Grimentz-Zinal with children – two peaceful villages beneath the Weisshorn

Val d’Anniviers is a long side valley running south from the Rhône valley at Sierre. At its far end, where the road stops beneath a ring of four-thousand-metre peaks, lie Grimentz and Zinal. The villages are small, old and quiet in the evenings. For a family with small children, that is the whole point.

Since the winter of 2013/14 the villages have been linked by a cable car, and the Grimentz-Zinal ski area has 115 kilometres of pistes between 1,600 and 2,900 metres. We compare more Swiss options in ski resorts in Switzerland.

Two villages with different characters

Grimentz, at around 1,570 metres, has one of the most beautiful old village centres in Switzerland. Cobbled lanes are lined with sun-darkened wooden houses, barns and old granaries, and in summer geraniums hang from the balconies. In the old town hall, parents can taste the valley's speciality, glacier wine. The lift ticket office is on the main street, below the cable car's valley station.

Zinal sits at 1,670 metres at the very end of the valley, with larch-wood houses and views of the Weisshorn, Zinalrothorn, Obergabelhorn, Dent Blanche and Matterhorn. The village is even quieter. In the middle of Zinal, near the gondola, is Minigliss, a small slope with a magic carpet that is free for everyone. There, a three-year-old can get a feel for skis before you book ski school.

The ski area and the cable car

The skiing is in two sectors: Bendolla above Grimentz and Sorebois above Zinal. The cable car between them is three kilometres long and takes just over seven minutes from Grimentz village to the top of Sorebois. From Grimentz a cable car also runs up to Espace Weisshorn at 2,700 metres.

The 2026/27 season:

• From 21 November: Bendolla and Sorebois open at weekends, if there is enough snow.
• From 5 December: Sorebois open every day.
• 18 December 2026 – 11 April 2027: the whole area open every day.

The lifts open at nine, the last ride up is at four and the last ride down to the village at half past four. The lift pass is also valid in the valley's other areas, St-Luc/Chandolin and Vercorin.

Lift passes and ages

The categories are based on year of birth, not on age on the day. For the 2026/27 winter:

• Children: born 2011–2020. Younger children fall into the free category.
• Youth: born 2002–2010.
• Adult: born 1963–2001.

Every child and young person skiing with an adult automatically gets a family discount. Buying online at least a few days in advance makes it cheaper. For parents with children under the age of six there is a buggy offer: buy two passes for five to seven days, one ski pass and one pedestrian pass, and swap them so that one of you skis while the other stays with the child. Current prices are shown when you book.

Ski kindergarten, ski school and childcare

The ski school in Grimentz-Zinal has two ski kindergartens, one in each sector:

	Bendolla (Grimentz)	Sorebois (Zinal)
Age	3–4 years	3–4 years
Location	immediately on the right as you step out of the cable car	on the left at the mid-station
Times	flexible, 10.15–12.45 and 13.30–14.45	fixed session 10.45–12.45
Booking	day, week or weekend	week or weekend, trial day on Mondays

Bendolla suits families who want flexibility and perhaps just one day at the kindergarten. Sorebois suits those who have decided on a whole week. The children get a medal after five days, and the lift pass is not included in the course price.

Group lessons for children from age four run Monday to Friday, 10.30–12.55. The children gather at coloured posts on Bendolla or by the ski school hut on Sorebois, and on Friday everyone skis a slalom and gets a medal. During carnival and Easter there are afternoon sessions too. Snowboarding starts at eight.

If a younger sibling needs to stay indoors, there is the childcare at Bendolla, for children from the age of two, with a playroom and an outdoor playground. If this is your first ski trip, read first ski trip with kids.

More than skiing

A sledging run runs from Grands-Plans via Bendolla down to Grimentz, and on Bendolla you can try Velogemel, a Swiss wooden snow bike. Zinal has a swimming pool and Nuit des Mélèzes, a 600-metre lit trail through the larch forest. The valley also has several natural ice rinks. If that is not enough, ski holiday without skiing has a longer list.

Getting to Grimentz-Zinal

• Train to Sierre: direct from Geneva airport in about two and a quarter hours, from Zurich airport about two hours and forty minutes with a change. We describe the route from Sweden to Sierre in train to the Alps.
• PostBus 451 from the bus station by Sierre railway station. Some services go direct to Grimentz, others involve a change in Vissoie. Allow about an hour.
• To Zinal: bus 451 to Vissoie and then the 453, just over an hour in total.
• Between the villages: ski bus 456 runs between Zinal and Grimentz in winter.
• By car: the A9 motorway to Sierre and then the road up through the valley. Have winter tyres and snow chains.

Grimentz-Zinal or its neighbours in Valais?

Crans-Montana is on the other side of the Rhône valley and is reached from the same station in Sierre. It is sunnier, bigger and livelier there. Saas-Fee, Zermatt and Verbier are better known and bigger, but also more expensive. Grimentz-Zinal suits families who want real villages, challenging skiing for the parents and a quiet week. A family resort with more children's areas in the Bernese Oberland is Adelboden-Lenk. You will find the packing list in packing list for the ski trip.