Saas-Fee

Saas-Fee is the biggest town in the Saas valley in the Swiss canton of Valais. The valley is a destination for winter sport, with the slopes in Saas fee being one of the few places in the region where skiing in summer is possible. The Saas valley also offers stunning views of some of Switzerland's tallest mountains, which can be explored through the dense network of hiking paths around the area, including among others the Monte Rosa hiking trail.

Lacking railway access and the famous Matterhorn, Saas-Fee sits in the shadow of its neighbour, Zermatt. This makes Saas-Fee a quieter alternative, with almost equal offerings in terms of skiing and hiking, but a much less overrun town centre.

There are three other villages in the Saas valley: Saas-Balen, Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell, which, while still having numerous hotels and sights, are much quieter than Saas-Fee.

Understand
The Visp valley (itself a side valley of the Rhone valley), splits up into two at Stalden: The Matter Valley where the famous Zermatt lies to the west and the Saas valley to the east. The outer part of the Saas valley is very narrow and sparsely inhabited, but further up it widens up. This is where the villages of Saas-Balen, Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell lie. At the southern end of the valley is the Mattmark reservoir. Saas-Fee, the biggest town in the valley, lies on a plateau above Saas-Grund.

Some of the tallest mountains in Switzerland are located in this area and the Saas-Grund ski area boasts a view onto 18 peaks above 4,000 metres. To the west of the valley lies the Mischabel group, with its highest peak Dom (4,545 m) being the tallest massif entirely in Switzerland. To the east is the smaller Weissmies group, with its peak at 4,017 metres altitude. This is what makes the Saas valley a popular holiday destination, with a lot to offer in terms of skiing, mountaineering and hiking.

Tourist office
There is a tourist information office in each village:

By bus
Coming by train, your access point to the Saas valley is most probably Visp, unless you are travelling on an EC train which only stops in Brig. From either of these a Post Bus service runs half-hourly to Saas-Fee. The trip from Visp takes about 50 minutes to Saas-Fee. The in Saas-Fee is located quite central and you should be able to walk to wherever you want to go. Your hotel might also be able to provide transfer on an electrical car for you and your luggage.

You can buy your ticket directly from the driver, or have it included in your train ticket. Buses can get crowded during morning and evening peak hours and especially on Friday nights up to three buses can run at the same time from Visp. Note that often express buses are used at those times (which you won't necessarily find on the timetable), so if you are planning on alighting either at Saas-Fee or the main stop at Saas-Grund you can save some time by taking that one instead.

When leaving Saas-Fee, it is possible to reserve a seat on the bus. This is usually not necessary, as if there is not enough space on the first bus, they will usually put in an additional bus. You might however have to stand for the 45 minute trip to Visp. The bus can get delayed easily if it is snowing or if there is any problem with the traffic on the way, so if you have a tight connection in Visp, it is better if you take an earlier bus.

If you are staying at any of the other villages, be sure to check with your accommodation which bus stop is the closest to your hotel/apartment, as it can make quite a difference. For Saas-Almagell, you will have to change bus at the stop: "Saas-Grund, Post".

By car
Saas-Fee is car-free. You will have to leave your car at a big underground and surface at the entrance of the village. Daily parking charges are Fr. 19 in winter and Fr. 14 in summer, however if you have the citizens' pass (see infobox), there are reduced rates from the second day onwards. The rest of the valley is accessible by car. As the Saas valley is at a higher altitude the roads can be snow covered in winter quite frequently. The roads will usually get cleared quite fast and rarely ever snow chains are required, but if you are not experienced driving on snowy mountain roads you might want to consider taking the bus instead.

Get around
Saas-Fee is quite small and it is easiest to get around by walking. The village itself is car free. This does not mean that there is no traffic, and there are scores milk-float-type electric cars roaming the village. Be careful, they are very quiet and hard to notice.

There are a couple of taxi companies that run within Saas-Fee, but at a recommended price of Fr. 23 to 30 this is rather pricey for such short distances.

During the main season free shuttle buses run to and from the ski lifts on 5 lines. The buses are however really small and it might be easier and faster to just walk.

It is also quite easy to get to the other three villages (Saas-Balen, Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell) by bus. In winter ski buses run from each village to Saas-Fee and back. In summer you have to take the regular half-hourly buses to and from Saas-Balen or Saas-Grund. To get to Saas-Almagell or the Mattmark lake, change bus in Saas-Grund.

See
The main attraction is the great mountain panorama in the Saas valley. There are however also other things to see:

Winter activities

 * Ski and snowboard This is what the valley and Saas-Fee, in particular, are famous for. The ski areas are generally open from mid-December to just after Easter. The Saas-Fee area has a portion on the glacier which remains open during the summer and only closes during May and June. The smaller Saas-Balen lift is only open as long as there's enough snow.
 * Sledging It can be quite scary at first, take your time the first run down, as there are some sharp bends, and you really don't want to go over the edge! You can rent a sledge at the gondola station, but it is sometimes cheaper to rent one from one of the sports retail shop, so ask around. Special night sledging events happen regularly during high season on each of the trails.
 * Cross country skiing Only one fairly short trail is available in Saas-Fee itself, but a much longer trail is available down in the valley. Equipment can be rented in some of the sport retail stores in any of the villages. The trail is only open when there is enough snow.
 * Ice skating There is a natural ice rink in Saas-Fee. You can hire skates out from one of the hire shops in the village. Both Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell have natural ice rinks as well. The only artificial ice rink in the valley is at Saas-Grund.
 * Sledging It can be quite scary at first, take your time the first run down, as there are some sharp bends, and you really don't want to go over the edge! You can rent a sledge at the gondola station, but it is sometimes cheaper to rent one from one of the sports retail shop, so ask around. Special night sledging events happen regularly during high season on each of the trails.
 * Cross country skiing Only one fairly short trail is available in Saas-Fee itself, but a much longer trail is available down in the valley. Equipment can be rented in some of the sport retail stores in any of the villages. The trail is only open when there is enough snow.
 * Ice skating There is a natural ice rink in Saas-Fee. You can hire skates out from one of the hire shops in the village. Both Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell have natural ice rinks as well. The only artificial ice rink in the valley is at Saas-Grund.
 * Cross country skiing Only one fairly short trail is available in Saas-Fee itself, but a much longer trail is available down in the valley. Equipment can be rented in some of the sport retail stores in any of the villages. The trail is only open when there is enough snow.
 * Ice skating There is a natural ice rink in Saas-Fee. You can hire skates out from one of the hire shops in the village. Both Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell have natural ice rinks as well. The only artificial ice rink in the valley is at Saas-Grund.
 * Cross country skiing Only one fairly short trail is available in Saas-Fee itself, but a much longer trail is available down in the valley. Equipment can be rented in some of the sport retail stores in any of the villages. The trail is only open when there is enough snow.
 * Ice skating There is a natural ice rink in Saas-Fee. You can hire skates out from one of the hire shops in the village. Both Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell have natural ice rinks as well. The only artificial ice rink in the valley is at Saas-Grund.
 * Ice skating There is a natural ice rink in Saas-Fee. You can hire skates out from one of the hire shops in the village. Both Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell have natural ice rinks as well. The only artificial ice rink in the valley is at Saas-Grund.
 * Ice skating There is a natural ice rink in Saas-Fee. You can hire skates out from one of the hire shops in the village. Both Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell have natural ice rinks as well. The only artificial ice rink in the valley is at Saas-Grund.
 * Ice skating There is a natural ice rink in Saas-Fee. You can hire skates out from one of the hire shops in the village. Both Saas-Balen and Saas-Almagell have natural ice rinks as well. The only artificial ice rink in the valley is at Saas-Grund.

Hiking
There are many walks you can do, more of course in the summer months than in the winter months. There are many other walking routes including the Monte Rosa Path. Ask at the Tourist Office, also the location to buy hiking maps. Most hiking paths have yellow signs indicating the directions and duration.



Mountaineering
There are plenty of possible mountain tours and climbs available in the Saas valley at different levels of difficulties. The two official mountain guide associations are where you should ask if you are looking for a local guide:



Buy
For its size, the number of shops in Saas-Fee is quite high. There are three supermarkets as well as a couple other shops. Overall the price level is quite high, but nowhere near those in the more famous winter resorts like Zermatt or Crans Montana.

Drink
Nightlife choices in the Saas valley are plenty but mostly limited to pubs and après-ski bars.



Sleep
Prices for hotel rooms in Saas-Fee can be rather expensive, but choices are plenty. Usually it is possible to find cheaper accommodation in the form of holiday apartments, especially in the other three villages down in the valley.



Connect
There is free wireless Internet access at some parts of the ski resorts, mostly at stations and restaurants. Some of the public buses also have free WiFi installed. There is also the possibility to rent a wireless modem at the tourist information centres at a price of Fr. 69 per week.

Go next

 * Continue on to Zermatt, which is in the neighbouring valley. Take the bus in direction Visp until Stalden-Saas, where you can change to the train to Zermatt.
 * The UNESCO world heritage area Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch is easily accessible via Visp or Brig. This is the perfect next stop if you haven't gotten enough of mountains and glaciers yet.
 * For a change and some rather cultural sights, take the bus to Brig, which after a while in the Saas valley will feel like a city.