CRANS MONTANA

Sitting on a south-facing shelf above the Rhone Valley, in the Valais canton of Switzerland, Crans Montana ski presumes of its wide impressive views and outstanding scenery. This striking sigths include some of major Alpine peaks, including the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. A fairly sizable area of mid-altitude terrain, full of pretty wooded slopes bathed by the southern sun, and a selection of mountain restaurants and smart lodgings, makes Crans Montana a ski destination to suit many kind of skiers.

Made up of two swiss mountain villages, Crans-sur-Sierre and Montana a mile apart, with the years has expanded into a larger urbanized community, becoming a well-established year-round resort, being Crans the more upmarket one, with greater concentration of fancy shops, stylish bars and a pedestrian-friendly centre.

Divided into four main sectors: Crans, Montana, Barzettes-Violettes, and Aminona, these are well connected, each one of them accessed from its respective base area by gondola lift, with home-run pistes down to all four base stations, and a free ski bus service running between the lift base terminals every half an hour.

Snow doesn’t lack in the main upper ski area, all above the tree line, particularly at the summit sector on the Plaine Morte Glacier, with a superb long red run down from the glacier.

You can find many long runs, the lowest ones equipped with snow-guns and shelter from the trees, what helps to guaranty the snow, therefore ensure the ski access to the bases and enhanced visibility if needed on poor weather.

Beginners

Some beginner slopes are located above Montana and Aminona. For the first timers and beginner children the best choice is “Snow Island”, a separated zone equipped with ski-tows and belt surface lifts. This convinient learning area is located at the gentle hills of the prestigious Golf-Club Crans-sur-Sierre.

Intermediated

Most of all the ski area is an undemanding playground for intermediates, comprised of mid-range blue slopes, wide pleasant reds and some low end black runs.

Easily reached in around two to three hours by car or train from Geneva airport (180km), Crans Montana is also provide easy transfers by rail and road from Bern airport in central Switzerland.

Getting to crans Montana bye train is easy, getting from the airports by car though is quicker and, no matter where you are staying in the resort, is quite useful to have a car there to drive to the ski lifts and move around.

The urbanized feel of the resort can not fit that well for some looking for a classic alpine swiss village, but the wooded setting softens it up, and certainly the more developed towns offer a vast variety of off-slope activities.

Sporty

There are more than 60km of snowshoeing trails and way-marked walking paths in the surrounding area. There are also many kilometers of cross-country ski runs in the region. At the Plaine-Morte glacier, the high altitude cross-country course allows skiing in summer.

There is an ice rink, a shooting range, a climbing center, a paintball and laser center. Crans Montana offers also plenty of other indoor sport facilities like tennis courts, bowling, curling, etc… You can try also dog sledging or winter golf.

If you are looking for a more rocking apres-ski head to the Zerodix. Located next to the gondola base station in Crans, this bar features resident DJs and as a result a more party atmosphere.

Later on in the evening, popular venues catering young-minded visitors are the Monk’is or theAmadeus.

You find also a couple of small cabaret-style clubs, larger nightclubs like Xellent and Pacha, and even a Casino. 

Later on, the place to go dancing is the Broken Bar Disco at the Hotel Post.