Winter in La Tzoumaz: at the heart of the 4 Vallées
La Tzoumaz gives direct access to the 4 Vallées — one of the largest ski areas in Switzerland — while keeping the feel of a family mountain village.
On the snow
North-facing, La Tzoumaz holds its snow remarkably well throughout the season. Beyond its groomed runs, the resort is also the starting point of the Vallon d'Arbi, a marked off-piste descent: the yellow run is technical for its first stretch before it eases off. New this season: the Esserts-Savoleyres télémixte now links La Tzoumaz to Verbier faster and more comfortably, its 10-seat cabins opening up markedly easier access to the Verbier sector's slopes. La Tzoumaz also offers night skiing and guided ski touring.
For families, the toboggan run is the longest in French-speaking Switzerland, with a 711-metre vertical drop, and the village's open-air ice rink — free access from 10am to 8pm, weather permitting, with skate hire on site — rounds out the day without needing to put skis on at all.
Those after a quieter pace will prefer snowshoeing along the bisses; thrill-seekers, on the other hand, can take to the sky by paraglider.
The village's key dates
A few already fixed points punctuate the winter in the village: an NC Vox concert at the Ascension Chapel on 29 December, New Year's Eve celebrations on 31 December, the Tzoumaz Trail Blanc on Sunday 31 January — two loops of 12 and 17 km starting from Eterpey —, Carnival on 9 February, and the traditional Easter egg hunt on the slopes in late March to close the season on a joyful note.
Other events (chess evenings and the like) will likely be organised in the coming weeks.
Classical Music at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda, French chanson at the Caves du Manoir, and Distillerie Morand's Christmas-themed guided tours
Thirty minutes' drive away, the Fondation Pierre Gianadda's 49th concert season in Martigny offers one of the finest reasons to venture out this winter, with highlights including Khatia Buniatishvili on piano on 8 December or Sol Gabetta and B. Chamayou on cello and piano on 12 March. Full programme and bookings at gianadda.ch. and +41 27 722 39 78.
At the Caves du Manoir, the Rosegorge collective performs "Mon manège à moi c'est toi", an evening of French chanson on the vertigo of falling in love, staged on several dates between 30 December and 24 January (bookings via martigny.com).
Also in Martigny, the Distillerie Morand — known for its fruit brandies and syrups — opens its doors for special Christmas-themed guided tours throughout the festive season, a fitting, flavourful detour just minutes from the Fondation. And as always, being in Martigny is a good opportunity to pay a visit to Raffin, one of the most delicious chocolate maker of the whole Switzerland, Rue de la gare 20.
A day off the slopes, in Sion
For a day without skiing, Sion's old town is also a good option, it can be visited year-round: the Witches' Tower, St Théodule's church with its Roman remains, the Town Hall and the cathedral, on a guided tour (from CHF 150). The climb up to Valère, with its fortified basilica and the Valais History Museum, is especially rewarding on a clear winter morning, when the view over the snow-covered Rhône plain stretches for miles.
Just outside Sion, in Savièse, the two-Michelin-starred restaurant Gilles Varone is well worth the detour for cooking that is precise, poetic and memorable — book well ahead (gillesvarone.ch).
Back at the chalet
Nothing closes a day of skiing better than a moment's relaxation in the chalet's sauna, a drink by the fireside and, on the gentlest evenings, an impromptu session at the Pleyel piano — or, with the catered option, a dinner from your chef, who stays with you for the whole of your visit, with no need to head back out into the cold.