We love Verbier. It's a superlative amongst ski resorts, offering high altitude skiing and boarding for all levels, set in a charming Swiss mountain village and a modern lift system all with easy access being just over an hour from Geneva airport.
Everything in Verbier is pretty slick. The village centre is pretty much car-free now, so the main Medran lift offers ski lockers for an impressive 2300 pairs of skis and there are even dryers for your ski or snowboard boots, so once in resort you can easily walk to the lift in your trainers or use public transport - no need to hire a car, which makes using Mountain Drop Offs for your airport transfer to Verbier even more cost-effective!
Verbier is part of the '4 Vallees' ski area, which is made up of Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon and La Tzoumaz, all of which are linked by lifts and offering 410km of pistes. This vast ski area ready does have something for everyone, with amazing freeride and off piste itineraries, gentle sun-soaked nursery slopes, snowparks, wide motorway-style pistes and mogul runs too.
Verbier resort sits at 1500m with ski runs all around it. With much of the skiing above 2200m, the resort is one of the very first to open (after Tignes' glacier in September). We've been snowboarding in Verbier as early as the 6th November and whilst it's not usually big fat powder skiing, it still beats the indoor snow slopes we learnt on!
A Verbier 'must do' is to take the Jumbo cable car up to col des Gentianes and then the second cable car right up to the top of Mont Fort at 3300m. The lift is included if you have a 4 Vallees pass. If you have just a Verbier pass you will need to pay a supplement, but it is well worth it. The cable car totally lives up to its name. It is ENORMOUS!
Any budding freestylers will love the snowparks at Verbier. There is one at Taillay near Savoleyres and another at the foot of the Mont Fort cable car, which is accessed easily by the Chaux Express chairlift. Some of the jumps and modules are gigantic and only for serious freestyle contenders, but there are more gentle obstacles to tackle too.
Boasting all this great on slope action and in resort organisation, it's little wonder then that Verbier is a very popular resort with Brits and the resort has gained a reputation for its apres-ski too. Some of the bars are so posh that you'll need a healthy bank balance for a night out. The much-hyped Coco Club is the epitome of the sloaney slide to Verbier, with a mojito costing £50 and the most expensive cocktail ringing on the cash till at a cool £5000.
Those sort of places are strictly for celebs and Russian oligarchs, but there are popular apres-ski bars such as Pub Mont Fort, the surfy and funky Offshore and Fer a Cheval which will keep you entertained after a hard day's skiing.
You might even spot a celeb or two in amongst the crowds too, with the likes of James Blunt (Verbier's much loved musical son who even has a chair lift named after him, bless!), Harry and Wills, Posh and Becks, Hugh Grant, Phil Collins and err..Patrick Kielty all Verbier regulars.
Of course, Verbier isn't just about hitting the slopes and posing in bars, there are other winter activities going on to keep you amused with the well-equipped sports centre offering swimming, sauna and steam rooms, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and husky sledding.
Once the snow melts in the spring Verbier goes pretty quiet, but come the summer it all kicks off again with mountain biking, hiking, golf and some major events such as the Verbier Classical Music Festival and the Equestrian and Polo events.
Staying in Verbier isn't easy for those on a budget, as most hotels and self-catering accommodation commands high prices given the popularity of the resort, but Verbier is well worth splashing out on for a winter ski or summer activity holiday as there is plenty to keep you interested.
Private transfers in modern, safe vehicles are offered by Mountain Drop Offs from Geneva airport straight to the door of your Verbier accommodation and you can book your airport transfer from Geneva to Verbier online now.
Verbier things to do and see
* Have a hot chocolate at 3300m in the Igloo Bar perched right at the top of the Mont Fort. On a clear day you can see 110 different summits from this impressive viewpoint.
* Do an overnight stay in the Cabane Mont Fort refuge, nestled in the mountains half-way down the La Chaux piste under the Jumbo cable car and enjoy a high altitude fondue evening and be first on the slopes the next day!
* Go heliskiing in Switzerland! A guide is essential for an offpiste adventure with Air Glaciers. Ski away from the crowds at drops like Trient glacier, Wildhorn or Pigne d'Arolla.
* Head to La Chaux for the Swatch Verbier Snowpark. If you're brave have a go at some of the jumps, if not watch in awe at the level of riding in the freestyle heaven.
* Try airboarding - a proper adrenaline thrill as you'll be hurtling down the pistes on what is essentially an inflatable sledge!
* For more traditional sledging head to Savoyleyres where there is a dedicated 'piste de luge' that's 10km long and takes you right back to La Tzoumaz.
* Take on some of the 200km of mountain biking trails or head to the Verbier Bike Park during the summer and autumn months for some freestyle trials biking fun.
* Tackle some serious sport climbing in and around Verbier once the snow has melted. There's excellent climbing at La Barme, La Pierre Avoi and at Madzeiria down in the valley (val de Bagnes) near Chable. Routes on offer are from 3 to 7+.
* Eat a Swiss raclette - OK, it spoils all the calorie-burning sports you've been doing, but this traditional melted cheese dish made with cheese from the black Herens cows is sublime.
Useful Verbier websites
- Verbier Tourism - the official tourist office website for Verbier with a summer and winter version
- Televerbier - the official website for the Verbier lift company with news, events and lift pass prices
- Verbier booking - Televerbier's online shop selling lift passes, ski lessons and guides from the Ecole de Ski Suisse and ski equipment hire
- Swiss Ski School - the official website for the main Ecole de Ski Suisse in Verbier
- 4 Vallees - a website with all the infor you need on the combined resort area of the 4 Vallees
- Verbier Info - job announcements, news and classified adverts including accommodation. A very useful website link for anyone wanting to head to Verbier for a season
- Cinema - the programme of films showing at the cinema in Verbier
- Verbier Festival - everything you need to know about the internationally renowned classical musical festival that takes place in Verbier every summer
