With St. Moritz, one of GSTAAD is Switzerland’s most glamorous resort cityThe five-star hotel, celebrity vision, and a car-free prime-and-designer has been flanks by high-end boutiques and designer stores-but the grand outpost you find in cities like Geneva or Zurich is not expected. In the 1950s, GSTAAD applied the rules that require all buildings, even commercial people, to follow the cemental architecture style (low-picked roof, wide events and carved aspects) Swiss attraction Live and well in the entire mountain village. However, as I learned on a trip in this previous winter, GSTAAD is not just postcard-qualified après-ski playground for the rich; Its residents are deeply emotional about history, centuries -old traditions and natural beauty that surround this delightful enclave of Bernis Alps.

Anita Roth-Rupeler, a guide with a guide, “GSTAAD offers much more than just beautiful village with her walk Explora gustadTells Travel + holiday“Go to the mountains, travel and learn about traditional alpine forms, indulge in various sports and events, [and] Let yourself be taken away from the beauty and power of nature. ,

“Even though it is internationally for celebrities and wealth, it still looks like a comfortable, down-to-end village. It is more about sensible elegance than extraordinary,” Nano Costa, Alpina, echoes the head consciousness in GSTAAD. And when skiing is certainly a major draw in the cold months, they say, in summer “a paradise for hiking, mountain biking, swimming in mountain lakes and turning into a paradise for festivals.” Even there is an annual country music concert that occurs in every September – this year, the lineup includes Scooty McKeri and Old Crow Medicine Show.

Best Hotel and Resorts

Alpana gstaad

Alpana gstaad Intimate and comfortable – 56 rooms and suites overall – but there is a grandeur for its design and level of service that initially inspired me to believe that the property was very large. Even though I stayed at the end of the winter (check for the hotel season a day before closing), everything was ancient and thoughtful, from the luxurious, from the slippers left from my bed to the ski ability to rent a ski just outside the lobby. Guest rooms are no less than luxurious, the kind of habitat is leaving you during the day. Hand -made fireplaces, period furniture and local wood work, they are traditional without very dark or prohibiting kitschi. Is my only regret from my stay? Do not determine enough time to enjoy the hot water beds, cold dip, sauna and indoor pools of six sense spas.

Gustad palace

For more than 100 years, Gustad palace The city has welcomed the guests with well heels in its palace-style property above the city. Open only in summer and winter (like most luxury hotels in GSTAAD), the 90-key resort you can easily spend weeks and never grow boredom. Each room and suite have a alpine view, and the rosters of features include an Olympic -shaped swimming pool, tennis and squash court and even a reputed night club, Greengo.

Le Grand Belleview, Gustad

Another five -star migration in GSTAAD, Le Grand Belleview The dates of 1912 were returned, although it entered a new era in 2014, which was done by owners Daniel and Davia Kocessor after one year renewal. The correct located on the Pramenade, the 57-Kamare property mixes modern, chalet-style design with a Wes Anderson Vibe; It is slightly retro and indifferent, and the platforms of the color and unexpected patterns complement wood and neutral colors. Le Grand Spa, refurbished in 2017, is definitely a standout characteristic of the entire guest experience; There are steam baths, an ice fountain, a herbal sauna and an external rest pool.

The best things to do

Search the panoramic mountain vista in the glacier 3000.

GSTAAD is already more than 3,400 feet above sea level, but you will go up to an altitude of about 10,000 feet when you ride the cable car) Glacier 3000A ski resort and mountain tour with incredible scenes of the Alps. “You can see Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Jungfreu on a clear day,” says Costa. “A suspension bridge connecting two hill peaks is also a famous peak walk.” Just make sure to pack layers, a hat and gloves; I visited the glacier 3000 in mid -September, and my light jacket was not enough to air, ice and ice.

Participate in one of the major festivals of GSTAAD.

GSTAAD is more than just a ski town, as is evident from its roster of world -class events that are attracted to visitors every year. Roth-Reuteler recommends alignment of your trip Country night gstaad, Swiss open, Swatch Beach Pro GustadOr Gstaad menhin festivalA classical concert was first launched in 1957 by the violinist Yehudi Manuhin in 1957.

Increase the mountains with a fond backpack.

Both Roth-Rupeller and Costa recommend drowning themselves in beautiful scenes, whether you are hiking, biking, or e-bikeing. When you can pack your own lunch, there is another way to promote your tour through the mountains: fond. Reserve a backpack Fonded with fondu essential – a classic or trial Fondyu Fondy Dish with a chewing dish – Molkeri cheese shop with a vessel, fuel, spices, a pot, fuel, plates and forks and tot it to one of the seven oversized “fondu utensils”, which is designed to fit eight people.

Learn about local cheese traditions in Paneer Grot.

GSTAAD takes its cheese seriously, and is not better to know about it Paneer GrottoThe hour -long tour is free, and you will get a scoop inside the 500 -year -old tradition of production of alpine cheese. There, you will be surrounded by more than 3,000 wheels of underground (bring a jacket) and cheese more than 80 feet.

Test your mental and physical strength on via Farata.

Skier can descend La Vidmenet (Part of Greater Gstaad Ski area in winter), but the mountain turns into a mountaineer’s shelter in the warm months. A series of trek, steel cable, ladder and pins across the landscape on via Ferrata. You can either rent gear Adelweiss sport in gstaad or by Rougemont – la videmanette cable carIt is also recommended to go with a guide if you do not have much climbing experience.

Best restaurant

Restaurant rosli

Costs Costa Restaurant rosliLocated to the south of Gstaad in Feutersoey village, all are about quality. “It is authentic, seasonal, and everything is made with homemade and local ingredients. Even they have their own fish tanks behind the restaurant for their famous trout dish.”

Restaurant Sonanhoff

On menu Sonnenhof Swiss, Italian and French effects, and Costa “food is prepared with love” and is made with seasonal ingredients. The true star of the show, however, is the roof. You can eat food outside the mountains and GSTAAD city.

Posthotel Rössli

“In addition to highly recommended restaurants like Saanenen in Feutersoey or Sonnenhof in Rössli, it is always a pleasure to enjoy traditional Swiss dishes Posthotel Rössli Or Hotel Karen In Schönised, “Roth-Ruteler says. The oldest inn in GSTAAD was built in Posthotel Rössli 1845 and has two comfortable restaurants, Alti Posts and STübli.

Alpine huts and hill fields

Cheese and view is lazy on many gstaad Alpine huts and hill fieldsLike self-service refrigerators in places ALP Worder Vispile And Rastplatz gspan Hold alpine cheese, dried sausage, nuts, drinks and sweet behavior. Bring cash, and be sure to check the time before going up – some are open from July to September.

Best shopping

Shopping in GSTAAD is an experience in itself. The pedestrian-cavalry primely has been rolled with luxury brands such as Harames, Chopard, Prada, Louis Wuiton and Ralph Lauren, kept in all traditional chalet-style buildings that you cannot help photograph when walking from the store. Out of those domestic brand names, Roth-Ritail recommended Zwahlain-huni aG For its “alpine-chic clothes”, DS cadenoli For Swiss decopage arts (also known as paper-cutting), and Charlie’s gstaad For chocolate and pastry.

Costa has some favorite on Prize and also has some favorite; He recommends Marina Anilh And Trolls poms For clothes and accessories. But, he says, “You can’t remember the great bookshop in Sanan, Librairie des alpages … Or cheese shop Molkeri gustad“The latter also has a refrigerated vending machine that serves all types of dairy products including cheese, milk and yogurt.

The best time to travel

There are two primary seasons of GSTAAD-summer and winter-although Roth-Ruteler says that with “changing colors of the weather”, is also delightful. In summer, external activities and festivals spring for life in the village. “The temperature in summer is perfect for sports activities or sunlight through the pool throughout the day. Unlike most places in Europe, it is not too hot, we have no heat wave, and it is the right place to avoid the crowd of big cities,” Costa.

Of course, if you are coming to the ski in GSTAAD (or just experience après-SKI scene), target for December via February; When I shied there at the beginning of March, the situation was not ideal, and in some areas, snow was a little less. “The winter, with the entire landscape, is beautifully covered in the snow, is an unbeatable form and attracts everyone to enjoy all the winter sports activities,” says Roth-Rupeler.

“If there is time to escape from there, it is probably the month of November, because the weather may be slightly unpleasant, the daylight is decreasing, and we all wait for snowfall first,” she says, seeing that most hotels, restaurants and shops are closed to prepare for winter. It has also been mentioned in Costa that luxury hotels in the village are open only from June to September, and from December to March, so plan accordingly.

how to get there

Most of the international passengers going to GSTAAD will fly at the Zurich Airport (ZRH) or Geneva Airport (GVA); You can either take public transport. I would advise to download SBB Mobile App Easy route navigation and to buy Swiss travel pass prior to arrival; All-in-one pass gives you unlimited travel grants through train, bus and boat, although there are some exceptions. I flew in Zurich, and a three-hour trip could not be easy, even after a red-eye flight, or even after more visible.

How to go around

You can drive for GSTAAD, but the village center is only pedestrians. If you do not have a Swiss travel pass – and mostly plans to live in GSTAAD – then you can use it GSTAD CardYou will get a card from your host (like a hotel) for your duration of migration, allowing you to ride public transport between Saanenland and Simmental. Bike or e-bikeing between GSTAAD and between villages is also a popular way to detect the area between the months of May and October.