Château d'Oex

The green valley of the Pays-d’Enhaut and its three villages – Château-d’Œx, Rougemont and Rossinière – introduce you to the values and many facets of these high-altitude lands. Located at the intersection of the Sarine valley and the Vaudois Alps, during the 20th century Château-d’Œx built up a welcoming atmosphere as a host, in harmony with the active life of a local community, proud of its traditions. This village, so close to Lake Geneva, likes the quiet life, governed by the rhythm of the seasons, but has wanted to keep some of the human warmth that develops through the contact and friendships that build up between holidaymakers and the local population. Through its architecture and environment which have been saved from anarchic development, through its cultural treasures as well, passed down from generation to generation through works by painters, paper cut-out artists and craftsmen.

Château-d’Œx is the county town for the area and has, over the years, developed into the alpine capital of ballooning. This was not by chance. For 30 years, the valley’s exceptional microclimate has given balloonists from all over the world the opportunity to take part in the International Balloon Festival. In 1999, Betrand Piccard and Brian Jones’s historic take-off from Château-d’Œx in the Breitling Orbiter 3 put the resort in the international spotlight. Now this aerial sport and pastime can be enjoyed all year round by the general public, thanks to passenger flights arranged by the company SkyEvent SA.

A multitude of sporting activities have developed, adapting to fads and fashion and the tastes of holidaymakers and residents. Among these figure, of course, aerial sports like paragliding, parachuting, sky diving and delta-wings, river sports led by rafting, and mountain-biking (the area hosted the world mountain- bike championships in 1997). Throughout the summer season, a network of footpaths covering 300km (186 miles) provides sports enthusiasts and nature lovers with an opportunity to discover the region where fauna and flora can flourish peacefully; evidence of this is the magnificent nature reserve “La Pierreuse”, a real Swiss gem.

At the summit of La Braye, you can launch yourself into the “Mike Horn Family” adventure – a wonderful treasure hunt – or test your head for heights by scaling a climbing wall or letting yourself whiz along the zip wire. For those who prefer to spend the day in the valley, there are the outdoor, heated swimming pool, tennis courts, mini-golf, riding, fishing and archery which are just some of the healthy ways of keeping active in an exceptional setting.

In winter, one of the most beautiful cross-country ski areas in the whole of the region can be found on the La Lécherette-Les Mosses plateau. For downhill skiing, using the La Braye gate in Château-d’Œx and La Videmanette in Rougemont, just one skipass gives access to more than 250km (155 miles) of runs served by 71 ski-lifts, for skiers of all levels. Furthermore, children up to the age of 9 years go free on the lifts, winter and summer alike and in winter, some establishments also accommodate them free of charge in the parents’ bedroom.

To back up the choice of indoor activities, Château-d’Œx has a 12-lane 10-pin bowling alley with a video games room and a giant screen, offering entertainment for both young and old. For cultural activities, Château-d’Œx suggests a visit to the local Musée du Vieux Pays-d’Enhaut, dedicated to the memory of a region that was for a long time isolated in its mountains, the Ours (Bear) microbrewery and the Espace Ballon, where you can discover the world of ballooning from all angles.

To sum it up, there is no one season in particular for enjoying the Pays-d’Enhaut! But… seeing is believing!