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Villars Ski Resort

Villars is posh, polished and very Swiss, with its mountain railway, picturesque chalets, elegant restaurants and smart hotels. It's also one of the best family ski resorts close to Geneva, with a ski area that stretches across to Les Diablerets, Gryon and high, snowsure Glacier 3000.


Villars sur Ollon has a long pedigree as a ski resort. It has been one of the classiest places to take a winter holiday for over a century, and traditionalists can still use the old mountain railway to get to the slopes although there are modern lifts as well. The resort has more than its fair share of smart restaurants, luxury hotels, and rich and famous residents who jet in and out at weekends taking advantage of the short transfers from Geneva airport, but there is very little ostentatious glitz and bling. Instead Villars is charming,  discreet and very family-oriented with good nursery slopes and child-friendly ski schools.

And you don’t have to be a well-heeled family or jet-set weekender to like the mid-sized ski area that Villars shares with Les Diablerets, Gryon and Bex which includes a snowsure glacier (‘Glacier 3000‘) at the far end. Some of Verbier’s mountain guides bring clients here, knowing that they’ll have the backcountry largely to themselves, and the mountains above Villars form the first 3000m barrier on the north-west side of the Alps that powder-laden snow storms encounter. Challenges on the piste, however, are limited: the long black and red runs coming down from Glacier 3000 to Reusch are the best of a very small bunch. But that does not matter to the novices and relaxed intermediate skiers who come to Villars year after year. They relish the resort’s short, sunny, gentle red and blue runs which are subtly replenished at night with artificial snow (provided it’s cold enough). Only in a warm spring does the ski area contract sharply, and even then there will always be skiing at Glacier 3000, but that’s quite a slog to get to from Villars, so many holidaymakers simply hang up their skis and take up other activities such as walking on prepared mountain paths, tobogganing, skating and swimming in indoor pools. Or they just spend more time at lunch, because the smart restaurants in town are mirrored by ones that are just as good up the mountain.

Helpful Links

  • Accommodation in Villars and Les Diablerets. Hotels, Guesthouses, Chalets, Self-Catering Apartments… Read more ;>
  • How to get to Villars . Nearest Airports and Railway Stations, Airport Transfers… Read more >
  • Ski Schools & Guides in Villars. Ski & Snowboard Schools, Off-Piste Mountain Guides, Private Instructors… Read more >
  • Discounted ski and board rental in Villars and Les Diablerets:

Villars Pros & Cons

+ Excellent restaurants on and off the slopes
+ Beginner-friendly, mid sized ski area
+ Mountain railways add to the appeal
+ Quick and easy to get to from Geneva
+ High snowsure glacier at Glacier 3000
+ Good off-piste with a guide

– Expensive
– Long journey to and from glacier
– Non glacier slopes are not snowsure
– Very few challenging pistes

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Villars Ski Area

Mid-size Villars offers sufficient variety on the slopes, and its ski lift system is nearing the end of a major refurbishment programme. The link-up with the glacier at Les Diablerets is a useful option.

Neither exceptionally big nor small, the Villars ski area's bonus for keen skiers is its link to the Diablerets glacier, where modern uplift and extensive (and naturally snow-sure skiing) can be found. On the Villars slopes, once you're on the mountain, either by cog railway from the centre of Villars or gondola from above the village, the lift system offers sufficient variety and options across four 2,000m hills, one of which can be reached directly by gondola from Gryon, the neighbouring village to Villars. Total piste length, including Les Diablerets, but not the glacier, is 100km.

Petit Chamossaire, at 2,037 metres, offers stirring views across the valley towards Leysin and Chateau d'Oex, and  some good pisted descents for strong skiers with a variety of permutations featuring a choice of bumps or interesting, steep tree lined cut-throughs - and all are generally uncrowded. In fact for many of Villars' regulars, Petit Camossaire is their favourite peak.

Above Villars and to the west is Roc d'Orsay, reached by gondola from one end of town. Much of the skiing lies in the bowl to the east and north of this point, with draglifts and chairlifts rising from the centre to the 2,120m high point - Grand Chamossaire - and east to 1,987m Chaux Ronde. A chairlift and a draglift heads north-east from here, below the ridge to Meilleret and beyond to Les Mazots and then the village of Les Diablerets and access to the glacier; to the south is the final mountain in the Villars ski area, Les Chaux, above Gryon, with an entertaining mix of reds, blacks and blues served by a long chair and a draglift.

Off-piste routes abound in Villars without going far afield: much of the skiing is below the tree line and some of the forest is open to skiers, while the bowls are broken up with unpisted steeper areas interspersed with minor cliffs, leaving a significant portion of the terrain untamed but available for skiing off-piste.

Possibly the most family-friendly aspect of the skiing in Villars is the return to base with all routes taking gentle, meandering forest paths right back into the village. These runs between cosy chalets give a sense of skiing as it used to be, and the main path into the village now has snowmaking over its full eight-kilometre length.  The piste grooming regime covers blue runs each night, reds every other, and blacks not at all.

Villars Ski Lifts & Lift Passes

The ski lift system at Villars has undergone an extensive replacement and refurbishment programme and the queues of the past are now largely confined to memory.

Villars Ski Lifts

The choice of train or gondola from Villars to the pistes is your first decision of the day. The trains leave every 30 minutes from the centre of the village and take about 15 minutes to meander up the mountain. With a number of stops at hotels and mountain restaurants on the way, this choice is nothing if not convenient.

The gondola is easily accessed from the village centre by means of the excellent and frequent free bus service and is a seven-minute ride to the top. The first run down from the top station is a red, so beginners are better off taking the train.

Once you've arrived at the Bretaye hub, the region is opened up by chairlifts linking the four main peaks interspersed with draglifts. However, throughout the main Villars-Barboleuse-Gryon ski sector, there is not a single ski run which necessitates use of a drag lift: every descent can be reached by using the train, two gondolas or  a choice of two, four and six-person chairlifts.

Les Diablerets ski lift system, on the other hand, is almost all draglifts, while the glacier is reached either by two long cable cars or a shorter one followed by a chairlift. Right up top on the constantly shifting ice-field, draglifts are more prominent since these work best on glacier terrain.

Although the Roc d'Orsay gondola from the village is the most obvious route to the glacier,  you can also take the train from the village to the main skiing hub of Bretaye and start from there. This involves slightly less skiing but given that the gondola is faster than the train, it amounts to roughly the same journey time to the glacier.

Villars Ski Lift Pass

Any all-areas Villars ski pass, for three or more consecutive days includes access to both glacier cable cars and lifts as well as an extra 100 kilometres of ski slopes at the neighbouring ski areas of Leysin and Les Mosses, which are easily reached by car or public transport.

For more information about the ski lifts at Villars and Les Diablerets (Glacier 3000):

Tele-Villars-Gryon Ski Lift Company
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 8113
Web: www.televillars.ch  

Glacier3000 Ski Lift Company
Tel: +41 (0) 84 800 3000
Web: www.glacier3000.ch

Beginner Skiing in Villars

Villars is very beginner-friendly, with good access to nursery slopes and easy runs as well as breathtaking views and ambience.

Beginner Skiing in Villars

With the beginner-friendly train providing easy access to the upper mountain and the gentle return routes to the village, Villars is an excellent place to learn to ski or snowboard, though less so when busy at weekends or peak season. But the views and winter-holiday ambience of the area (not a given in many resorts with otherwise good novice terrain) should conspire to leave you wanting more.

The beginner terrain on the edges of Villars is ideal when there's decent snow; higher up at Bretaye, there's a nursery slope with a magic carpet.  And once you've mastered the basics, a network of blue runs lies between two of the four peaks, making the main bowl a good place to graduate from the nursery slopes. For 2011-12, two specially designated "Ski Slow" pistes were introduced to help those progressing from novice to intermediate slopes. One is on the blue Chaux Ronde slope and the other on the Gryon side below the restaurant at Les Chaux.

For absolute beginners, there are two  free beginners areas  with a magic carpet and mini-ski lift in the heart of Villars (behind the railway station) and another one in Gryon at Frience, with a "sledge" lift and mini-ski lift. Both are free and avoid the cost of a ski pass or train or gondola ticket.

Ski Schools & Ski Lessons in Villars 

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Villars Intermediates

The entire Villars ski area is within the grasp of most skiers and adjoining Les Diablerets offers an exciting day out.

Without the almost endless mileage associated with the biggest piste-bashing resorts, Villars' terrain delivers good skiing for intermediates with variety and good scenery in a mixture of forested skiing and sheltered, friendly bowls. Families and mixed groups can try tours that take in the skiing above Les Diablerets, both on the small ski domain above the village to north and south and on the glacier, though it makes quite a big day out.

Less far afield, the majority of the skiing is easily accessed from the Roc d'Orsay gondola; it's almost all red or blue from here over to Chaux Ronde and the couple of black runs have easier alternatives to choose if it all looks too much; it's a similar story on Les Chaux. Most of the red runs are slightly over-graded, so the entire area is within the grasp of most skiers.

On the glacier, everyone should try the Combe d'Audon, a long descent running from the high glacier and well away from the lifts, with striking views and a big mountain feel.

And at the end of the day, after a quick espresso at the reggae bar at the top of Chaux Ronde, a non-stop run through Bretaye and onwards down to the village on the path with the new snow-making is a glorious way to finish.

Advanced & Expert Skiing in Villars

There are a few black runs at Villars, but the limited vertical makes most advanced skiers escape to Les Diablerets.

Villars is not traditionally where you come for serious skiing. But a day or two exploring the tougher pistes and the Diablerets glacier, followed by some guided off-piste works well, particularly if you are holidaying with a mixed-ability group. The main restriction is the limited vertical, with the village at 1,300m and the high point at 2,120m; it's no wonder people are drawn to the 3,000m glacier, for both snow conditions and a couple of runs of substantial length.

Of Villars' black runs, the most sustained is from Les Chaux, through the trees below the Sodoleuvre chair; better still are the (unpisted) trees to the far side of the lift. From the Croix des Chaux are a black and red down to Alpes des Chaux and the other peaks - Chaux Rondes and Chamossaire - have modest black runs.

The glacier pistes (but not the cost of the cable cars) are automatically included on any ski pass for three or more consecutive days - this also includes the neighbouring resorts of Les Mosses and Leysin, which between them offer an extra 100km of runs. On a one or two-day ski pass, designed for week-enders who rarely have time for a glacier excursion, the glacier ski pass price has been deleted to achieve a  more attractive tariff.

It takes about an hour and three quarter to reach the glacier from Villars. You get there by taking the Roc D'Orsay gondola, the Chaux Ronde chairlift, and then the long, flat chairlift to Les Diablerets (a 14-minutes ride which allows you to sit back and enjoy the view!). Next comes the Laouissalet draglift to the Meilleret slopes from where you can ski down to Les Diablerets Village. From here you need to take the shuttle bus to the Col du Pillon (every half hour, and  included in your ski pass). From the Col du Pillon, it's a 20-minute ride by two cable cars to the top of the glacier. But don't leave it too late to get back - the resorts suggests no later than the 2.30 bus back to Les Diablerets from the  Pillon cable car base station.

A greater percentage of Les Diablerets' holidaymakers head over to the Villars-Gryon sectors of the ski area because they get many more lifts and pistes for their money than Villars' visitors heading in the opposite direction  and because skiers from Villars to Les Diablerets using the long chairlift have to walk to get to the main Les Diablerets' slopes.

Villars Boarding

Villars has two snowparks, and there's a halfpipe and funpark at Les Diablerets. But the glacier draglifts – which work best on glacier terrain - are, as it were, a bit of a drag for boarders.

There are snowparks beneath the Croix des Chaux and Chaux Ronde in Villars; Les Diablerets has a halfpipe and a funpark but nothing on the glacier. The number of draglifts rather than awkward flats in the terrain is the main problem for boarders.

Villars Mountain Restaurants

Apart from the functional self-service places, Villars has some excellent mountain restaurants, but you'll normally need to book to be sure of getting a table.

The quality of the mountain restaurants above Villars is good news, but they're often very well subscribed and in high season need to be booked. A great lunch can be had at the Golf, where there's just one sitting so you can time lunch to suit your ski plans. The chef picks up the day's ingredients down in the valley each morning, so the day's special is always good. Most of the other (non self-service) restaurants have two sittings and at set times.

A recent  addition to the on-mountain dining possibilities is L'Etable.  The restaurant has been built into a converted stable and people are travelling from near and far to eat here.  Located just above the Sodoleuvre lift station on the way up to Les Chaux, L'Etable is easiest to reach on skis.  But it's also accessible to non-skiers and the effort is well worthwhile.

More functional and with higher capacity, the restaurant and self-service at Les Chaux is in a big well appointed timber building which even has facilities for disabled skiers. The self-service has a raised enclosed fire round which you can sit on high stools to eat.

There are plenty more options at Bretaye - L'Hotel du Lac with a south facing terrace and the  recently opened Cookie Cafe for instance.

Mountain restaurants

Auberge du Col de Soud Tel :  +41 24 495 26 40
L'Etable Tel : +41 24 498 40 06
Hotel du Lac de Bretaye Tel :  +41 24 495 21 92
Hotel Restaurant des Chaux Tel :  +41 24 498 11 87
Refuge de Frience Tel :  +41 24 498 14 26
Refuge de Solalex Tel :  +41 24 498 27 09
Refuge de Taveyanne Tel :  +41 24 498 19 47
Refuge de la Tour Tel :  +41 24 498 11 47
Refuge Giacomini Tel :  +41 24 498 22 95
Restaurant du Club House du Golf du Villars Tel :  +41 24 495 78 37
Restaurant du Col de Bretaye Tel :  +41 24 495 21 94
Restaurant du Lac des Chavonnes Tel :  +41 24 495 21 31
Restaurant du Roc d'Orsay Tel :  +41 24 495 28 14
Restaurant-Fromagerie Les Mazots Tel :  +41 24 492 10 23

Villars Village

Villars' charming wooden chalets are set between trees on a sunny, south-facing mountainside and the main street through the village centre maintains the unhurried dignity that you would expect of a senior Swiss ski resort.

Though it has grown over the years into rather more than a quaint, traditional Swiss mountain village, the still-small town of Villars has charm in plenty. The wooden chalets set between trees, a sunny, south facing aspect and the dominating but magnificent Club Med all hark back to the turn of the century. The gondola above the village to the west is still within easy reach of the village centre and everything else, including the local nursery slopes and the mountain railway, is unlikely to be more than a 10-minute walk from wherever you are.

The centre has a street lined with shops, bars and restaurants; though there's no pedestrianised zone (much as the village would like one), the town is pleasant to stroll through in the evenings. There are terraced and indoor cafes, bars and restaurants but much of the dining in Villars takes place in-hotel.

The sense of security in Villars is palpable.  There is no hint of graffiti, there's a friendly "bonjour" from everyone you pass and the police knock off at 7pm.  Even the village fox feels safe enough to sit in the middle of the road of an evening.

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Villars Apres Ski Bars & Restaurants

There's not much apres-ski on the mountain, but Villars itself has several good bars and plenty of restaurants including hotel restaurants and some, such as La Renardiere serve exceptional food.

Villars Apres-Ski

Don't go looking for action up on the mountain in Villars - it's just not that kind of place, but in town there are several bars and a handful of nightclubs. The first refreshment after the pistes should be taken at L'Arrivee bar in the road behind the Eurotel. Run for many years by the distinguished ice hockey player of yore Roger Chappot and his wife serve a fine selection of wines. Rumour has it that they haven't put their prices up in ten years as it would be too complicated.  Sadly, L'Arrivee is not always open on Mondays and Tuesdays.

For drinks try Charlie's Bar, in the centre of town, which has pool tables and a trendy vibe; Le Blues Bar at Rotisserie des Alpes next to the train station, Le Green at Hotel Golf for a pleasant in-hotel bar or Murphy's Bar which is a bit further up the road near the Hotel Bristol.  Murphys is distinguished by its panoramic views over the valley. A fusion of ancient and modern design, the Moon Boot is ideal for the more mature tippler.

Villars Restaurants

The best Villars hotels have restaurants of appropriate quality; try the 4-star Hotel La Renardiere's restaurant for an exceptional meal though naturally not cheap. At the other end of the scale, for pizza, Le Francis in the centre of town is good.

Outside the main hotel restaurants La Cantina del Toro, La Pizzeria and La Toscana restaurants are recommended and all three are conveniently situated in the centre of Villars, adjacent to Charlie's Bar and the El Gringo disco - a few drinks in Charlie's, then choose any of these restaurants for good Mexican or Italian food before dancing the night away at El Gringo.

The Vieux Villars is an interesting mix of excellent traditional Swiss cuisine, take your fondue here perhaps, and Chinese cooking if you have a taste for the more exotic. Another option in the centre of Villars next to the railway station is the La Rotisserie des Alpes with two restaurants - Le Petit Chalet and Le Bistrot Cafe Bar - and Le Blues Bar.  Sit outside if the weather is good or you're particularly hardy.

Bars

L'Arrivee Tel: +41 (0) 79 402 35 71
Le Blues Bar / Rotisserie des Alpes Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 21 26
Bowling Snack-Bar Tel:  +41 (0) 24 495 20 30
Charlie's Bar Tel:  +41 (0)24 495 75 95
Le Central Cafe Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 24 51
Le Green / Hotel Golf Tel:  +41 (0) 24 496 38 38
Le Horizon / Hotel Le Bristol Tel: +41 (0) 24 496 36 36
The Moon Boot Tel:  +41 (0) 24 495 19 63
Murphy's Bar Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 69 71

Restaurants

La Cantina del Toro
Tel:  +41 (0) 24 495 24 25
Email: [email protected]

La Pizzeria
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 79 19
Email: [email protected]

La Rotisserie des Alpes
Tel:  +41 (0) 24 495 21 26
Email: [email protected]

La Toscana
Tel:  +41 (0) 24 495 79 21
Email: [email protected]

Restaurant Vieux-Villars
Tel:  +41 (0) 24 495 25 25

Villars Other Activities

Family-friendly Villars has many other activities on offer, with mountain walking and cross-country skiing among the favourites in addition to skiing.

In keeping with its family-friendly status, there are good alternatives to skiing. Walking paths and extensive cross-country skiing through wooded valleys are the highlights.

Bowling
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 20 30

Indoor Tennis
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 30 30

Paragliding
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 41 41

Dimension 3
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 76 55

Swimming
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 12 21
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: cds-villars.ch

For more information contact the Tourist Office in Villars:

Villars Tourist Office
 Phone: +41 (0) 24 495 32 32
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.villars.ch

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