Summer road trip through Valais

Valais – engraved in your heart. That's exactly how we described our relationship with Valais before our adventure as ad hoc content creators. Valais - chiselled even deeper into our hearts after a five-day road trip through this incredible canton.

Sion – capital of wine

Our five-day Valais adventure starts in Sion - the capital of wine. After checking into the small but elegant Hotel Elite in the heart of the city, we’re off to taste wine. It’s a no-brainer. Our wine tasting is combined with an interesting city tour full of historical facts: part of a great idea from Sion Tourism. At the end of the tour, we visit Le Verre à Pied wine bar which has the option of actually purchasing the wines tasted. A great memento. Now it's time for dinner and we have a wonderful meal at Alex Restaurant, complete with Italian charm. After that, we’re ready for bed and go to sleep with thoughts of our many recently-gained experiences.

Sion, wine capital, wine, valais, switzerland

Pays du St-Bernard – Unadulterated nature with great variety of experiences

The second day of the road trip takes us to Champex-Lac - into incredible countryside. We visit the Gorges du Durnand During a one-hour stopover, enjoying an impressive view of the raging water during an idyllic circular hike. "Flore Alpe" is next: a 6,000 square metre alpine botanical garden with over 4,000 plant species from all over the world. We are delighted that something like this – as important for research as for children and curious people - exists. We learn a lot again and are fascinated by what our natural environment has to offer. An adventure like this makes one hungry however, so we treat ourselves to a culinary refreshment at Le Cabanon restaurant right on Champex lake during the afternoon. This gives way to a journey almost 100 years back in time with a guided tour of the Champex artillery works, which was still in operation until 1998. We discover that there was room for more than 300 soldiers in more than 600 metres of tunnels.

Heads filled with thoughts and fascinating, historical facts, we head towards our highlight of the day – four-footed friends that await us on the Col du Grand Saint Bernard. Barryland’s St. Bernard dogs and their museum provide a truly sweet end to the day and we are lucky enough to get a room with a direct view of the dogs at the Auberge de l'Hospice. Wow, it doesn't get any better than that!

After a relaxing night, we head out again and visit the Laiterie d'Orsières on the way to our next stop, where we buy a picnic consisting of produce from the region. We also visit the informational tour about cheese-making in the area, and learn that a cow costs around 2,500 Swiss francs and that it takes ten litres of milk for one kilogram of cheese. So interesting!

Lötschental – a magical playground for hikers and bikers

It's time for the last bit of our road trip and we move on to our final destination - the magnificent Lötschental. With its location parallel to the Rhone Valley, it is just as sunny. Directly after we arrive, our host at the Hotel Edelweiss takes us on a village tour of Blatten where we are fascinated to learn that in some cases, over 40 people own one old house. Square meters have been passed on over generations and today it has become difficult to convert these houses, as a result, because so many have rights. After a lot of new information, our stomachs are growling again. We appease them at the Hotel Breithorn and go to sleep satiated and relaxed.

The new day gets off to an energetic start as we collect our rented e-bikes from Hotel Edelweiss and ride to Wiler. From here, the gondola takes us up to Lauchernalp in just a few minutes and to the new Loichitrail, a flow trail offering lots of fun for young and old. It’s noon all too soon after the various laps, and we take a break with a cholera, a typical Valais dish, while enjoying the panoramic Lauchernalp restaurant with its magnificent view. In the afternoon, the bike activities continue and we enjoy the Breithorn trail with its great vistas. Another option might have been the Bietschhorntrail, but the day ended so quickly that it’s time for dinner, and what a dinner it is. The Hotel Nest-Bietschhorn provides a culinary work of art served by an awesome team. Dessert lovers in particular get their money's worth here, as the chef also has a weakness for sweet things.

The last day of our road trip dawns in the Lötschental and we lace up our hiking boots before setting off again towards Lauchernalp. From here we complete a section of the Lötschentaler-Höhenweg, from Lauchernalp to Schwarzsee, Fafleralp and finally Grundsee, with its breathtaking panorama over the Lötschenlücke. The Gastro & Camping Fafleralp is an ideal venue for lunch before we reluctantly have to say goodbye at the end of an unforgettable five-day road trip.

By the way: The Edelweiss, Breithorn and Nest-Bietschhorn Hotels as well as the Gastro & Camping belong to the Lötschentaler - creative hosts who do everything possible to offer their guests the best vacation experience ever.

Our Roadtrip Buddy from Toyota and Emil Frey Sion

It goes without saying that you need a good car for a road trip and that's exactly what we had: an electric car from Toyota and Garage Emil Frey in Sion. This was our first experience with an electric car and we were instantly captivated. Be it on the pass or in the city, it’s ideal for a safe travels with easy handling, all-wheel drive and plenty of space for luggage. Thank you Toyota BZ4X for the reliable company – we’ll miss you.