Valais Part 2: Grand St-Bernard, Sion, Crans-Montana and Leukerbad
Fodor’s Essential Switzerland (3rd Edition), Fodor’s Travel, ISBN 9781640977280
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Part 2 of Fodor’s Valais chapter is where the Rhône valley gets dramatic. You leave Verbier’s ski buzz and move through ancient passes, a capital city that looks like a fairy tale, a glossy plateau resort, hidden mountain villages, and Europe’s highest spa town. It’s a lot of ground, but the guide ties it together with trains, funiculars, and thermal water.
Col du Grand St-Bernard
The pass at 8,101 feet is the oldest famous Alpine crossing between Rome and the north. Napoléon marched 40,000 men over it toward Marengo in 1800. Today you can drive in summer (weather permitting) or take train plus bus from Martigny via Orsières. Winter means snowshoeing and skiing on the closed road.
L’Hospice du Grand St-Bernard still runs under Augustinian monks. You can sleep there cheaply, eat soup and Bagnes cheese, and visit a museum about the pass and the dogs made famous by rescue stories. CHF12 for the museum. Closed mid-October through May. Even if you don’t stay, the hospice is the soul of this section. History you can still walk into.
Sion: two hills and a real city
Sion rises from flat Rhône farmland like a stage set. Tourbillon hill holds ruined bishop’s castle walls from the 13th century. Valère hill has the church-fortress with the oldest playable organ in the world (15th century, restored 2005) and an organ festival each summer.
The Old Town mixes 16th-century houses with modern shops. Maison Supersaxo (1505) is free to peek at on weekdays. Les Celliers de Sion lets you taste wine in a stainless-steel building backed by Clavau vineyards. Lac Souterrain St-Léonard is a family-friendly boat ride through Europe’s largest natural underground lake. St-Pierre-de-Clages is Switzerland’s only “book town” with a jam shop crammed into every rafter.
Fodor’s admits Sion lacks top-tier hotels, but argues you shouldn’t skip it. I agree. This is Valais capital life, not just a ski transfer stop.
Crans-Montana: sunshine and designer jackets
Twelve minutes up a steep funicular from Sierre puts you on a sunny plateau at 4,900 feet with views across the Rhône to the Valaisan Alps. Crans-Montana feels American-influenced: golf, fashion boutiques, 1970s architecture recently restored, Moncler crowds.
Skiing covers 140 km of slopes plus cross-country on golf courses and glacier pancake Plaine Morte. Summer brings 301 km of hiking trails along historic irrigation channels (bisses). Fondation Opale shows indigenous art in nearby Lens. Six Senses and Relais & Châteaux hotels signal the price bracket. Burger Lounge and Taillens bakery remind you normal food still exists.
The Piste Nationale, a 7 km championship descent, and Les Bosses expert pitch are names to remember if you ski hard.
Val d’Anniviers: mazots and glacier wine
South of Sierre, this craggy valley feels like stepping back a century. Grimentz keeps 13th-century wood houses and mazots (those stone-disk barns). Locals drink vin du glacier straight from the barrel. St-Luc has an observatory and the Chemin des Planètes hiking trail with planet models at 7,200 feet. Zinal is a mountaineering hub.
September brings Désalpe, when cow herds descend with bells clanging. Hotels like Grand Hôtel Bella Tola mix antiques with fur pillows. It’s the anti-Crans-Montana: no luxury runway, just Alpine authenticity.
Leukerbad: soak at 4,600 feet
Europe’s highest spa village has drawn Romans since 400 BC. Goethe, Picasso, Mark Twain, and James Baldwin all came for the waters. Calcium sulfite springs feed public pools and private hotel tubs. Leukerbad Therme is the family water-park option with slides. Walliser Alpentherme is quieter.
You reach town by bus from Leuk-Susten station. The Gemmi Pass hike links Valais to the Berner Oberland in a day. Skiing adds 80 km of runs. After Zermatt crowds, Leukerbad felt like the guide’s recommendation for recovery: hot water, high air, fewer postcard shops.
What Part 2 taught me
This section is Valais at human scale between the mega-resorts. The St-Bernard pass is mythic. Sion is walkable history. Crans-Montana is where money skis. Anniviers and Leukerbad are where you exhale. Fodor’s hotel prices and restaurant hours will need updating, but the geography and mood notes are gold if you’re building a trip that mixes culture, slopes, and spa time.