Villars and Its Environs

There is no more interesting district in the Rhone valley, perhaps even in the whole of Switzerland, than that which lies around the north-western entrance to the upper and main portion of the Canton of Valais—that impressive, narrow entrance forme ... Read more

There is no more interesting district in the Rhone valley, perhaps even in the whole of Switzerland, than that which lies around the north-western entrance to the upper and main portion of the Canton of Valais—that impressive, narrow entrance formed by the buttress cliffs of the Dent de Morcles and the Dent du Midi, just inside of which nestles the ancient town of St. Maurice. For this district is compact of great variety. It holds examples of all that goes to[6] the making of Switzerland’s fascination. It holds the fertile plain with its broad, rushing river, the Rhone; it holds, in Aigle and St. Maurice, two châteaued towns with long and active histories of their own; it holds, in Bex, one of the most delightful spots imaginable for spring and autumn; in Leysin, a world-known mountain health resort; popular mountain pleasure resorts in Villars, Chesières, Gryon, Les Plans, Champéry and Morgins; and, in the natives of the Val d’Illiez, it holds a distinctive race with a distinctive tongue. Less