The Upcoming Ski Season – Where to Go?

Correspondent (Travel)

Many people spend their Christmas holidays skiing and snowboarding in the mountains. But where to start? What place to choose among the huge variety? What country to go to?

First question you have to ask yourself is who do you want to go with? Is it going to be a sweet and calm family trip or a hard-core partying-style holiday with friends? Amongst popular destinations for both kinds of vacations there are the Swiss Alps, marvellous and beautiful.

For a family trip an ideal place to go is Saas Fee, a small village in the centre of Switzerland. Small dreamlike houses, narrow paths between them strewn with snow and cosy restaurants will definitely fascinate you. Book an apartment in one of the fairy tale houses (as if they stepped off the pages of the ‘Gingerbread House’ fairy tale) closest to the ski lift (obviously you don’t want to walk several miles every morning while wearing enormously uncomfortable and heavy ski boots) and let your amazing holiday begin.

One of the must-see (or rather must-eat) of this village is a restaurant called ‘Fletschorn’. A cosy home-like restaurant that is perfect for a family dinner. Eating a meal while looking at the snow outside – the Christmas atmosphere will fully absorb you. There is even a small zoo outside the restaurant. Well, this zoo will eventually end up on your plate but thankfully you won’t see it. Getting there is another story; the restaurant is situated outside of the village, in the woods. It takes around half an hour to walk there from the centre of the village. Going through the snowbound forest and finding a house in the middle of it does seem like a little fairy adventure, doesn’t it?

Obviously, not only restaurants attract visitors from all over the world. Many hotels offer spa treatments, swimming pools, hot tubs and even mineral springs. Enjoying the warm water of the tub while looking at the snowfall through the floor-to-ceiling window – don’t you already want to go there?

When everything is lit up and decorated, it truly gives a feeling of Christmas that you wish would never go away.

Another interesting point is that no cars are allowed in the village. There is a huge several floors parking outside and once you leave your car there you will have to carry your baggage to the hotel. Alternatively, you can ask for some kind of a sled to put your staff on. Only small golf-like (but covered) cars sometimes appear on the streets.

If, however, you are tired of quiet family holidays and want something more fun there is also a place for you. Verbier, again in Switzerland, is a popular spot among young people. The bars and nightclubs can basically be found every single metre. It also has a freestyle park in the mountains that Saas Fee does not offer. So, if you are an advanced skier/snowboarder that is most surely the place where you would spend quite a lot of time.

Another place to consider for a trip with friends is Crans Montana, offering practically the same as Verbier. Zermatt, on the other hand, is a more family holiday type: rather expensive prices, luxury entertainment, all the thing you can’t afford on your own but with parents.

Another thing to bear in mind is the training. If you are just a beginner or want to learn more cool stuff and need a trainer, you have to think about it in advance and book one. There are several ski schools in every resort but it is highly unlikely that you will find many available trainers once you arrive.

If you choose one of these places you will never regret it!

Image Courtesy: Image Courtesy: Saas-Fee, Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license | Wiki Commons; timuzapata, Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 France license | Wiki Commons