Les Diablerets Ski Resort Guide & Reviews Ski Area, Apres-Ski, Children, Things to See & Do
Resort Review
Les Diablerets sits at 1200m in the heart of the Vaudois Alps and links to the international ski resort of Villars. Its an authentic Swiss alpine village that is also home to Glacier 3000 which is open all year round.
Après-ski
The night life can be as relaxed or as lively as you want to make it with a choice of 20 restaurants, 4 bars and 1 nightclub. Later in the season in the warm spring sunshine, snow parties on the slopes are the first port of call before the evening apres-ski.
Wellness & Spa
Les Diablerets has a few beauty salons and small spa - saunas in some of the hotels. However, for some serious pampering, the best option is to go to classy Gstaad where there are several first class state of the art wellness & spa facilities.
| Key information (whole area) | |
|---|---|
| Altitude | 1200m |
| Top lift | 3000m |
| Family | |
| Beginner | |
| Intermediate | |
| Expert | |
| Piste (km) | 141 |
| Longest run | km |
| Off piste | |
| Cross country | 45 km |
| Season | Nov - Mid April |
| Snowboard parks | 2 |
| Heli Skiing | ✘ |
| Summer skiing | ✘ |
| Glacier skiing | ✔ |
| Babysitting | ✘ |
| Creche | ✔ |
| Apres ski | Lively & Fun |
Les Diablerets ski area guide
The Les Diablerets ski area is divided between...
- Isenau
- Meilleret/Villlars, and
- Glacier 3000
...and togetehr provide 141kms of pistes for all abilities although there is certainly more intermediate terrain.
Many of the trails are south facing (60%) with only 25% north facing meaning that the snow disappears quickly towards the end of the season so by the end of March, the lower slopes are starting to thin out.
Glacier 3000 above Les Diablerets guarantees snow with a winter season typically starting at the end of October and running through to May. Glacier 3000 is the only glacial ski area in the Bernese Oberland and from the top, the Restaurant Botta 3000 and the Refuge l'Espacepanoramic offer spectacular views of the surrounding 4000m peaks.
Beginners
There is a free beginner area in the middle of Les Diablerets that also has a toboganning-lift plus another beginner area in the centre of Gryon.
Intermediate
Les Diablerets is an intermediates paradise - the area is large enough to go touring especially if you head up to Glacier 3000. There, you will find the longest run (10km), the Combe d’Audon, which starts at 3200m on the glacier and finishes in Reusch at 1350m.
Advanced
One of the best trails for experts is the Oldensattel flowing from the top of the glacier - its long and challenging. For an adventure, the ski tours are not to be missed - one of the most popular is the Bernese Oberland Haute Route starting at Glacier 3000 and passing through Gstaad.
Cross country
There are 51km of cross-country and skating trails with the longest, Circuit de Coufin, being 9km long.
Other ski holiday activities
For those days where you simply dont want to put skis on, there are plenty of other activities to hand...
- Tobogganning on 7.2kms of tracks
- Snowshoeing along 25km of trails
- Ice skating (1 indoor and 1 outdoor)
- Fun park
- Alpine coaster
- Paragliding
- Via ferrata
- Husky dogs
Families & Kid's Clubs
Les Diablerets was awarded the "Families Welcome label" by the Swiss Tourism Federation which means it provides top-class activity programmes, family-friendly accommodation and amenities such as day nurseries and babysitting services. For example, in winter, all children under 9 years old receive a free lift pass covering the whole area and stay free in their parents’ room in many hotels. There is also the Swiss Snow Kids Village catering for children up to X years old.
Featured ski chalets & apartments
Les Diablerets accommodation
Unlike some resorts that allowed ugly non-eco friendly new developments to rise up unchecked, Les Diablerets has made sure the old and the new blend together. The result is high quality chalets and apartments built from local materials.
There are approximately 16,500 tourist beds including chalets, self-catering apartments and a full range of hotels.
Les Diablerets ski holidays - our view
Skiing in Les Diablerets on a sunny day takes some beating. Fantastic views of the surrunding peaks, great mountain restaurants and excellent touring opportunities. A couple of suggestions...
- A day over to Villars with it's long runs and stunning views is not to be missed
- Visit Lake Geneva and the beautiful town of Montreux which is home to the summer Jazz Festival
- For some pre-season skiing, head up to Glacier 3000 above the village. Depending on the snow conditions and the weather, the three ski lifts on the glacier usually start operating at the beginning of November. The 7km Olden ski run is not to be missed
If you like Les Diablerets, you may also want to look at Saas Fee and Schladming in Austria where there is also the possibility of pre-season skiing on the Dachstein glacier.
