Villars-Gryon

Q: Is Villars a good choice for a weekend from Geneva?

One of the best. It is under two hours door to door, the train from the village goes straight to the slopes, and the terrain suits a mixed group where not everyone skis at the same level. The trade-off is that Saturdays and Sundays in high season are busy with people who had exactly the same idea; if you can, come on a Friday, or plan the Sunday around Les Diablerets, which is quieter.

Vaud AlpsSee it on the map

Region

Vaud Alps

Country

Switzerland

Local time

Europe/Zurich

Currency

EUR

Villars-sur-Ollon sits on a south-facing balcony at 1,300 m above the Rhône, looking across at the Dents du Midi, and has been a winter resort since the days when the English came for the air — it is still home to a couple of well-known international boarding schools, which gives the village a slightly different rhythm from a purely tourist one. It is close enough to Lake Geneva to be a weekend place for people from Lausanne and Geneva, and its character is easy-going rather than grand.

The skiing starts up at Bretaye at 1,800 m, a plateau of frozen lakes and gentle bowls reached by a cogwheel train from the middle of the village, and rises to the Chamossaire and Roc d'Orsay at just over 2,000 m. From there the pistes link across to Gryon below and over the Meilleret ridge to Les Diablerets; together the linked area counts around 125 km, and the same pass includes the Glacier 3000, a short bus away, for guaranteed snow late and early in the season.

It is a family resort by nature: sunny, mid-sized, mostly blue and red, and not somewhere anyone comes for steep terrain.

Last reviewed 13 September 2026

Best suited to

Families
Beginners
Intermediates

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Where lessons start

The Bretaye plateau is where beginners learn: flat, sunny, enclosed and easy to reach on the train, with the lakes as a landmark and gentle slopes in every direction. There are also small nursery areas at village level in Villars and at Barboleuse above Gryon for the very first hours. Villars-Gryon is a good match for families, beginners and steady intermediates, and the ski schools here are used to teaching children in several languages; anyone stronger will want the day at the Glacier 3000 or a trip to Les Diablerets for variety.

Getting there

Geneva airport is around an hour and a half by car, and Lausanne under an hour, on the motorway along the lake and up the Rhône valley to Bex or Aigle. By train, come to Bex on the main line and take the rack railway up to Villars, about 40 minutes of climbing through the vineyards and forest; it continues from the village up to Bretaye, so the same line takes you to the ski area in the morning. Gryon is a few minutes further on by road or by a stop on the same railway.

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Villars-Gryon: common questions

Is Villars a good choice for a weekend from Geneva?

One of the best. It is under two hours door to door, the train from the village goes straight to the slopes, and the terrain suits a mixed group where not everyone skis at the same level. The trade-off is that Saturdays and Sundays in high season are busy with people who had exactly the same idea; if you can, come on a Friday, or plan the Sunday around Les Diablerets, which is quieter.