The mountain regions of Switzerland are covered with thousands of old chalets, making for incredible scenery in the already magnificent alpine landscape. Some of the restored old chalets in Zermatt’s Old Town are over 300 years old. Many are being used today as apartments or shops.
These buildings in the Valais region are made of larch wood, with stone roofs, and were originally farm dwellings. They were two-story buildings where the farm animals lived on the bottom floor, protected from the cold climate and providing heat for the second floor.
Many farms in the Valais countryside are still working operations.
The newer chalets are pure charm, and although I have been to Switzerland several times, I have never stayed in a traditional chalet. This trip I intended to remedy this deficit. This was our hotel in Zermatt, the Belle Vista.
Here are some other beautiful chalets. Some are private homes and others hotels. We are staying in several and I am wondering why I never did this before.
They are utterly charming inside and out, like this one in Zermatt,
and this one in St Moritz.
Had to close with one more pic of the mighty Matterhorn!
Cheers to you, and happy weekend from Klosters Switzerland~
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Great photos! Very rustic!
Happy you like them and wonderful to hear from you! Have a great weekend!
Yes these are lovely – I believe quite unique. They remind me of mountains and cow bells. Liked the images you posted
Is there anything more charming than a Swiss mountain cow with their bells? My husband saw a sheep dog leading his cows home over a bridge! Sigh………
I can just about feel that fresh, crisp air!
and taste the clear alpine water! feels soooo healthy!
Like a beautiful, Heidi-kind of storybook….I love the way the beds are made….reminds me of those I found in Austria’s hotels…..so simple, clean, comfortable…
Yes! The bedding is just lovely. I had a German friend growing up who slept in this bedding and I always looked forward to spending the night! It’s a treat and so comfy and clean!
I’dlove to live in a house like that 🙂
So would I! 🙂
The photo’s on your blog. blow me away 🙂
You cannot fail to have a lovely stay in such charming accommodation! Say hi and cheers to the Matterhorn from me 🙂 x
Will do and cheers back to you my friend!
Hi Cindy,
Love love love Switzerland. Only spent 1 day there in lake Lugano ( excluding my connecting flights in Zurich) but the sweet magic of the Country remains with me. Looking forward to your next post.
peace,
LindA
Lake Lugano is so lovely, but then the whole country is! Cheers to you Linda and glad you visited~
Nice pictures, Cindy! 🙂
Did you see the old houses and barns standing on large poles, positioned on big, flat stone plates in the middle of the two parted poles? Mostly granite i think. These are climbing barriers against mice and rats. Seems to be a common method in medieval houses all over Europe. I saw this also in Norway and Romania, as well as in Bavaria.
Yes I did see them and they make a lot of sense to me, the construction in general was very clever and clearly has stood the test of time. Cheers & thanks~
🙂
It’s so beautiful, Cindy. The hills are alive…. (sorry, I just couldn’t help myself)! 😉
Why should you? This is THAT country!! Hugz~
I like the photos Cindy.
So happy you do Ranu and be well my friend~
Lovely thank you for letting me travel with you.
I love having you along! <3
🙂
Loved everything! 🙂
Yay!!! Makes me happy & cheers to you~
Cheers to you too, Cindy!
Beautiful pictures of the place outside and inside. The bed is big however the room is beautiful.
Spare and clean and comfortable! Just wonderful~
Beautiful photos and location. Thank you for the photos.
Hey my friend, great to hear from you and hope all is well with you!
I’m doing fine and I hope you are doing well.
More fabulous pics, Cindy! Thank you for brightening the day with your photographs!
Awww more thanks to you for the kind appreciation!
How absolutely delightful! 🙂
That is my general impression of Switzerland!
Thanks for ‘taking me away’! 🙂
So glad to be your Calgon moment! 😉
Oh thank you so much for these pictures you just gave me a sense of home and I haven’t seen the Matterhorn in a very long time. Enjoy your vacation (I assume it’s a vacation).
It must be very difficult to be separated from such a beautiful place and yes indeed a wonderful vacation! Cheers to you from the Matterhorn~
Home is were the heart is and the heart is here since 35 years 🙂
The places are awesome, I’d like to stay in one of those chalets too and get the real “feel” of Switzerland.
Oh I hope you do, you will fall in love as I have! Cheers & happy weekend~
You do have the most phenomenal experiences! A stay in a Swiss chalet – Wow! And they are truly enticing places.
Thanks Dor, they as delightful inside as they are outdside!
Gorgeous Chalets!! I would want to stay there too! I love old charm like that!! Fantastic!! Hugz Lisa and Bear
I do too and somehow a Swiss Chalet only looks right in Switzerland!
What a stunning place. I’ve not been in years, but hope to go back. Great post, Cindy.
So happy you enjoyed & cheers to you~
Wow is all I can say! 🙂 I’ll add incredible, lovely, beautiful, charming (as you said) and gorgeously tempting (to stay in, get cozy and comfortable) and wake up to Switzerland’s fresh cool air, I suppose. I see why you could not resist them. I could not either. I will dream of them instead. 🙂
Oh how lovely! The sweetest dreams to you! <3
I guess I have to live vicariously through you. Beautiful pictures. Susanne
Well I think we all live imaginatively through each other so be my guest!
Now that is one place I’d love to visit. Wow what photos. …. brilliant
Awwww thanks and I hope you do visit soon!
Pretty to look at, Cuz, but you know me…, I’d rather be sipping a marguarita while I watch the sun set over a white sand beach in a nice warm climate… 🙂 You’re obviously enjoying your trip… HUGS !
Hugz back at you cuz and have a margarita for me!
How beautiful. The view fills me with awe. The homes and hotels are charming and comfy looking.
That is just what they are, clean, comfy, quiet and charming. Who could ask for more?
Wow! I think if there’s a heaven on Earth, this place must be it. Thanks for sharing these lovely photos, Cindy!
I think the Swiss know it too! 😉
So lovely. We hope to visit Switzerland one day. 🙂
Well I certainly hope you do and cheers to you too!
Oh, so much beauty and you are so blessed to be able to visit that lovely place Cindy. That is one place I would love to visit one day as well. Great captures and thanks for sharing these beauty hon. 😀
Thank you more for the kind appreciation!
I love Switzerland and these photographs, especially of the old chalets are wonderful….thank you:)
Yes, I was amazed by these old wooden buildings still standing and being used!
Utterly charming. 🙂
You would love it here! I hope you visit~
I have only been to Switzerland once and I didn’t stay in a chalet, so I guess I will need to visit again for chalet purposes!
So evocactive – we can smell the grass and hear the bells clanging nearby!
And not much other noise either. Blissfully quiet and peaceful!
Pretty as a postcard! The inside photos of the rooms looked fresh and welcoming – a great place to rest after all that mountain air.
Yes with the windows open and no mosquitos!!!
Lovely photos Cindy! The chalet looks amazing and love the surrounding view!
Mil grazi, It is just a place I keep coming back too!
Utterly beautiful, I agree! It is great to stay in one of those and in Winter it feel so lovely and warm with all the wood!
I have never been in winter and can only imagine what it is like. A bit cold I suspect, but cozy!
Oh yes, I only have been in Winter….beautiful with the snow around.
Thank you for taking us along on your trip. Your photos are wonderful. I felt like I was there with you. Hugs, Barbara
You are a wonderful traveler! <3
I always wanted to see the Mountain “Matterhorn.” This is a unique mountain which is very beautiful! Hopefully, someday I will have time to visit it in person.
I hope you do and I want to visit Mt Fuji!
wonderful….
Wonderful woodwork everywhere! These chalets are like flowers growing on the mountain sides.. Thanks for sharing, Cindy.
Lovely imagery and very accurate too!
Oh God this is so so beautiful ! And the interior was just as beautiful. Love the wood work ! <3
Isn’t the wood work wonderful! It along with the bright plaid curtains make the interiors so distinctive.
Welcome in Switzerland! I hope you enjoy your stay! Best wishes Thomas
Hey Thomas, great to hear from you! You are a lucky, lucky man. Such a beautiful country!
Cindy – I also love the traditional chalet. There’s something extra homey and I found a sense of pure peacefulness could fall over my body.
Exactly, some magical places have this wonderful soporific quality! Cheers to you Sheri~
Hi Cindy, These photos are so colorful and Bright!!! I love them !!! 🙂 Thank you for liking my Painting!!! 🙂 *Cynthia
So happy you enjoyed them!
That is an incredibly beautiful country, The living space… I would never want to leave. <3
Yes, my feelings exactly!!! 😉
Love these photos — wish I was there!
I wish you were too!
I, too, wish to be there! Magnificent shot of the last one, Wow!
We could go out for rosti. I am now addicted to rosti! 😉
Sounds delicious! 🙂
Those are awesome!
So happy you enjoyed them & cheers~
HoooOOOOOooooWWWWwwwwwwLLLLLLLLLLLoooooooo!!!! Wolfie and Switzerland would get on wonderfully!!!
There are only a couple of wolves in Switzerland so Wolfie would be free to howl like Ginsberg!!! 😉
What a beautiful place to lay your head at the end of an amazing day of sight seeing Cindy and that final photo of the Matterhorn against the clear blue sky is stunning.
You are so kind Pauline and a continual source of posting motivation!