Verbier

From Imakoopedia

Verbier is a resort town in the east central part of the Swiss canton of Valais. It boasts cable car access to a huge network of ski trails which are perfectly suited for intermediate and advanced. There are also a couple of bunny slopes in town, as well as a huge amount of infrastructure for skiing and after skiing.

In the summer Verbier, like many mountain villages becomes a base for the true Swiss national sport of hiking (randonee).

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Get in

As a practical matter Verbier the destination is actually two villages, the high one, Verbier, and a lower one Le Chable, which is probably where you will arrive no matter how you get in.

Train access is provided by the Swiss Federal Railway (http://www.rail.ch), with hourly service to Le Chable from the main-line stop at Martigny in the valley below. The train takes a half-hour, but is perfectly timed for the arrival of the mainline train between Geneva Airport and Brig (or Milan). During the winter there is also direct access by TGV from Paris and Dijon. For the rest of the trip up to Verbier village from Le Chable you can either take a bus, or if you have a ski pass, the cable car.

If you are flying in from a ski holiday you will probably use the Geneva Airport. If however you are flying into Zurich take the train to Brig and transfer there for the train to Geneva, transferring again at Martigny.

There is a major autoroute along the floor of the Valais, and a side road up to Le Chable. From there you can take public transportation, or if you are brave, the winding mountain road up to Verbier.

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Get around

Verbier village is small enough to get pretty much everywhere on foot, even in ski boots. There is cable car service between Verbier and Le Chable which runs until 7:30 in the evening, and a bus which runs later, so you will want to make note of the bus schedule if your hotel is in Le Chable.

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Do

The principal activity at Verbier during the winter is skiing. There is less infrastructure for snowboarding, but advanced boarders should consider a trip to Verbier for the magnificent off-trail possibilities.