Verbier

Introduction

Gondella Jump / Rail in Verbier

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Verbier is a famous ski resort, located in the municipality of Bagnes in the Swiss canton of Valais. Although it has only about 3000 permanent residents, it is one of the largest holiday resorts and ski areas in the Swiss Alps. During these wintermonths, the number of residents can rise to well over 30,000 people. It's also recognized as one of the premiere "off-piste" resorts worldwide. The town itself is mostly located at an elevation of around 1,500 metres. For more information about the town and its surroundings, check the official Verbier Tourist website.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

The town of Verbier is set in naturally beautiful settings, the magnificient Swiss Alps, green pastures, high snow capped mountains and breathtaking views. Apart from the natural beauty the town has a castle and number of churches and museums which can be explored. Some of the more famous ones are:

• Verbier Castle is a medieval castle constructed in 12th or 13th century. The nearby Roman ruins are also worth a visit.
• Verbier Village Chapel was originally constructed in 1686 and later replaced by a larger church in 1866.
• Le chable Parish Church is a Gothic style church constructed in 1488.
• All Saints Chapel was built in 1985 with a unique 3000 piece organ and stained glass windows.
• St Bernard Dog Museum
• Bagnes Museum
• Musee du Vieux-pays
• Glacier Museum
• Saw and Mill
• Maison Gard and Soapstone Museum

Verbier is popular as an all-season resort with a range of activities to offer in both Summers and Winters. Some of them are:

• Skiing, ice climbing, dog sledging, ice skating and snowboardig in winter
• Hiking, moutainbiking, paragliding,climbing and water sports in summer

Events and Festivals

• FIS World Championship Speed Skiing
• Verbier International Music Festival
• Grand Concours Hippique - horse races
• Grand Raid Cristalp - mountainbike race Verbier-Grimentz

Weather

As Verbier is a main ski resort, there is abundant snow generally from December to March when temperatures are below zero, especially up the slopes of the mountains. The town itself is still cold, though temperatures can rise above zero, even during winter. In summer, it is generally warm but not too hot. Temperatures are between 20 and 25 degrees on most days, though can rise to 30 degrees on the hottest ones. Nights can be chilly here and heavy thunderstorms occur during these months (June to September).

Getting There

By Plane

The closest airport to Verbier is Sion, but until know there are no flights here. From the winter season 2009/2010 there will be flights though to London-Stansted. More common, you can use Geneva Cointrin International Airport, which has many flights in Europe and outside, including lowcostairlines. Further away, but not too far away are the Euro Airport near Basel and the International airport of Zurich.

By Train

There are trains fro Martigny, where a regional train (The Saint-Bernard Express) goes to Le Châble. Here, a cable car (or a post bus) goes up to Verbier. Martigny is about 1.5 hours from Geneva and 20 minutes from Sion with the Swiss Federal railways.

By Car

By car, you can reach Verbier from an access road starting near Le Chable. This roads is a fork of the main road leading from Martigny south towards the Great St. Bernard Pass to Italy.

By Bus

From Le Chable, a local postbus goes to Verbier.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

Free buses travel around the resort area and a cable car goes up and down the mountains at a cost.

By Foot

The town itself is small enough to explore on foot.

By Bike

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Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

Swiss Post is the national postal service of Switzerland and has fast and reliable services. For more information about prices to send postcards, letters and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally, they have a very useful Price Calculator. Domestically, there is priority mail (arriving the following day) and economy mail which takes 2-3 days to be send within Switzerland. Stamps can be bought at the post offices or from shops and kiosks that also sell postcards. In general, post offices are open from 8:00am to noon and 2:00pm to 5:00 or 6:00pm, with a lunchbreak in between. Opening times on Saturdays are usually only during mornings. Larger cities and central post offices might keep longer hours and skp the lunchbreak.