Villages don’t come much more Swiss than Saas-Fee and the car-free streets, blackened barns and traditional costumes give the 1800m village a romantic old world charm. Above the village, to a staggering top height of 3500m, are the slopes – unsurprisingly snowsure, with beautiful views, and the world’s highest revolving restaurant to boot. There are 100km of piste that are mostly good for beginners and intermediates – it’s a great place for novices to fall in love with skiing. Not so for beginner snowboarders though – there are a lot of drag lifts.
These are with good reason – it’s not possible to build chairlifts on shifting glaciers, and Saas Fee has a lot of glacier terrain. The glacial crevasses also limit the off-piste. The upside is that the glacier is open in summer, for sunny and pretty extensive skiing, especially race training and park events.
Off-slope activities are abundant. There are classy boutiques and stylish hotels between the traditional buildings, and the village has a great buzz in the evening. The restaurants (including a Michelin-starred one) are excellent with much of the cuisine heavily influenced by Italian flavours. A whole mountain and gondola are dedicated to non-ski activities like toboganning, walking and paragliding.
