What's on in Gstaad, Switzerland through the year

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year, Christmas holidays in Switzerland

• Festival

  Sommets Musicaux

  28 Jan – 8 Feb · usuallyMajor festival

  Nine days of chamber music in the churches of Saanen and Rougemont and the chapel above Gstaad, staged in the middle of the ski season rather than around it. Small halls, so tickets go before the programme is out. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (10 Dec – 5 Apr (usually)), Christmas and New Year (20 Dec – 6 Jan), New Year Music Festival (26 Dec – 10 Jan (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Sommets Musicaux (28 Jan – 8 Feb (usually)), Ski season (10 Dec – 5 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Ski season (10 Dec – 5 Apr (usually))

Busy — Easter holidays in Switzerland, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Closure

  Between-seasons shutdown

  10 Apr – 5 Jun · usually

  Lifts stop, hotels close for their refit and the village goes back to being farmland for six weeks. November is the same again. Source ↗

Still on: Ski season (10 Dec – 5 Apr (usually))

Busy — Spring holidays in Switzerland, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Between-seasons shutdown (10 Apr – 5 Jun (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Opening

  Walking season and alpine dairies

  15 Jun – 10 Oct · usuallyTrail season

  The summer lifts and the alp dairies open together in the middle of June. The high pastures are worked and sell their own cheese at the door until the herds come down in autumn. Source ↗

Still on: Between-seasons shutdown (10 Apr – 5 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Swiss Open tennis, Summer holidays in Switzerland

• Festival

  Swiss Open tennis

  10–28 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  A week of clay-court tennis in a temporary stadium in the valley floor in late July, immediately after Wimbledon. It is the busiest the village gets in summer. Source ↗

• Festival

  Menuhin Festival

  15 Jul – 5 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalBook early

  Seven weeks of concerts in village churches and a tent above Saanen, founded by Yehudi Menuhin when he lived here. It runs right through the quiet part of the summer. Source ↗

Still on: Walking season and alpine dairies (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Peak crowds — Polo Gold Cup, Summer holidays in Switzerland

• Festival

  Polo Gold Cup

  18–26 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Four teams on a grass field on the valley floor over a long weekend in late August, and the one time the summer here dresses up. Entry is free and the Saanen road fills from mid-morning. Source ↗

Still on: Walking season and alpine dairies (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually)), Menuhin Festival (15 Jul – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — Country Night Gstaad, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Country Night Gstaad

  8–16 Sep · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Two nights of American country acts in a tent by the station, running since 1989 and sold out long ahead. It lands when the walking season is at its best, so beds in the valley are scarce that weekend. Source ↗

Still on: Walking season and alpine dairies (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually)), Menuhin Festival (15 Jul – 5 Sep (usually))

Busy — Autumn holidays in Switzerland, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Walking season and alpine dairies (15 Jun – 10 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Opening

  Glacier 3000 autumn skiing

  1 Nov – 10 Dec · usuallySki season

  The glacier above the pass opens for skiing in early November, weeks before anything in the valley, and is the only snow within reach until December. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Christmas and New Year, Christmas holidays in Switzerland

• Season

  Ski season

  10 Dec – 5 Apr · usually

  A wide, low, gentle area spread over several villages, which is why it is more about the walk back to the village than the vertical. Glacier 3000 above it holds snow far longer.

• Holiday

  Christmas and New Year

  20 Dec – 6 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  The fortnight the chalets are all occupied and the promenade is the point rather than the piste. Rates are at their year's high and the good tables are booked from the autumn. Source ↗

• Festival

  New Year Music Festival

  26 Dec – 10 Jan · usuallyChristmas & New YearBook early

  Classical concerts across Gstaad, Rougemont, Saanen, Lauenen and Chateau-d'Oex from just after Christmas to just after New Year, timed for the people already in the chalets. Tickets move with the chalet bookings, not after them. Source ↗

Still on: Glacier 3000 autumn skiing (1 Nov – 10 Dec (usually))