St. Luc - Chandolin

St Luc and Chandolin both enjoy sunny and high up positions set on the mountainside of the Val d'Anniviers. Both are historic, charming and typically Swiss. To say they are snow sure is an understatment. Chandolin sits at 2000m and as one of the highest villages in the Alps while St Luc isn't far off at 1650m

The villages themselves are fairly spread out with some good places to eat though the focal point is no doubt the exquisite Hotel Bella Tola in St Luc. Built in 1859, it has recently been renovated into a luxury hotel with a traditional restaurant and relaxing pool and spa area. Up on the mountains are a number of good restaurants ranging from the rustic Illhorn and the high up Tsape with local cuisine and panoramic views.

Across the valley, Grimentz has a beautiful old village which is traffic free and full of old barns, dark wooden chalets and narrow lanes giving the village a unique atmosphere. Grimentz has a good choice of restaurants, serving traditional and rustic Swiss cuisine, as well as a couple of hotels and cosy bars.

The Val d'Anniviers has a total of 200km of pistes spread across five main villages of Grimentz, Zinal, St Luc, Chandolin and Vercorin. A new cable car now links Grimentz and Zinal, while a free ski shuttle bus service links to the other villages.

Reaching an altitude of 3000m, there is good snow coverage while the slopes are very quiet with no crowds and no lift queues to worry about. Each area provides something different; Grimentz has a good variety of slopes for most skiers, however it is experts that will find the most enjoyment here. Zinal also has a Freeride zone which is dedicated to extreme skiers and snowboarders. Open only when the avalanche risk is low, this 100 hectare area between 2400 and 3000m is a real delight for powder enthusiasts and aficionados of wide open virgin snow slopes.

St Luc and Chandolin have the sunniest slopes, mostly facing south-west and altogether share a very well-linked area of slopes 75km in size. The slopes mostly suit beginners and intermediates however there are a couple of blacks, some tough itinerary routes and even a freeride area often used for competitions.

The Val d’Anniviers is simply traditional Switzerland in summer. In each of the main villages the old chalets are adorned with red geraniums and quaint old Valais hay barns are everywhere. There are over 100km of hiking trails and over 350km of mountain biking trails winding between forests and lakes, all enjoying a spectacular Alpine backdrop.

Other activities in the area include rock climbing, paragliding, archery, fishing, swimming, football and tennis. There are also four golf courses within a 45 minute drive including the Championship Course at Crans sur Sierre. For the ultimate adrenalin rush head to Bungy Niouc, where you can zip-line or jump off Europe's highest bungee bridge if you dare.

There is a very limited amount of new developments in St Luc apart from a couple of chalets going up around the outskirts. This is more than Chandolin however where as far as we know nothing is going up at the moment.

Your options in St Luc are slightly limited as properties do not come on sale particularly often. At the moment the only possibilities for a foreign buyer are resale chalets. If you are a Swiss resident howvever there are a number of plots of land available to build your very own chalet.

In Chandolin the market is slightly more open to foreign buyers with a couple of chalets and a number of resale apartments available to you. These are mostly in traditional chalet style residences and offer some good locations close to both the centre of the resort and the ski lifts.