime.
Refuge de l’Espace is run by a wonderful couple who also gave us insight into why it was called Les Diablerets. In medieval times, the rocky massif surrounding the small village in the valley was once deemed a perilous and cursed location, associated with the wrath of the devil. This reputation gave rise to the village’s name, Les Diablerets.
We transferred to Villars-sur-Ollon to discover more about the area and what they had to offer. We technically could have skied to the other village but we drove over so we had more time in this other darling village in the area. Instead of enjoying over 7 km on the sledding hill again, we hit the slopes on our skis and snowboards.
Over 130 km of piste gave us so many options for skiing and what a beautiful area to ski in. In particular, we enjoyed the gorgeous scenic panoramic train that took us from the village of Villars-sur-Ollon to the top of the mountain. The views were stunning and then we were able to hit the slopes. What an area to explore. We absolutely enjoyed our day skiing at the VILLARS-GRYON-DIABLERETS resort and found it very family friendly.
Now if you want to experience something very Swiss, this is the place. Refuge of Solalex, this was one of the highlights of our trip. What an amazing experience we had. It started with renting some snowshoes to take an evening hike to Refuge of Solalex for dinner.
We started at sunset and then as it quickly got dark we put on our head lamps and hiked up to Refuge-Solalex. The hike took us about an hour in the snow, and it was definitely an experience.
You can book this experience on their website online.
As we saw a little cabin light in the distance we were very excited about our arrival and felt accomplished hiking our way to dinner. We entered into the most beautiful little Swiss Chalet with fondue and raclette smells in the air, we knew were were in Swiss paradise. What an incredible opportunity.
What a wonderful place. The raclette was made over the fire by a very friendly lady who has had this racelette making job and skills for over the 20 years. We loved watching her work and serve us with delicious portions of raclette cheese. To top it all off, we were served meringues and double cream for dessert. I can not recommend this experience enough.
The refuge-solalex has won for the best fondue, and I can say I agree. I have had many fondues but this one took the prize. What a wonderful place. Thankfully, after are bellies were full and were had a few glasses of the delicious local wines, there was a booked snowmobile waiting to take us down the wintery mountain under the moon light. Definitely worth it, check out this Refuge-Solalex, as you can also stay there as a guest and enjoy more than just one delicious meal and wonderful hospitality.
Where to stay:
Is a beautifully renovated hotel looking over the village. The hotel has a lovely heated pool, and wellness area and an Eco-Friendly hotel.
Experience a meal at Chez Mantisi one of a kind where you can watch the local hockey club play a game and enjoy your meal at the same time. Such a cool experience.
Day 4: Last Day in Villars-Gryon-Diablerets-Bex region
Our last day in this beautiful region we got to experience something we also were interested in trying out, Ski Touring. We got to learn the basics of ski touring from Villars Instructor, also know as “the reds”.
I would recommend an instructor as many times ski touring is off piste and it’s good to be with someone who knows the safety of the mountain and sport. We enjoyed this unique experience and workout, definitely, a workout but so fun to be able to be the only ones around climbing up on the mountain with our skis and then peeling back the tape to ski down the mountain. So much fun! That won’t be my last time trying out this sport, it was a great experience and thanks to the Swiss Ski instructors.
The darling little village Villars-sur-Ollon also boasts a Wellness in Relax in the wellness area and hot swimming pool at Les Bains de Villars. This is the perfect place to relax after a long day on the slopes. This area has so much to offer, and we feel like we just scratched the surface. We want to go back and Dog Sled with the huskies on Glacier 3000, snow hike to Refuge-Solalex again, ski down Glaicer 3000 and so much more!
A warm felt thanks to Villars-Gryon-Diablerets-Bex for hosting us in this region and building the best itiniteary for us to discover it all. Thank you so much! We will be back!
