Fodor’s Essential Switzerland (3rd Edition), Fodor’s Travel, ISBN 9781640977280
← Valais Part 2 · Vaud Part 1 →
The third Valais installment is the one people buy the book for. Zermatt and the Matterhorn take up huge space, but Fodor’s balances them with car-free Saas-Fee, transit hub Brig, and the Aletsch Glacier, Europe’s longest ice river. It’s peak Switzerland, literally and figuratively.
Fodor’s Essential Switzerland (3rd Edition), Fodor’s Travel, ISBN 9781640977280
← Valais Part 1 · Valais Part 3 →
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.
Fodor’s Essential Switzerland (3rd Edition), Fodor’s Travel, ISBN 9781640977280
← Berner Oberland Part 2 · Valais Part 2 →
Valais is where a lot of visitors stop pretending Switzerland is only banks and chocolate. Fodor’s opens the chapter by saying 45 of Switzerland’s 48 thirteen-thousand-foot peaks live here, including the Matterhorn. But the guide also warns you not to crowd one spot. Pick a valley, spend a few days, and let the Rhône do the rest.