Switzerland Guide
Valais
Crans Montana
Crans Montana occupies what is claimed to be the sunniest plateau in the Alps, facing south over the Rhône valley with a spectacular panorama of peaks. It's also one of the glitziest ski resorts (Roger Moore is a long-time resident), with what the tourist office likes to call the finest shopping in the Alps.
The resort comprises three villages, Crans-sur-Sierre (pronounced crawh), Montana and, out on a limb, Aminona; the agglomeration sprawls for more than 2km between Crans, to the west, and Montana, to the east, with nothing to mark the shift from one to another. The skiing, rather unfairly dubbed "irretrievably intermediate" by some sports writers, takes second place to the round of wining and dining embarked upon by aficionados of Crans Montana's affluent social life – although the resort does have the advantage of access to year-round skiing on the Plaine Morte glacier, way up above 3000m.
Skiing aside, the place is best known for hosting the European Masters golf tournament every September ( 
www.omegaeuropeanmasters.com ), second only to the British Open for prestige and top names. Crans's scenic course was redesigned by Seve Ballesteros, and now boasts fiendishly complex upturned-saucer greens.