A colourful Winter 2017/2018 full of new experiences

Whether you’re on the slopes or in the air, want to be active or relax, there’s something to suit everyone in the Canton of Vaud.

Between 27 January and 4 February 2018, Château-d’Œx, in the Vaud Alps, will host the 40th International Balloon Festival, welcoming a hundred hot air balloons and balloonists from over twenty countries. On the agenda: hot air balloon flights, the most spectacular shaped balloons and air show. An event not to be missed is the “Night Glow” sound and light night show on 2 February, the highlight of the Festival, during which paragliders, hot air balloons, members of the Swiss Ski School and pyrotechnists will light up the Château-d’Oex night sky.

Another winter novelty, but this time on the ground, is the Red Run ski slope at Glacier 3000 in Les Diablerets. This 8 km run will open on 20 December 2017, running from Scex Rouge at 3,000 metres down to Reusch at 1,700 metres, thus becoming the longest ski run of the Glacier and the Vaud Alps. In addition, the fully refurbished self-service area of the Restaurant Botta will delight visitors with a new decor from the end of October. Also, an experience not to be missed here is the Peak Walk, the only suspended bridge in the world to link two mountain peaks.

As far as relaxation goes, the newly Villars Wellness Centre invites visitors to relax after a day in the fresh air and soak up the spectacular views. Facilities include two hammams (48 and 50 degrees), two saunas (60 to 90 degrees), an outdoor cold water pool and another 25 m indoor pool with five lanes, as well as two relaxation rooms and one for massages. The Leysin Toboggan Park, with its snowtubing runs, a variant of bobsledding on inflatable rings, offers an exciting new way to fly down a slope.

For hiking fans, SwitzerlandMobility has extended its network to include winter routes such as walking and snowshowing trails, cross-country skiing tracks and sledge runs. 46 of these routes are in the Canton of Vaud.
The Vaud Jura is a very popular area with its 105 km of snowshoe and hiking trails and more than 400 km of cross-country skiing tracks. Cross-country skiers particularly like the timed course in the Vallée de Joux starting from Grandes Roches, which opened last year.

Finally, December is also the season of Christmas markets. The Montreux Christmas Market will light up the lakeside promenades from 23 November to 24 December. In Lausanne, the “Bô Noël” will take up residence in the city centre from 23 November to 31 December. From 13 November to 31 December, the town will also host the now traditional event “Lausanne Lumières”, during which luminous works of art adorn different urban sites.