Best Ski Resorts Near Lausanne, Switzerland (For All Ages & Levels)

Lausanne is a stunning city on the shore of Lake Geneva with countless landmarks, museums, and other tourist attractions. The town offers stunning views of Lake Geneva and the mountains in the background, and it’s perfectly possible to ski on those enchanting mountains in the winter even if you stay in Lausanne.

One of the best things about this lakeside city is its proximity to some of Switzerland’s best ski resorts. Whether you want to go to one of them on a day trip, or stay in Lausanne for a couple of days and then head to a ski resort for a week or two, you’ve got options. Just two hours outside this lovely city are hundreds of kilometers of blue, red, and black runs that can appeal to skiers of all ages and skill levels, so keep reading to learn everything about the best ski resorts near Lausanne!

Ski Resort Travel Time

Travel time from Lausanne to the nearest ski resorts by train often takes a little longer than by car. However, there are regular traffic jams on weekends, so keep that in mind.

By Train

By Car

Leysin

Leysin is a great ski resort in the Rhone Valley with approximately 60 kilometers of well-prepared ski pistes. The vast majority of the pistes are easy blue runs, and there are just 2 kilometers of black runs and 15 kilometers of red runs. It’s a great resort for beginners, and a decent option for intermediate skiers, but probably underwhelming for expert skiers and snowboarders.

The best thing about this ski resort is that it has permanent snow canons, so snow is guaranteed during peak ski season. A daily ski pass is around 65 CHF, plus it’s possible for young adults and children to get various discounts.

The Leysin ski area is very close to Lausanne from the train station. It’s only about an hour away, with one train change in Aigle. It’s also possible to drive from Lausanne to Leysin, and that shouldn’t take longer than an hour either.

Les Paccots

Les Paccots is the closest ski resort to Lausanne, so the best destination if you’re looking for a place you can visit on day trips from the lakeside town. It’s just half an hour from Lausanne by car, but an hour (with two changes) by train and bus.

Les Paccots is a small-scale ski resort with only around 9 kilometers of ski pistes. Half of those are easy blue runs, and the remaining are equally split between intermediate red runs and expert black runs. If you want to spend a day skiing while you’re in Lausanne, this is certainly a solid option, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it for a longer ski vacation simply because there are very few pistes.

This is also a great ski resort for children and beginners. There’s a total of 11 lifts in the resort, two of which are baby lifts and the rest T-bar lifts. Les Paccots is usually open from mid-December to mid-March, but that does depend quite a bit on the snow conditions in the area.

Les Mosses – La Lécherette

Les Mosses is a good ski resort and the best option near Lausanne for intermediate skiers. The ski resort features a total of 40 kilometers of slopes, with 30 kilometers of red runs and just 10 kilometers of blue runs. There are no black runs in this ski area, so it’s not the best option for veteran skiers.

Daily ski passes are approximately 65 CHF (lift ticket included), with discounts for children and young adults. There’s a total of 14 ski lifts at the ski area including a moving carpet, baby lifts, and t-bar lifts. The highest elevation at the resort is 1,874 meters with a 495 meter difference between the highest and lowest points at the resort.

Les Mosses ski resort is an hour from Lausanne by car, or an hour and a half by public transport. Traveling by train includes two changes – one train change at Aigle, and then boarding the bus at Le Sépey to Les Mosses. Because of the ease of access and proximity to Lausanne, this is a great destination for a day ski trip or just a weekend break from the shore of Lake Geneva.

Villars – Gryon – Les Diablerets

The Villar-Gryon-Les Diablerets ski area is not the closest option to Lausanne, but it is one of the best. There’s a total of 84 kilometers of pistes in this ski resort, which means plenty of options for beginner, intermediate, and expert skiers. The resort features everything from moving carpets for children to thrilling straight-line descents for veterans.

It’s worth noting that this area includes multiple ski resorts, but you’re able to access all the lifts and pistes with a single ski pass. That ski pass will also include access to the Leysin and Les Mosses ski resorts, so if you’re staying in the area for a while and want to get a weekly pass, you’ll be able to explore multiple different ski areas during your stay. Also, if you’re considering staying in this area for a few days, you can stay in multiple towns including Bex, Leysin, Villars sur Ollon, Gryon, Ollon, Aigle, and others.

Les Diablerets is approximately an hour and a half by train from Lausanne, with just one train change in Aigle. It’s also possible to drive from the city to the ski resort, and that usually takes between an hour and an hour and a half, depending on the weather, traffic, and road conditions.

Portes du Soleil (including Champery/Morgins & others)

Portes du Soleil is a ski resort south of Lake Geneva, very close to the border with France. The ski area is one of the largest in the world because it encompasses slopes in both France and Switzerland and features a total of 580 kilometers of ski pistes. If you are an avid skier and you enjoy skiing at high altitudes, this is by far the best ski resort for you that’s close to Lausanne.

Out of the 560 kilometers at this ski area, 60 are expert black runs, 210 are intermediate red runs, and the remaining 310 are easy blue runs. The pistes are spread across 12 different ski areas, including Morzine, Avoriaz, ​Les Gets, ​Châtel, ​Morgins, and ​Champéry. A single ski pass grants you access to all the pistes at Portes du Soleil.

The closest resorts to Lausanne are Champéry and Morgins, easily reached with public transport in about one and a half hours. The other Portes du Soleil ski resorts are a little harder to get to with public transport and easier to reach by car.

Verbier

Verbier is the best ski resort to stay at if you’re equally interested in skiing and apres-ski. The resort has the best apres-ski scene in the Swiss Alps for quality relaxation time after long days on the slopes. In terms of ski slopes, the ski area features a total of 412 kilometers of ski pistes spread across six different ski resorts – Verbier, ​Bruson, La Tzoumaz, Nendaz, ​Veysonnaz, and ​Thyon. But Verbier still has the best parties of them all.

This is one of the best ski areas for experienced skiers because it features 103 kilometers of expert black runs. There are also 107 kilometers of easy blue runs and 202 kilometers of intermediate red runs. There’s a total of 67 ski lifts and gondolas throughout the ski resort, which can take you all the way to the highest runs at 3,330 meters.

Best of all, Verbier is less than two hours from Lausanne. It’s just an hour and 40 minutes by train, with a quick train change in Martigny and a short gondola ride from Le Châble to Verbier. It’s also possible to drive from Lausanne to Verbier, and the drive shouldn’t take more than an hour and a half.

Zermatt & Saas-Fee

Zermatt and Saas Fee ski resorts are the furthest from Lausanne, but still doable for a day trip if you can get up early enough. It’s worth the effort it takes to travel here because this is one of the most beautiful ski areas in all of Switzerland, with breathtaking views of the Matterhorn. The Zermatt ski area, which encompasses other resorts as well, features more than 300 kilometers of slopes, while Saas Fee boasts an additional 100 kilometers of pistes.

It takes around three hours to reach Zermatt by train from Lausanne, but only around two hours by car, so the day trip is perfectly possible if you can drive on your own to the ski resort. Saas Fee is closer by train (two hours and 40 minutes) but equally far away by car ( two hours and 15 minutes).