Anzère
Anzère is an impressive Swiss Alps ski resort in the southwest of Valais – a beautiful valley loaded with ski resorts big and small. Anzère resort is a sizeable resort, not too big, but by no means small, and perfect for family skiing. Located on the north side of the Rhône River, Anzère has fun long scenic trails, and phenomenal views of most of the major Swiss Alps. You can see neighboring Crans Montana and a dozen other ski areas from Anzère’s sunny south facing ski slopes – plus the provocatively named Sex Noir & Sex Rouge, though the x is not pronounced. Not sure, there is another ski area in the world where you can see so many other ski slopes!
Anzère skiing is between 1500-2420 meters, up to 8,000’, served by 12 lifts from a Gondi, to numerous quads to another incredibly modern gondola – the Malo – named for local World Cup skier Malorie Blanc (this lift will continue to the base by 2027), plus a few surface lifts. Despite having 8 surface tows among its lift infrastructure, all terrain can be accessed via the two gondolas and 3 chairlifts.
Start your day riding Anzère’s base to summit gondola from the modern village of Anzère. From the summit, 60 kilometers of groomed ski trails, mostly south facing slopes, await your carved turns. The upper mountain Maimbre plateau here is perfect for learn to ski, with great views, easy surface lifts, and easy to reach and download via the gondola. Love a ski area with beginner terrain at the scenic top, versus being stuck at the base bunny hill, more inspiring and inclusive for novices.
Anzère’s 29 named prepared trails really ski like 12 long, interesting fun trails. With great emotion and energy, the trails have rollers and turns, and spectacular views. Anzère’s longest run is 5 kilometers, the difficult ‘Piste des Masques’ descends from top to bottom under the gondola for almost 3,000’ consistent vertical. Anzère has a terrain park, and a crazy sledding run too (but I think every sledding hill in the Alps is crazy).
Venture far skiers’ left to Les Rousses, for undulating interesting trail skiing below treeline, and gladed off-piste routes on this more north-facing lower section with a quieter vibe. This is also where the wild long sled run is located, sledders ride the same high speed triple chair but only to the mid station. Les Rousses aging triple chair could be upgraded to a gondola in the future.
Anzère has plenty of easy to reach off-piste – some is quite steep and avalanche prone – so hire a guide to be safe and show you the right routes. The rocky high-alpine landscapes of the Wildhorn Peak and Wildhorn Glacier are super steep for Randonnée. Anzère is popular for ice climbing, paragliding and kite skiing too. The summit is a buzz of alpine activity from beghinners to daredevils.
Interesting that Anzere could easily connect with neighboring Crans Montana, Crans Montana could connect with Adelboden with a lift or two, to create the largest lift network of skiing in Switzerland. These interconnections have been discussed, but are far from implementation.
On mountain huts include Anzère’s authentic Grenier de Zalan – an intimate hut with a talented owner chef. The very traditional Ecuries De Tsalan is in a cozy cow barn, servign traditional fare. Pas de Maimbre at the gondola top offers exceptional cuisine, and civilized table service, popular for its outstanding view of the Alps, just beyond the busier self-serve cafeteria. Our fave is Grenier de Zalan – the hidden gem chalet where the fondue is superior to any others we savored, as is the lasagna, the beef, everything, served in this charming sheep hut.
Anzère started in the 1960s with a few rustic chalets and lifts, now it’s a well-designed purpose-built ski resort, with a compact ski village below the gondola, several hotels, chalets, ski shops, and a grocery store The Place du Village of Anzère is the cute pedestrian center and apres ski hub, with a modest sledding hill and snowpark for kids, restaurants and bars for parents to enjoy apero while watching their kids play in the snow. A DJ sometimes plays in here in the snow covered plaza!
One thing that really makes Anzère special is the roster of weekly events. Certain evenings there are scavenger hunts, torchlight walks, night ski touring, and Ski school performs Snow Volley under the lights. Anzère is very family-friendly.
Anzere Spa and Wellness is another truly special feature for an après ski soak! This modern installation has indoor and outdoor water features: pools, jacuzzi, sauna, damp sauna, plus massages and treatments a la carte. For families, there is a kiddy pool too. The view from the outdoor heated pool and jacuzzi of the mountains is inspiring. BYOT: bring your own towel, or there’s a surcharge to your admission fee. Swimsuits are required and the wellness and relaxation areas are for adults only, designated quiet zones.
Anzère lodging includes hotels, apartments and chalets built in a modest Swiss alpine style, but there’s not the luxury lodging like nearby Crans Montana, nor quite the charm of a traditional mountain village like Grimentz or Leukerbad, but its convenient, and skier-oriented as you are steps to the gondola, shops and dining, and can ski back at day’s end.
Hôtel Eden is an apartment hotel at the heart of Anzère, 100 meters to the gondola. Eden has chic studio apartments with kitchens and balconies framing a spectacular view of the Rhône Valley. Breakfast and dinner are available at their well-named Le Panorama restaurant. Eden’s Chef is very talented – we dined on deer carpaccio, roast duck and chocolate mousse. Eden has a ski locker room with boot dryers, an “Escape” game room, and a conference room – as they do cater to groups. The Coop market, ski shops – we liked Crazy Corner Sports for our ski tuning, plus aprés ski bars like ZaZaBar, and Why Not are nearby on your way to the gondola and ski slopes.
Hotel Zodiaque is another large A-frame chalet style lodge in Anzere, with over 60 rooms, located in the Place du Village – the heart of the snowy pedestrian zone with its own restaurant on-premise Au Chalet. We liked Hotel Zodiaque’s location with our south-facing balcony double suite, the view was sensational of the surrounding peaks, and countless nearby Swiss ski areas – ok 10 – we counted. See our review of Hotel Zodiaque!
Anzere is a great mid-sized Swiss ski resort, on the Magic Pass along with nearby Grimentz-Zinal , Lauchernalp and Leukerbad to the east, Ovronnaz to the west, even Télé Marécottes, Nax Mont Noble, Vercorin, St-Luc/Chandolin, so a Swiss ski tour in this Valais Wallis would be perfect.
Anzere Ski Stats:
Base Elevation: 1500 M (4,921′)
Summit Elevation: 2420 M (7,940′)
Vertical: 920 meters (3,018′)
Lifts: 13, inc 2 modern gondolas
Trails: 64 km of prepared pistes plus acres of Freeride terrain when the snow is right.
By road, Anzère is 16 kilometers (25 min) north of Sion (the gateway city and train connection to these Alps), 2 hours east of Geneva.
See more on Top Swiss Ski Resorts for Family Skiing and Top Swiss Ski Hotels
