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Your first visit to Villars might take
you aback a little. You could, in fact, be forgiven for thinking you
had made a wrong turn somewhere and found yourself in small
townsville, Switzerland.
Fret ye not, as you will discover, you
are in a class resort for skiing.
The style of the city ends at the town
centre. Once you step outside the main street you step into a
"Heidiland" picture postcard world of snow, quaint chalets and all the
other charms that make a ski holiday successful
Villars is not a well known
resort on a global basis, but perhaps that is the international
skier's., no make that the holiday makers loss, as Villars is
not just a skiers destination, it is a great year round destination
too. A full array of summer possibilities, including skiing and
golfing, assures visitors of a full sporting dance card. There
is a full array of sporting activities on a year round basis.
For the active visitor here is just about every sport you could
possibly imagine. Your selection includes cross country skiing,
curling, swimming, ice skating, horse riding or tennis. You are
almost sure to find something that is to your liking.
For skiers Villars offers more
than a hundred and twenty kms of skiable terrain when combined
with the rest of the Alpes Vaudoises. On its own the selection
is naturally less extensive, but there is enough to please most
weekend and holiday skiers. A train from the village centre will
take you to the skiing just above, and a cable car telcabine
to the slopes on the Roc d'Orsay. Villars-Gryon-Glacier
3000 is a 120 km of pistes ski area (3 resorts linked over 3 valleys
and a glacier at 10'000ft).
The skiing is mostly of the
intermediate variety but better skiers should find something
to suit their needs. The fact remains that decent recreational
skiers will enjoy the skiing here most. Wide open spaces provide
those honing their skills with enough recovery room, but those
who feel their skills are damn near perfect can just safely strut
their stuff on these hills. A 6 days skipass will allow
visitors to ski on the Alpes Vaudoises Ski Area which is 220 km of
slopes on 77 skilifts (Leysin and Les Mosses ski area included in
the new skipass).
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