Albinen

Albinen is a small mountain village that overlooks the Rhône valley. It is ranked among the most beautiful villages in Switzerland and exudes olde-worlde charm thanks to an intact village centre with wooden chalets, some of which are over 500 years old. The village preserves the tradition Valais building styles.

Albinen can be reached by minibus from Leuk Bahnhof station in the Rhône valley, where fast trains from Brig and Geneva stop. Since the road is quite narrow, only small minibuses serve the route and there are only 8 services per day. A separate route connects Albinen with Leukerbad and serves as the ski shuttle in winter.

Albinen is a small village of around 500 people, so you can easily walk around on foot. In fact the centre of the village is completely inaccessible by car because the cobbled streets are extremely narrow and the wooden chalets are packed very close together.

The easiest way to discover Albinen is to follow the “Egguweg”, a walking tour with numerous information posts that explain the different facets of the village, from dry stone walls to farming and medicinal herb gardens. A stroll through the village centre is a must, taking in the sun-scorched wooden buildings and the narrow alleyways, as well as the incongruous church that dominates the village and is the most modern construction in the village centre, having been built in 1954 after the previous church was destroyed in an earthquake.

Albinen is a hiker’s paradise, with trails leading to Leukerbad (via the Albinenleitern - a series of wooden ladders attached to the cliff face on the hike up from Leukerbad), the Torrentalp and across to the equally scenic villages of Guttet-Feschel.

Budding potters can try their hand at traditional pottery making at the Topferhuus, which offers workshops.

With only one shop in the village, offering all the essentials for the local population, there is little opportunity for shopping in Albinen.

There are only two restaurants in the village centre, one of which - the Godswargjistubu - only opens on reservation. The other is the Sunnublick, which has a small terrace overlooking the Rhône valley and offers typical Valais dishes such as rösti and fondue.

Other than the two restaurants there are no bars or cafes in Albinen.

There are numerous holiday apartments available for rental in Albinen. The commune of Albinen has also set up its own innovative scheme to offer holiday rentals with a hotel-like service that can cater to any needs. For more information visit the Albijou website.