Gstaad is a chalet village at 1,050 m in the Saanenland, in the Bernese Oberland, with a car-free promenade at its centre. Ten villages make up the holiday region: Saanen, Schönried, Lauenen, Turbach, Feutersoey, Gsteig and the rest, each with its own character and its own lifts.
How to get there: Gstaad has its own railway station on the MOB line. Geneva and Zurich are the nearest airports.
Slopes and lifts: 200 km of pistes spread over eight mountains, between 1,000 m and 3,000 m. The largest single sector links Schönried, Saanenmöser, Zweisimmen and St. Stephan and holds more than 105 km on its own.
Glacier 3000: the only glacier ski area in the Bernese Oberland, open from November to May, with a view taking in more than two dozen four-thousand-metre peaks including Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn.
What else there is: cross-country trails, winter hiking paths, toboggan runs and an igloo village.
Where you stay: the region is hotels and chalets spread across ten villages rather than one resort centre, and the Gstaad Card gives free rail and bus travel between Saanenland and Simmental from one night’s stay.
