Verbier

Verbier is one of Europe’s most famous ski resorts and is located in the municipality of Bagnes in the Swiss part of the Alps in the canton of Valais. in Southern Switzerland.

Verbier is located on a sunny terrace, at an altitude of 1,500 meters near the Grand Saint Bernard between the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, in the French-speaking part of the Valais.It is part of the 4 Vallées ski area
There are extensive alpine areas above the original village of Verbier: La Marlénaz, Les Grand-Plans, Le Vacheret, La Chaux. Since the Middle Ages, an artificial aqueduct has led part of the streams below the Glacier de La Chaux through the alpine meadows from Verbier to Levron in the municipality of Vollèges.

With the opening in 1925 of the station’s first hotel, Verbier begins its history as a ski resort. The first mechanical drag lift appeared here in 1947. Over the years, new lifts are installed and old ones are modernized, luxury hotels appear next to traditional chalets.
The place is part of the 4-Vallées winter sports region, which includes Verbier, Nendaz, La Tzoumaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon, Les Collons, Les Masses and Bruson. Located in the Val de Bagnes, Verbier is considered one of the first “off-piste” areas in the Alps. The highest point of the winter sports area is Mont Fort (3330 m a.s.l. ), southeast of Verbier, making it the third highest winter sports area in Switzerland – after Zermatt and Saas-Fee.

The Savoleyres / La Tzoumaz area offers eight facilities and 55 kilometers of slopes. Verbier is part of the 4 Vallées (410 km of slopes and 89 ski lifts in all).
Verbier is often the venue for sporting competitions, such as the Alpine Skiing World Cup for women in 1983 and 1984, the Paragliding World Championship in 1993 and the 20th Alpine Junior Skiing World Championship in 2001. In 2005, Verbier was a stage of the Tour de Suisse. Since 2005 there has been a regular run of the Speed Ski World Cup on the slope of Mont Fort in Verbier

The Verbier ski area is one of the most famous and popular in Switzerland. Since the end of the 1960s, many celebrities have been spending their holidays in the resort of Verbier, others have had a second home built there.Verbier is a fairly large village allowing you to get around on foot but also offers a network of buses, free and quite frequent. Various cable car departures are there (secondary departure from and to Savoleyres and main departure from Médran for Les Ruinettes) as well as several ski lifts from the resort, inside the village. There are many shops, restaurants, nightclubs, etc.

Access : Coordinates: 46.1, 7.216667 / Verbier is located in the Valais canton in southwestern Switzerland, close to the borders with Italy and France. The nearest international airports: Geneva – 160 km, Zurich – 280 km, the local airport in Sion – 55 km.
/ By train : The nearest railway station is Le Chable, from which (as well as from the Martigny and Sion stations) regular buses go to Verbier.

Highlights :

• Les 4 Vallées (“the Four Valleys”) : Verbier is the main town-part of the connected lift and piste system Les 4 Vallées (“the Four Valleys”) with a total of 67 ski lifts and 107 slopes to which also the towns of Nendaz, Le Chable, Siviez, Bruson and La Tzoumaz belong. Its highest point is Mont Fort, 3,330 meters above sea level.
  Verbier trails with a total length of almost 202 km and a vertical drop of 1830 m have different levels of difficulty: 32% blue, 42% red and 26% black / Vertical drop – 1830 m ,Pistes in the ski region – 83 , Freeride routes in the region – 11 ,
  The total length of tracks (Verbier) – 200 km: blue runs – 9 ,red runs – 6 ,black runs – 3 , Total length of tracks (4 Valleys) – 412 km , The longest track – 13 km , Trails for beginners – 33% ,Medium slopes – 42% ,Difficult tracks – 25% , Total ski area – 114 hectares , Artificial snow area – 50 km.
  Verbier is connected by a network of modern lifts and a single ski pass with other resorts of the Four Valleys: Tion 2000, Veysonne, Nenda. There are 15 ski lifts in the skiing region of Verbier: gondola lifts – 5 chair lifts – 5 drag lifts.
• freeride skiing : Verbier it is considered by lovers of the genre as one of the leading destinations in the world. Dominique Perret, elected freeride skier of the century by the specialized press on December 6, 2000 in Paris, has also established himself there. Verbier is also a snowboarding center. The new chairlift takes you to 1936 Neipark’s freestyle paradise,The giant park in Les Chaux at an altitude of 2260 m offers boardercross tracks and a freestyle area.
• Prizes – awards : In 2018, the resort of Verbier was named “Best ski resort in Switzerland” 5 at the World Ski Awards ceremony in Kitzbühel on November 17, 2018. In addition, the W Verbier hotel received the “Best ski hotel” distinctions de Suisse ”and“ Best ski hotel in the world 2018 2018 ”, for the third consecutive year.
• The La Tzoumaz-Savoleyres ski area is located between Verbier and Riddes.
• The old village of Verbier Village is below the holiday station on the mountainside./ Catholic parish church of San Bartolomeo, built in 1973 / Catholic Church of Our Lady, erected in 1969 / The medieval castle of Verbier was situated on a promontory below the Pierre Avoi.
• Verbier is also part of the famous Haute Route ski and hiking route which begins in Zermatt and ends in Chamonix, France.
• In 2009 Verbier was the first destination of a Tour de France stage. / The Verbier Bike Festival is held every September /1993 and was the arrival of various stages of the Tour de Suisse and one of the 2009 Tour de France cycling.
• On the western flank of the Bec des Rosses, the mountain hiking trail Sentier des Chamois leads from La Chaux over the Col Termin to the Alp Louvie and to Fionnay.
• Verbier horse show : The Verbier horse show has been organized every year since 1996. In 2012 the Verbier horse show became a CSI *** competition. This event takes place in summer.
• The Verbier Festival: Since 1994 there has been a regular summer classical music festival in Verbier,Established classical musicians and young talents come together for workshops over 17 days.

Activities : Verbier offers many options for outdoor activities: sports center, fitness centers, skating rink, curling, rock climbing, mountain biking, squash, courts, swimming pools, saunas, solariums. Children’s funpark, La Chaux and La Tournell snow parks.

Go next : Martigny , a town in the French-speaking part of Valais / Quatre Vallées-“4 valleys” – The ski area, combining the ski stations of Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, La Tzoumaz and Thyon, For an additional fee you can ski in one of the largest ski areas in Switzerland, 450km of slopes and 92 ski lifts.