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Saas-Fee Ski Resort
High and snow-sure, the internationally renowned village of Saas-Fee nestles at 1800m in the lee of the Mischabel range, just 15km north-east of Zermatt, without its crowds but with more original alpine charm. The village is old, quaint, and traffic-free other than for a few service vehicles. The mountains surrounding Saas-Fee are in-your-face monsters, towering above the village, their huge glaciers spilling down towards the valley. The immediacy of the scenery makes this a great place for committed mountain lovers: even on a blue sky day the brooding heights are more striking than pretty.
Saas-Fee is recognised as one of Switzerland’s more family friendly ski resorts with lots of flat sunny slopes for beginners and plenty of supervised activities for children. Saas-Fee’s piste skiing is quite extensive and snow conditions are usually first class. Off-piste in Saas-Fee there are endless routes to explore, many of them starting from peaks which must first be climbed. If you want to notch up ascents of 4,000m peaks, followed by ski descents of half that figure, Saas-Fee is the place to do it.
But Saas-Fee is not just for skiers and mountaineers : winter holidaymakers have plenty of walking paths and a whole mountain (Hannig) dedicated to sledging – high altitude fondue followed by torch-lit descents are a speciality. Throw in the genuine charm of the area, and Saas-Fee’s near the top of the list as a winter wonderland.
Thanks to altitude and aspect, Saas-Fee has a long ski season and there’s also skiing on the glacier in summer. Approximately 40% of guests are Swiss, 24% from Germany, 14% from Benelux and 11% from the UK.
Saas-Fee at a glance
On the mountain
Ski area
There’s no mistaking the slopes of Saas-Fee. From the highest, there are good views of many of the thirteen 4,000m peaks that surround the Saas valley including the 4,545m Dom, Switzerland’s highest mountain. If it frequently feels as if you’re skiing on or next to a huge glacier, that’s because you are. more...
Lift system
Saas-Fee's ski lift system is not the resort’s strong point, but it does carry you to great heights over considerable distances with spectacular views of deeply fissured glaciers and crevasses and there’s adequate capacity to prevent queuing most of the time. more...
Ski schools & guiding
Saas-Fee offers a choice of three ski schools all offering skiing and snowboarding lessons in groups, small groups or privately surrounded by as many as thirteen 4,000m peaks as well as mountain guides for ski touring and skiing off-piste in Saas-Fee.
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Advanced Skiing
Most of the challenging opportunities for advanced skiers and boarders in Saas-Fee are well away from the main runs, as crevasse hazards limit off-piste opportunities on glacial terrain between the groomed pistes. more...
Intermediate Skiing
Sass Fee has several top-to-bottom descents for strong intermediate skiers and boarders, all of which give an excellent sense of the high mountain terrain and scale - from 3,500m top to 1,800m bottom is 1,700m vertical and the longest run is 9km. more...
Beginner Skiing
Saas-Fee caters very well for novices and beginners with secluded nursery slopes surrounded by towering 4000m peaks and served by three T-bars exclusively for beginners, and a selection of easy blue runs in the main ski area at Felskinn.
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Boarding & freestyle
Saas-Fee has two snow parks for boarders and freestylers, one of which is open all year round, good opportunities for carving on piste and plenty of off-piste opportunities but you need to hire a local guide to avoid crevasse hazards on the glacier and be prepared to climb. more...
Off-piste
Local Saas-Fee mountain guides lead a number of day tours off-piste on a regular basis, many of which start near the top of Saas-Fee's ski lift system to minimize the amount of climbing on foot. more...
Mountain restaurants
Saas-Fee is adequately served by a dozen mountain restaurants, most of which are strategically positioned at the top of the main ski lifts and including the world’s highest revolving restaurant at Mittelallalin. more...
Off the mountain
Village
Saas-Fee, also known as “the pearl of the Alps”, is one of the prettiest ski resorts in Switzerland and one of twelve “Best of the Alps” resorts. Saas-Fee’s rural origins are still evident in the old chalets and storehouses and the car-free streets help preserve the ambience. more...
Accommodation
Saas-Fee has no fewer than 57 hotels including one 5-star hotel and seven 4-star hotels. The majority of hotel beds are in over thirty 3-star hotels and there’s an even bigger choice of bed & breakfast chalets and self-catering apartments; choose carefully as it might be a hike to the lifts.
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Apres-ski
At the last count there were 10 bars, 4 discos and around 50 restaurants in Saas-Fee village – not bad for a place of this size – and there are also plenty of tea rooms and bakeries for a more calorific après-ski experience. more...
Restaurants & bars
There’s a good range of eating in Saas-Fee with plenty of restaurants and cafés ranging from Michelin-starred gourmet dining at one of Switzerland’s top restaurants to traditional Swiss fare, speciality dishes, pizza and spaghetti in rustic surroundings. more...
Other information
There are lots of things to do in Saas-Fee besides skiing and boarding: long toboggan runs, winter walking, snow shoeing, cross-country skiing, alpine gorge adventure, ice climbing and plenty more winter things to do and see including the world’s largest ice grotto at 3500m above sea level. more...
Getting there
Getting to Saas-Fee by car or by train and bus is easy from any one of five nearest airports. Transfers mostly take between around 3 hours give or take 30 minutes and cars must be parked outside the village which is car-free apart from electric taxis and service vehicles. more...
