Winter Sports in Gstaad

G

staad is - surprisingly given its reputation - rather a pretty and unassuming town some distance away from many of the slopes associated with it. However, the Gstaad Mountain Rides pass does give you access to around a dozen different communities dotted around the beautiful Saanenland and Pays d'Enhaut, and nine different, unconnected and very varied ski area in both French and Schweizerdeutsch speaking Switzerland. Some of the slopes have relatively short seasons and there are not a lot of challenging runs, but Glacier 3000, on the road out to Les Diablerets and optionally covered on the same lift pass, is a snow-sure destination with a long season. My favourite slopes are those above Zweisimmen, on the Rinderberg and Parwengesattel, but the runs accessible from the new Eggli gondola are also very pleasant. The lifts out of Gstaad are on the edge of town, serving the small Wispile area and the large Eggli-La Videmanette area (which, uniquely, is a French-speaking area at its extremity, the only ski area I know which has both French and German-speaking valley stations). The infrequent, but scheduled and reliable, trains and buses can get you to all 6 sectors in Gstaad Mountain Rides.

If you enjoy mostly undemanding, scenic slopes, Gstaad is a fabulous destination. That isn't to say you can't find challenging skiing and good lift-served off-piste, but most runs are of intermediate standard. Gstaad is, of course, more than a ski and snowboard destination - there is a huge variety of other winter sports activities, including ice-skating in the heart of Gstaad, around 11 classic and skating cross-country circuits, 34 identified winter walks, 5 toboggan runs, one airboard piste and 14 snowshoe trails (4 of which are clearly marked). For many years the rich and famous have descended on Gstaad, including Sophia Loren, to enjoy the glitz of hotels such as the Gstaad Palace.

Best of the Slopes

The runs off Eggli are very pleasant and the valley run into Saanen tends to be the best if snow conditions are not good - the valley run to Gstaad gets large bare patches in warm and limited snow conditions and doesn't have artificial snow cover.

Where to Eat and Party

Gstaad has a whole clutch of highly-rated restaurants, and the Saanenland is renowned for its cuisine. In the mountains one of the best choices is the gourmet Bergrestaurant Wasserngrat (+41 33 744 96 22) and in Gstaad itself GaultMillau rate Restaurant Sommet in the The Alpina Gstaad (+41 33 888 98 88) as one of the best restaurants in Switzerland. For après ski the FunFun bar and Richie's pub are good, and if you want to dress up the Palace Hotel is the ritzy place to go.

Getting There

By Public Transport

The best destination to access the downhill slopes by public transport in this ski area is Gstaad. It is about a 20 minute walk to the Eggli or Wispile gondolas. Buses also run to a number of other area from station, including Glacier 3000.

• From Zurich the least travel time is 2 hrs 49 mins with as few as 2 changes going via Bern / Zweisimmen.
• From Basel the least travel time is 2 hrs 52 mins with as few as 2 changes going via Bern.
• From Berne the least travel time is 1 hr 47 mins with as few as 1 changes going via Zweisimmen.

By Road

Please refer to a map and check local conditions for accurate routing information.

• The road distance from Zurich is around 187 km and the journey time is roughly 2 hrs 25 mins.
• The road distance from Basel is around 178 km and the journey time is roughly 2 hrs 10 mins.
• The road distance from Berne is around 86 km and the journey time is roughly 1 hr 10 mins.
• The road distance from Geneva is around 157 km and the journey time is roughly 2 hrs 10 mins.

Get road directions at Google Maps

Nearby Resorts

Other resorts in the ski area include Glacier3000, Château-d'Oex, Rougemont, Saanen, Saanenmöser, Schönried, St. Stephan and Zweisimmen.

Weather Outlook

View detailed snow forecast for Gstaad at: snow-forecast.com

Latest Resort Report

MySwitzerland report for Gstaad

Piste Map for Gstaad

Larger piste map for Gstaad

Map

Get directions from Google in a new window or tab

Accommodation in the Resort & Nearby

• $ Château-d'Oex Youth Hostel, Château-d'Oex (Hostel)
  +41 26 924 64 04 https://www.youthhostel.ch/en/
• $$$$$ The Alpina , Gstaad (5*) Ranked by Tages-Anzeiger #8 amongst 5* Swiss hotels.
  +41 33 888 98 88 https://www. thealpinagstaad.ch
• $$$$$ Gstaad Palace, Gstaad (5*) Highly regarded by Tages-Anzeiger.
  +41 33 748 50 00 https://www.palace.ch
• $$$$$ Grand Hotel Bellevue, Gstaad (5*) Highly regarded by Tages-Anzeiger.
  +41 33 748 00 00 https://www.bellevue-gstaad.ch
• $$$$$ Grand Hotel Park, Gstaad Ranked #3 in Gstaad by TripAdvisor.
  +41 33 748 41 51 https://www.grandhotelpark.ch/
• $$$$ Le Grand Chalet, Gstaad (4*) Highly regarded by Tages-Anzeiger.
  +41 33 748 76 76 https://www.grandchalet.ch
• $ Saanen-Gstaad Youth Hostel, Gstaad (Hostel) 10 minutes walk from Saanen station.
  +41 33 744 13 43 https://www.youthhostel.ch/en/
• $$$ Hotel Alpine Lodge, Saanen (3*) Ranked #2 in Gstaad by TripAdvisor, and ranked #15 by Tages-Anzeiger amongst Swiss 3* Hotels.
  +41 33 748 41 51 https://www.alpinelodge.ch/
• $$$$ Huus Gstaad, Saanen (4*) Ranked by Tages-Anzeiger #21 amongst 4*Swiss hotels.
  +41 33 748 04 04 https://www. huusgstaad.com
• $$$ Spitzhorn, Saanen-Gstaad (3*) Ranked by Tages-Anzeiger #1 amongst 3* Swiss hotels.
  +41 33 748 41 41 https://www. spitzhorn.ch
• $$$ Hotel Hornberg, Saanenmöser Ranked #1 in Saanenmoser by TripAdvisor.
  +41 33 748 66 88 https://www.hotel-hornberg.ch
• $$$$$ Ermitage , Schönried-Gstaad (5*) Ranked by Tages-Anzeiger #22 amongst 5*Swiss hotels.
  +41 33 748 04 30 https://www. ermitage.ch
• $$$$ Boutique-Hotel Alpenrose, Schönried-Gstaad (4*) Ranked by Tages-Anzeiger #22 amongst 4*Swiss hotels.
  +41 33 748 91 91 https://www. hotelalpenrose.ch
• $$$ Hotel Kernen, Schönried (3*) Highly regarded by Tages-Anzeiger.
  +41 33 748 40 20 https://www.bruno-kernen.ch
• $$$ Hamilton Lodge and Spa, Rinderberg (3*) Ski-in, ski-out. Luggage shuttle available to and from lifts.
  +41 27 923 20 43 https://www.hamiltonlodge.ch

Find accommodation at Bookings.com