Anzère

Anzère lies on a sunny terrace at 1500m above the Rhone Valley, only 15 kilometres from Sitten, the capital of the canton. It emerged as a winter sports centre in the 1960s but, with its beautiful views over the Rhone Valley and the Valais Alps, Anzère is also wonderful walking country in summer with interesting tours along historical irrigation channels known as suonen.

The resort is part of the central Valais community of Ayent at the foot of the Wildhorn massif. It nestles amidst larch and pine forests and enjoys an almost Mediterranean micro-climate.

Before 1960 Anzère was simply a collection of five small chalets. Thanks to its favoured location, Anzère quickly grew to become a modern but compact holiday village. The surrounding countryside is dotted with alpine huts, usually built in stone or timber toasted a rich brown by the sun.

Because the Ayent-Anzère occupies such a sunny location and has one of the driest climates in Switzerland, farmers in the region have constructed a network of suonen, the irrigation channels ('Bisses’ in French) so typical of the Valais. Three main suonen, 70 km in length, traverse the community. The first suonen date from the middle of the 15th century, and there is an interesting little suonen museum in Anzère.