38 Best Sights in Valais, Switzerland

Traversing the formidable barrier of the Alps at 8,101 feet, this pass is the oldest and most famous of the great Alpine crossings, and the first to join Rome and Byzantium to the wilds of the north. Used for centuries before the birth of Christ, it has witnessed an endless stream of emperors, knights, and simple travelers. Napoléon took an army of 40,000 across it en route to Marengo, where he defeated the Austrians in 1800.

On Valère, Sion's lower hill, the Église-Forteresse de Valère is a striking example of sacred and secular power combined—reflective of the church's heyday, when it often subjugated rather than served its parishioners. Built on Roman foundations, the massive stone walls enclose both the château and the 11th-century Église Notre-Dame de Valère (Church of Our Lady of Valère). This structure stands in a relatively raw form, rare in Switzerland, where monuments are often restored to perfection. Over the engaging Romanesque carvings, 16th-century fresco fragments, and 17th-century stalls painted with scenes of the Passion, is a rare organ, with a cabinet painted with two fine medieval Christian scenes. Dating from the 15th century, it's the oldest playable organ in the world (though it doesn't appear old, as it was restored in 2005), and an annual organ festival celebrates its musical virtues.

The château complex also houses the Musée d'Histoire (History Museum), which displays a wide array of medieval sacristy chests and religious artifacts. Expanded exhibits trace daily life and advances in the canton from these early centuries to the present day. Explanations are in three languages, including English. To reach the museum and church, you have to trek up uneven stone walkways and steep staircases, but you won't regret it.

Saas-Fee lies in a deep valley that leaves no doubt about its source—it seems to pour from the vast, intimidating Fee Glacier. "Fee" can be translated as "fairy," and this primordial landscape could illustrate a fairy tale. See it up close by taking a gondola up to Spielboden and then a cable car to Längfluh, right on the glacier's edge, where there's a restaurant with magnificent glacial views.

If the day is clear, grab the chance for a spectacular ride to the top of one of the lofty peaks that shadow the roadway by taking the Fiesch cable car up to Eggishorn (9,413 feet). The panoramic views of Alps and glaciers leave most breathless. As the cable car rotates 360 degrees, you can tick off famous Bernese and Valaisan peaks from your to-see list. The Jungfrau, Eiger, Matterhorn, and Dom are clearly visible, as are peaks that lie across the border in Italy and France.

This striking modern glass building highlighting contemporary aboriginal and indigenous art is just down the hill from Crans-Montana, in the village of Lens on Lake Louché. Exhibits, which rotate twice a year, include such themes as surrealism and non-Western art, divisionism, and realism. The museum's restaurant, L'Opale, is also worth a stop for lunch or a drink.

The Fondation Pierre Gianadda rises in bold geometric shapes around the Roman ruins on which it is built. Recent retrospectives have spotlighted works by Turner and Jean Dubuffet. The Musée Gallo-Romain displays Celtic and Gallo-Roman relics excavated from a 1st-century temple—striking bronzes, statuary, pottery, and coins unearthed from a time when Celtic tribes ruled Switzerland. Descriptions are only in French and German. A marked path leads through the antique village, baths, drainage systems, and foundations to the fully restored 5,000-seat amphitheater, which dates from the 2nd century. In the gracefully landscaped garden surrounding the foundation, a wonderful Parc de Sculpture displays works by Rodin, Brancusi, Miró, Arman, Moore, Dubuffet, and Max Ernst. There's also a sizable Musée de l'Automobile, which contains some 50 antique cars, all in working order. They include an 1897 Benz, the Delaunay-Belleville of Czar Nicholas II of Russia, and a handful of Swiss-made models. You may also spot posters for concerts by international classical stars such as Cecilia Bartoli or Itzhak Perlman—the space doubles as a concert hall.

A train trip on the Gornergrat Bahn functions as an excursion, as well as a ski transport. Part of its rail system was completed in 1898, and it's one of the highest open-air rail systems in Europe. It departs from Zermatt's main train station and winds up the mountain, with great vistas along the way. Its stop at the Riffelberg, at 8,469 feet, presents killer views of the Matterhorn. Farther on, from Rotenboden, at 9,246 feet, a short downhill walk leads to the Riffelsee, a glassy Alpine lake that offers postcard-perfect reflections of the famous peak. At the end of the 9-km (5½-mile) line, the train stops at the summit station of Gornergrat, at 10,266 feet, and passengers pour onto the observation terraces to take in the majestic views of the Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, Gorner Glacier, and an expanse of peaks and glaciers. Atop there are vendors and the chance to pose with St. Bernard dogs with the Matterhorn in the background. It's touristy, yes, but memorable. Make sure to bring warm clothes, sunglasses, and sturdy shoes, especially if you're planning to ski or hike down as many do.

Inside a striking building covered in stainless steel plates and topped with solar panels, and backed by the lovely and steep Clavau vineyards, sits the ultramodern tasting rooms of local vintners Maison Bonvin and Maison Varone (about a five-minute drive from the city center). While you can sample and buy wine all year long, between April and October, guests can hike up into the vineyards and taste at either a vineyard cottage (the Guérite Brûlefer), about a 10- to 15-minute walk from the cellars, or an ancient winegrower’s cabin transformed into the modern Cube Varone, about a 30-minute walk, with stupendous views down into the valley.

With its indoor and outdoor pools, this multilevel facility is more water park than thermal bath. It's usually packed with families, so don't come expecting peace and quiet. But the views of Leukerbad's mountains are terrific, though no better than at Alpentherme, which is better suited to those seeking tranquility. Leukerbad Therme has a sauna, solarium, and snack bar, as well as giant slides that corkscrew their way down into one of the thermal baths.

At 14,685 feet, the Matterhorn's elegant snaggletooth form rears up over the village of Zermatt, larger than life and genuinely awe-inspiring. As you weave through crowds along Bahnhofstrasse, the town's main street, you're bombarded on all sides by Matterhorn images—on postcards, sweatshirts, calendars, beer steins, and candy wrappers—while the original, slightly obscured by resort buildings, occasionally peers down at you. In town, it's better seen from side streets and the windows of hotel rooms. Break past the shops and hotels onto the main road into the hills, and you'll reach a slightly elevated spot where you'll probably stop dead in your tracks. There it is, a twist of snowy rock blinding in the sun. Catch it in the very early morning to witness its rare Alpenglühen, when the rising sun bathes it in fragile pink light. It was Edward Whymper's spectacular—and catastrophic—conquest of the Matterhorn, on July 14, 1865, that made Zermatt a household word. After reaching the mountain's summit, his climbing party began its descent, tying themselves together and moving one man at a time. One of the climbers slipped, dragging the others down with him. Though Whymper and one of his companions braced themselves to stop the fall, the rope between climbers snapped and four mountaineers fell nearly 4,000 feet to their deaths. One body was never recovered, but the others lie in modest graves behind the park near the village church, surrounded by scores of other failed mountaineers. In summer, the streets of Zermatt fill with sturdy, weathered climbers who continue to tackle the peaks, and climbers have mastered the Matterhorn thousands of times since Whymper's disastrous victory.

Sporting expansive Palladian windows set in marble, the Alpentherme looks like a temple perched on the hill. Annexes contain a beauty center, shopping arcade, and bistro. The unique spa treatments here are the Roman-Irish bath, a two-hour succession of hot and cold soaks, vapor treatments, and a soap-brush massage; and the Valaisan sauna village, a course of steam rooms and saunas. Massage, herbal wraps, scrubs, and medical consultations are also on the menu. Children under eight are welcome with an adult at the pools for free, but they are not permitted in the sauna village or Roman-Irish baths.

At the end of the 4th century, the first bishop of the Valais built a sanctuary over Maurice's tomb, and in 515 the Abbaye de Saint-Maurice was founded. Its treasury contains a stellar collection of religious offerings, with precious Romanesque and Gothic objects given in honor of the martyrs. Contemplate both sides of the stunning bronze doors with inscriptions honoring martyrs from around the world. Excavations near the baroque église abbatiale (abbey church) have revealed the foundations of the original building. Audio guides that take you through the history of the abbey are available in English and other languages.

Aletsch's famous glacier—23 km (14 miles)—was at its longest 155 years ago, but now recedes 100 to 165 feet per year. Concern about the recession of the earth's ice formations has made preserving the Aletsch Glacier internationally significant, so UNESCO designated a 250-square-km (97-square-mile) area around the glacier, shared between the cantons of Valais (77%) and Bern (23%), as a protected site. Generations ago, the Swiss sensed the need to safeguard the area and began placing parts in conservationist hands.

The glacier's starting point, Concordia Platz, is the confluence of three ice masses that move down from the Bernese Alps. Here the ice has been measured as deep as 2,952 feet—over twice the height of the Empire State Building. Another magnificent formation, the Märjelensee, is a lake with icebergs floating on top, carved into the glacier field with walls of ice and stone. As the glacier's ice recedes, nature reclaims the land, first with moss and small plants, then forest. Pro Natura, the conservation organization that oversees the region, describes the process as "forest emerging from ice." Though some of the area's pine and larch are 600 to 700 years old, extreme conditions keep them short. Animals thought to be extinct thrive here; chamois, martens, badgers, lizards, and birds have adapted to the elevation and temperature.

Cable cars ferry tourists to ridgetops above Riederalp, Bettmeralp, and Fiescheralp, where 360-degree views of the sweep of ice are framed by extraordinary peaks. You can see the Bernese Alps, including the Sphinx station on the Jungfraujoch called the "Top of Europe"; the Valaisan Alps; and even into Italy and France. Hiking trails lead to the glacier's edge, and guides take trekkers across parts of the ice field. All around are places to admire nature's grandeur and be grateful that it is being protected.

Roulette, blackjack, poker, and an abundance of slot machines are among the games at the high-stakes Casino Crans-Montana, in Montana. You can also just stop in for a drink or dinner, as there is no pressure to play. Your passport is required for admission.

Crowning Tourbillon, the higher of Sion's hills, the ruined château was built as a bishop's residence at the end of the 13th century and destroyed by fire in 1788. If you take the rugged hike up the steep hill, try to visit the tiny chapel with its ancient, layered frescoes.

Saas-Fee is at the heart of a circle of mountains called the Mischabel, 13 of which tower more than 13,120 feet. Among them is the Dom (14,908 feet), the highest mountain entirely on Swiss soil.

Storyboards and films at the Fondation Barry du Grand-St-Bernard praise the lifesaving work of a breed of dog that has come to symbolize the Alpine zone straddling Switzerland and Italy. Several St. Bernard dogs (and puppies) live year-round at the foundation, which is in a restored arsenal adjacent to Martigny's Roman amphitheater. Visitors may encounter the dogs at Barryland, a grassy outdoor enclosure; an expanded Barryland Theme Park is scheduled to open in late 2024. Cuddly toy St. Bernards and other dog-themed gifts are sold in the shop. For centuries, the famous St. Bernard dogs helped the monks find travelers lost in the snow. They supposedly came to Switzerland with silk caravans from Central Asia and were used by Romans as war dogs; today they're kept more for sentimental than functional reasons. The foundation is named after the most famous St. Bernard of them all: Barry, who saved more than 40 people in the 19th century and today stands stuffed in Bern's Naturhistorisches Museum (Museum of Natural History). Souvenir stands sell plush versions of St. Bernards. There are a handful of dining options on either side of the pass.

In summer, you can drive down a narrow forest road to Grimentz. With a population of fewer than 500 people, this ancient 13th-century village has preserved its weathered-wood houses and mazots in its tiny center. It is particularly known for its vin du glacier, or glacier wine, which is traditionally drunk directly from the barrel rather than bottled.

The Town Hall has extraordinary historic roots: though it was built in the 1650s, it has transplanted stones in the entrance bearing Roman inscriptions, including a Christian symbol from the year AD 377. The 17th-century doors are richly carved wood, and the tower displays an astronomical clock. The interior is accessible only on walking tours run by the tourism office.

High up in the bluffs and valleys to the south of Sion are scores of isolated eagle's-nest towns, including Isérables. Set on a precarious slope that drops 3,280 feet into the lowlands, the town has narrow streets that weave between crooked old stone-shingle mazots. Since the arrival of the cable car, Isérables has prospered and modernized itself. Yet the inhabitants of this village still carry the curious nickname Bedjuis. Some say it's derived from "Bedouins" and that the people are descended from the Saracen hordes who, after the battle of Poitiers in 732 AD, overran some of the high Alpine valleys. Excursions to the sights and villages of this haute vallée (high valley) can be accomplished in a day, with a little time to hike and explore before returning to Sion.

Just outside Leukerbad is this cozy winery with a tasting room where you can sample wonderful Humagne Rouges, Fendants, Walliser rosés, and Cornalins, among other unique Valais varietals. The town makes for a great half-day bike ride from Leukerbad, and it is downhill all the way. For those who don't want to climb up again, you can easily throw your bike on the bus as you head back uphill.

In operation since the Middle Ages, the monk-run L'Hospice du Grand St-Bernard has played host to kings, princes, and writers like Charles Dickens. Within these walls you'll find cozy, inexpensive guest rooms and a stone dining hall where you can revive yourself with bowls of warm soup, slabs of creamy Bagnes cheese, honey-sweetened tea, and carafes of red Dôle wine produced in the Valais. The facility includes an excellent museum with exhibits about the history of the pass and the devoted monks of the Order of St. Augustine, who live here. Displays of church treasures—chalices, crosses, and altar clothes in gold, silver, and jewels—are on view in another wing. The bones in the crypt add a macabre touch. The fresco-bedecked baroque church remains open for daily prayers.

This grand old home, tucked into a passageway off Rue Supersaxo, was built in 1505 by Georges Supersaxo, the local governor, to put his rivals to shame. This extravagantly decorated building, now home to offices, includes a Gothic staircase and grand hall, whose painted wood ceiling is a dazzling work of decorative art.

To get a sense of life in this high-altitude region and the risks involved in climbing, visit the Matterhorn Museum – Zermatlantis, a sunken village of chalets, mazots, and dwellings depicted as an archaeological site that visitors walk through, experiencing different periods of time along the way. The personal accounts of local docents liven up the displays of antiquated equipment, clothing, and historical documents about those who lived and climbed here. There is a farmer's cottage, hotel, and church interior, plus stuffed and mounted animals.

One of the main reasons to visit the Musée d'Art, housed in the remains of two 12th-century castles, is to discover the work of Swiss artist Ernest Biéler (1863–1948). For three decades from around 1905, he painted life in Savièse, a community in the Sion district. The naive vibe of these scenes and portraits offers a glimpse into the Valais as it once was. The museum also features a small but intriguing collection of canvases, photography, and other works from the 18th century to today by international and local artists.

Opened in 2013 in the former Archaeological Museum, this space's theme is "Humans and Nature in the Valais," which aims to inspire visitors to consider their relationship with the natural environment in the Valais, from the Mesolithic age to today. Installations feature typical flora and life-size representations of fauna that inhabit this diverse land.

The cathedral is dominated by its Romanesque tower, built in the Lombard style and dating from the 12th century. The rest of the church is late Gothic in style.

Up Rue de Lausanne, the Old Town is a blend of attractive 16th-century houses, modern shops, and a host of sights worth seeing.

Villa Cassel, a turn-of-the-20th-century mansion, was considered a wealthy Englishman's folly when the Tudor-style structure was installed on the rugged pass above the village of Ried. It has weathered time well and is now the headquarters for Pro Natura Zentrum Aletsch, an environmental education center. The naturalist organization runs guided tours, glacier walks, and expeditions to spot marmots and eagles. In addition, the center offers self-directed paths, an Alpine garden, a tearoom, and even dorm and private rooms for overnight stays during the summer. Some information is available in English; prices vary according to the activity. To access the facility, take the cable car from Morel to Riederalp. From the village station it's a 30-minute walk, but more appealing and challenging is the hike from Moosfluh (an additional gondola ride) where you can catch views of the glacier rimmed by its old-growth Alpine forest.