Things to do in Gstaad

Gstaad keeps its glamour understated: wooden chalets with weathered shingle facades line a car-free Promenade where the boutiques rarely show a price tag.

The main event these days is Glacier 3000, reached by cable car from Col du Pillon (about 1 hour 20 minutes from Interlaken by car via Zweisimmen and Gsteig, no direct rail link) up to 3,000 metres, where the Peak Walk suspension bridge crosses between two rock ridges 3,000 metres above sea level.

The Menuhin Festival fills the valley's tents and churches with classical concerts every summer, a legacy of the violinist who settled here in 1957. Beyond the resort core, the Saanenland is working farmland: the surrounding villages of Saanen, Gsteig and Turbach still run dairy herds, and cheese from the local alps sells for around CHF 30 per kilogram at village shops.