Brig

The history of the attractive old town of Brig with its elegant houses, welcoming inns and hotels, is closely linked with the Simplon Pass, one of the most impressive Alpine passes. In the Middle Ages, the original pass was used as a trading route between Brig and Domodossala in Italy. The pass was developed by Kaspar Jodok von Stockalper, a merchant, in the 17th century and named the Stockalperweg. In the 19th century, Napoleon constructed a road over the pass for his armies. Brig is an ideal departure point for excursions in several directions and lies on the route of the Glacier Express, which runs between Zermatt and St. Moritz. To the south, the Simplon Pass or Simplon Railway takes you to Italy, whilst to the east you pass through the beautiful Goms Valley and can travel over the Furka Pass to central Switzerland, the Grimsel Pass to the Bernese Oberland or the Nufenen Pass to Italian-speaking Ticino. However, Brig itself has many attractions, including its lively Bahnhofstrasse for chic shopping and the Stockalper Palace, one of Switzerland’s most important baroque palaces.
In nearby Blatten, above the town of Naters, you’ll find an authentic Valais village with traditional timber houses burnt a deep brown by the sun. From Blatten, an aerial cableway glides up to Belalp, a sunny, traffic-free high plateau ideal for family outings. Among the attractions are the Massa Trail and Gorge, the Aletsch climbing path across the reservoir and suonen trails along historic Valais irrigation channels.