Verbier, Switzerland

Verbier is one of the more famous Ski Resorts in Switzerland. It falls in the Valais region of Switzerland.

Transportation

The train network in Switzerland is quite extensive and it is possible to reach Verbier via Public Transportation. If you try to book tickets at the Swiss railways website for Verbier, it shows many stops, e.g. Verbier TV, Verbier Post Office (Station Poste), etc. This can be a bit confusing - as it was initially for us as well. To clarify, it is possible to complete the final leg of the journey from Le Chable to Verbier via Cable Car or Bus. So Verbier TV is the Cable Car station (ideal if you intend to go for Skiing directly on reaching Verbier, esp. in winter). You can also take a Bus from Le Chable, in which case you arrive at Verbier Post Office - the city centre. In general, Verbier is a very small city so you can technically walk to almost any corner of the city - still may not be the ideal solution with luggage and the slopes everywhere.


Le Chable station - from where you can either take the Cable Car or Bus to Verbier


Verbier TV - Cable Car station


Martigny - one of the intermediate cities on the way

Verbier in Summer

Visiting a ski resort makes obvious sense during winter. However, they are not exactly isolated in summer as well. For one, hotel rates are much cheaper in summer. Second, the slopes look very different in summer - very green - in comparison to the snow capped white ones in winter. In summer, the slopes are still open for hiking, picnics, etc. If you do not have the stamina (like us :P) to hike up, you can always take the Cable Car to one of the Ski stations and then starting climbing down leisurely. We saw many people descending on bikes, skateboards as well - something to keep in mind for the more adventurous ones.

Verbier - hiking trail

There are also many cultural activities that are held in Summer. One such is the Verbier Festival held every year where you get to hear and meet celebrated musicians in a very informal setting. We managed to catch Anoushka Shankar's performance this year and were pleasantly surprised to see the 500 seating venue (Church) fully packed with people (mostly non-Indians).

Winter Skiing

We had a chance to re-visit Verbier during Winter 2014. So enjoy some pictures of the beautiful snow capped Verbier peaks ...