Val d'Illiez

The Simplon line serves Aigle, where the regional AOMC train leaves for Monthey, Val-d'Illiez and Champéry. The terminus sits fifty metres from the Champéry gondola, which is unusual in the mountains. Allow an hour and a half from Lausanne. By car, leave the A9 at Aigle and climb via Monthey; paid car parks wait at the entrance to Champéry.

Good to know: the valley road narrows and fills up fast on winter Saturdays. The train skips the entire queue, and children get to watch the valley go by.

Champéry's main street is flat and fully pushchair friendly, terraces included. The Palladium pool welcomes families all year, which makes it the automatic plan B when the weather closes in. The thermal baths at Val-d'Illiez, lower down, have outdoor pools that stay pleasant even in cool weather. Higher up, the gondola drops you on open pasture where small children can run about safely on level ground.

Champéry is the Valais gateway to the Portes du Soleil, one of the largest ski areas in the Alps. The Planachaux sector above the village holds the gentlest runs and suits first descents well. Non-skiers can ride the gondola back down without difficulty, so nobody has to clip into skis just to get home. And the Palladium pool stays open to finish the day in the warm, a few minutes from the station and the last train back down the valley to Aigle.