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Gstaad, Switzerland

Published for the Saanenland and the chalets above it

CH Monday, October 12, 2026

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Old money in a chalet village that has resisted being rebuilt

Gstaad is expensive, discreet and deliberately low-rise: no towers, no concrete, a promenade of chalets and a ski area spread thinly across several mountains. It is the quiet end of the expensive Alps.

The Ultimate City Desk

Gstaad, Switzerland — Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page

Gstaad is a village in the Saanenland, the German-speaking corner of the Bernese Oberland next to French-speaking Vaud, and it has been fashionable since the 1950s and 60s without ever being built up. Local planning has kept the architecture to chalet form and chalet height, which is why the place still looks like a village while containing some of the most expensive property in Switzerland. The Gstaad Palace on its hill above the promenade has been in the same family since 1938 and sets the tone.

The skiing is spread rather than concentrated. The Gstaad Mountain Rides pass covers several separate sectors — Wispile, Eggli, La Videmanette, Rinderberg above Zweisimmen, Saanersloch — linked by buses and trains rather than lifts, plus Glacier 3000 at Les Diablerets for high-altitude and reliably early snow. It suits intermediates and families well; experts will find the serious terrain limited compared with Zermatt or Chamonix, which regulars freely admit.

What Gstaad has instead is a social calendar and a summer. The Swatch Beach Volleyball used to come, the Hublot Polo Gold Cup is played on grass in August, the Swiss Open tennis is played on clay in July, and the Menuhin Festival brings serious chamber music through the summer — Yehudi Menuhin lived here for decades. In July and August the valley is green, quiet, and markedly cheaper than in February.

Where People Live

The neighbourhoods

Gstaad promenade

The pedestrianised main street of chalets: the hotels, the watch and fashion shops, and the funicular up to Wispile.

Saanen

Five minutes down the valley: the older and larger village, with the painted church, the airfield and far better value.

Schönried & Saanenmöser

Up the pass northeast: higher, snowier, quieter, and the access to the Rinderberg and Saanersloch sectors.

Les Diablerets & Glacier 3000

Southwest over the Col du Pillon: the glacier skiing, the Peak Walk suspension bridge between two summits, and the Vaud side of the region.

Airports

Sion Airport (SIR) 28 km to the centre

Sion, VS, CH — Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day.

Indoor | Outdoor

Trains & rail

Brienz–Rothorn railway

National rail

SBB CFF FFS

National rail

Coaches & shuttles

PostBus

Intercity coach

Living Here

Practical notes for residents

The season

The Alpine ski season runs roughly from December to April, with glacier and high-alpine terrain holding later. Exact opening and closing dates move with the snowpack every year — check the lift company before booking travel around them.
Gstaad's own sectors generally run from mid-December to early April; Glacier 3000 opens earlier and holds later, which is where to go in a thin year.
The valley floor is around 1,050 metres, which is low. Early and late season skiing means going up to Glacier 3000 or the Rinderberg rather than the village lifts.

Getting there

Geneva is about two and a half hours by road, Zurich around three. The MOB Golden Pass railway from Montreux is slow, panoramic and the pleasant way in.
Saanen has a small airfield used by private aviation, which tells you something about the clientele.
The region's buses and trains link the ski sectors and are included with the lift pass and guest card — you do not need a car.

The calendar

The Swiss Open tennis in July, the Hublot Polo Gold Cup in August, and the Menuhin Festival's chamber concerts through the summer.
New Year and February school holidays are the expensive, busy weeks; January between them is notably quieter.
Summer is the valley's secret: hiking, cheap accommodation and the Rellerli and Wispile lifts running for walkers.

Practicalities

Prices in Gstaad proper are high; Saanen, Schönried and Zweisimmen are on the same lift pass and cost considerably less.
This is German-speaking Switzerland right on the French border, so you will hear both, and the Saanenland dialect is distinct.

Sources

Everything above is checkable