Leukerbad Village
Leukerbad is a small Swiss mountain resort with 1,500 inhabitants and over 8,000 guest beds. Visitors come all year round to relax in Leukerbad’s impressive thermal baths but increasingly in winter to enjoy the combination of spa and wellness with 50km of alpine skiing and over 40km of winter walking trails. The majority of guests come from Switzerland (77%) with around 9% from Germany, 4% from Italy, 2% from France and 8% from other countries including UK.An attractive small town, Leukerbad is situated at the far end of the road that rises from Leuk in the Rhone Valley to the foot of the Gemmipass at an altitude of 1,411m. The hillside town is built either side of the small river Dala and surrounded by the impressive Dauberhorn (2,942m) which towers over 1,500 near vertical meters above Leukerbad. The majority of guests come from Switzerland (77%) with around 9% from Germany, 4% from Italy, 2% from France and 8% from other countries including UK.
Leukerbad is not a party town. Nor is it in any sense exclusive. But it’s an interesting and enjoyable place to stay with plenty of other activities for non-skiers in and around the town and on the mountain. Blessed by an abundant supply of thermal water, Leukerbad is home to the biggest and the highest Alpine Spa and Wellness centres in Europe. There’s a wide range of accommodation, including self catering apartments, and a reasonably good choice of restaurants and bars to suit all budgets.
As far as snowsports equipment rental is concerned, there are a handful of shops in the centre of Leukerbad including Briand Sport, Intersports Possa and Location Ski for Hire (the wooden hut in Kurparkstrasse) and a Snow Shop on the mountain at the top of the Torrentbahn cable car. There’s also a Mammut shop in town selling exclusively Mammut.
If you’re self-catering, there’s a large Migros supermarket which has an especially good selection of fruit and vegetables and is convenient for buying most basic foodstuffs. Specialist food shops in Leukerbad include Le Pain for bread and pastries, Rossgillu for meat and Ferme Gemmet has a superb selection of cheese. John’s Wine Shop, close to Migros and Le Pain, has a selection of local Valais wines.
The Leukerbad Ring Jet bus service operates every 30 minutes, stopping at 14 bus stops in and around Leukerbad and costs CHF 3 for a daily ticket or CHF 14 for a weekly ticket. The bus stops are clearly marked on the town map. Tickets are available at the LLB bus station, from ticket machines or can be purchased from the driver. Timetables are available at the bus station, from the bus driver or at the Tourist Office.