Crans-Montana sits on a sunny terrace at 1,500 m high above the Rhone valley, in the French-speaking part of the Valais. The view from the pistes runs from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn, and the ski area climbs from the resort to the Plaine Morte glacier at 3,000 m.
How to get there: Sion and Sierre are the nearest railway stations in the valley below, with a funicular and road up to the resort. Geneva is the nearest major airport.
Slopes and lifts: 140 km of pistes and 24 lifts, with the balance weighted heavily towards red runs. The Plaine Morte is the top of the area and the reason the season holds late.
Cross-country skiing: more than 21 km of classic and skating tracks in the resort, plus a track on the Plaine Morte glacier itself at 3,000 m.
Racing: Crans-Montana hosts the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in 2027.
What else there is: a snowpark, one of the largest ice rinks in Switzerland in the middle of the resort, a walk linking nine lakes, and the Crans-sur-Sierre golf course that hosts the Omega European Masters each year.
Where you stay: the resort spreads along the terrace between Crans and Montana, with free shuttle buses running year-round between the two.
