How to enjoy a calm ski break in Switzerland, at a cost that keeps you cool
La Tzoumaz ski resort is in a small, quiet village and the contrast to Verbier’s electric, non-stop party town is huge. Unlike Verbier, the hotels in La Tzoumaz are understated, with unhurried restaurants and quiet bars. And it’s much cheaper too.
La Tzoumaz is also great for families, with a swimming pool beneath the gondola terminal, a free outdoor ice rink (with boules and ice hockey (gear available from the nearby tourist office) and occasional ice discos, and a 700m toboggan run. It even has its own excellent, friendly ski school, Tzoum ‘Evasion.
Boutique Hotel Papill’on sets the tone for laid-back life in La Tzoumaz
Below La Tzoumaz, the mountain drops away to the Rhone Valley where the town of Riddes is on the rail line that, via a change in Martigny, will get you to Geneva airport in two hours.
It’s a 25-minute taxi ride from the station or a shuttle bus to the Riddes cable car (not on your lift pass), a six-minute ride up to the village of Isérables, and then a post bus to La Tzoumaz.
For the 2024-25 season a post bus is promised direct from the station to the resort. Then, within five years or so, a lift will run all the way from outside the station to La Tzoumaz.
The skiing
From La Tzoumaz there’s a world of wide-open slopes with Verbier just over the ridge
To get to Verbier, the Tzoumaz gondola heads straight from the centre of La Tzoumaz up to a 2,344m ridgeline. Scoot down the other side and a two-minute minibus shuttle gets you to the Mayentzet chair, parallel to Verbier’s main Medran gondola. The shuttle then connects with the Savoleyres gondola to take you home. From the 2025-26 season a new chair creates a full lift connection on the way home from the 4 Vallées, the biggest ski area in Switzerland.
But Verbier isn’t the only option. La Tzoumaz has its own skiing, the Savoleyres area, three chairs, and the gondola opening up decent runs, 13 of them, from a height of 2,354m, on north-facing slopes, so good snow cover. Lots of off-piste with skiing right down to the village. For good skiers, there’s the Vallon d’Arbi back-country descent to the village from the Savoleyres ridge.
Why do it
The skiing here is high-altitude, so planty of snow
Verbier’s skiing is some of the best in the world, some 410km of runs and freeride routes (that’s signposted off-piste) with a highpoint of Mont-Fort, sitting at 3,300m and slopes open from November to late April. It’s a breathtaking ski all the way down to Verbier itself, at 1,500m, but there are also villages (Veysonnaz, Nendaz) to head off to and lots of places to explore. The town is a colourful, lively destination but sometimes you fancy something a little quieter. La Tzoumaz is a real village with an easy ski-over connection to Verbier.
It’s also cheaper to stay here if you fancy getting away from the crowds. It’s also going to be a big player in the next few years with the even better Verbier connection, and direct lift access from the main line train station. Very much part of Verbier and not a low, distant outpost as one can find elsewhere for cheaper options to a big resort.
The La Tzoumaz gondola heads straight up from the village centre
Where to eat and drink
The flaming good special at Les Trappeurs
Les Trappeurs Cosy, traditional spot in the middle of La Tzoumaz serving classic Swiss dishes, and that means plenty of cheese, although the speciality is Potence de boeuf –grilled chunks of beef (or bison) hanging on a ‘gallows’, doused in alcohol and set aflame. https://www.latzoumaz.ch/winter/offers/restaurant-les-trappeurs-la-tzoumaz-riddes-en-winter-2966181/
L’Auberge On La Tzoumaz main street, with views over the valley. Chef Christian is a former butcher and it shows, the cosy, timbered room full of a laid-back crowd raiding the menu of pork, beef, even cheval, along with rustic pate and meat fondue, but there’s also trout from the pond. Two pretty rooms for overnight stays. https://aubergelatzoumaz.com/en/
Le Central Pleasingly woody bar and coffee house across the road from the gondola. Opened autumn 2023, there are local beers (try the Tzoumaz Blanche), ethical coffee and local meat and cheese. Bar stools, sofas and a sizeable terrace with outdoor bar and valley panorama. https://www.central-latzoumaz.ch
Chez Simon Warm, traditional place, all stone and timber, on the La Tzoumaz slopes, at the top of the Savoleyres Nord chair. Lovely terrace with fabulous views from the 2,076m perch, hearty lunches and open Wednesday evenings for torchlit descents. Several rooms for overnight stays. https://laurenti.ch/chezsimon/
Not a Dr Who adversary but the giant pizza over at L’Inkontro
L’Inkontro There are plenty of places for a good lunch in Verbier but this strikingly contemporary spot on the Les Attelas slope opened to a fanfare just before Christmas 2023. An old mountain hut is joined to a giant, gleaming metallic version. Cool, modern décor and Italian/Mediterranean dishes. Fabulous pizza but so much more, and views even bigger than the pizza oven. https://inkontro.ch/en
Le Carrefour The other end of the on-mountain spectrum, one of Verbier’s oldest, stone walls and a fabulous terrace. It’s difficult not to be tempted by the array of rosti (one with venison) and don’t plan to get up in a hurry after L’Avalanche, a pot of molten cheese with dried meat, ham and potatoes. https://en.lecarrefour.ch/carte-restaurant-verbier
Where to stay
A room at the Papill’on with its valley views
Boutique Hôtel Le Papill’on A smartly hip restaurant several minutes from the La Tzoumaz gondola which at the end of 2023 grew into an Alpine chic hotel. Run by Pico, an experienced local chef, and wife Anna, there’s a friendly bar while the Bistro Alpin offers dishes such as tarte flambée with truffled mushrooms, shallots and rucola or snails with absinthe and herb butter along with fondues, raclette, steak and burgers. Anna runs front of house – she’s from Madeira, so Portuguese custard tarts on the breakfast buffet. Double room for two, B&B, from £975 for seven nights. CHECK AVAILABILITY
Pico and raclette at Papillon’s Bistro Alpin
T-Resort An apartment resort across from the La Tzoumaz gondola, wooden chalet style outside, contemporary wooden 3-star accommodation inside. https://t-resort.ch/en
Fact file
Swiss (https://www.swiss.com/gb/en/homepage) has regular flights from Gatwick to Geneva, return from £90. A return train from Geneva to Riddes (https://www.sbb.ch/en) starts at CHF65 (£59). More information: Verbier Tourism (www.verbier.ch)
A resort with the friendliest of neighbours
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