Charmey is the small, sincerely local ski village of the Gruyère region, perched at 900 m above the Jaun valley in French-speaking Fribourg. The Vounetz sector offers 30 km of piste rising to 1,630 m, while the Bains de la Gruyère thermal pool sits in the village itself. Skiing is unhurried and family-shaped, with the cheese-making towns of La Gruyère a few minutes away.
Charmey is a ski resort in Switzerland, in the Swiss Alps. The village sits at 900 m and the lifts top out at 1630 m, with 30 km of pistes and 7 lifts. Its BestSnowHotels snow score is 70/100, and the season usually runs Dec 14 → Apr 7.
How we score and classify resortsRun counts and piste kilometres are indicative. Green runs only exist in France, Spain, Andorra, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Japan, the United States, Morocco, Algeria, Lesotho, South Africa, Egypt, Canada, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Chile; Italy, Austria, Switzerland and Germany start at blue. Indicative average snow depth near the top of the resort, in cm.
A handful of well-rated hotels in and around the resort. Pick one, then compare live prices across Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Very good · 1.6k reviews
Moments from the lifts in Charmey, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Guests rate this hotel as very good (4.5/5 from 1,635 reviews). It sits about 300 m from the slopes. A upper-scale option for Charmey, with live nightly rates shown for your exact dates so you always see the best price.
Very good · 398 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Charmey, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Great · 343 reviews
Moments from the lifts in Charmey, so you can ski back to the door and skip the morning queues.
Ratings from Google, prices indicative per night. Live availability and rates via our booking partners.
There is no ski-in/ski-out in the village proper; hotels are a short walk or drive from the Vounetz gondola base.
Charmey makes no big claims and that is precisely the appeal. A gondola climbs from the village base to Vounetz at 1,630 m, opening onto an easygoing sector of blue and red runs above the fir forest. Snowmaking covers the spine of the area and the season usually runs from mid-December to early April, with northern aspects holding the cover after thaws. Beginners stay close to the gondola top station, families thread the blue circuit, and stronger skiers ski the small handful of reds and one black to keep things honest. The mountain restaurant at Vounetz is a proper rosti-and-fondue stop, and the home run back down to the village in the late afternoon catches the long Fribourg light. After skiing, the Bains de la Gruyère thermal pool is a five-minute walk from the gondola base, and Gruyères castle and its cheese cellars are 15 minutes by car. This is a place to ski mornings, walk in the afternoon, and eat well at night.
Hotels and apartments around the lifts. Compare prices on Booking, Expedia and Hotels.com.
Everything on our site connected to Charmey: its area, the lists it makes, head-to-heads and trip guides.
Charmey offers 30 km of pistes across 7 lifts, from 900 m to 1630 m. Whether it suits beginners depends on the dedicated learner zones at the base of the slopes, so check the local ski-school options for green and blue run access.
The season runs from Dec 14 to Apr 7, with a snow score of 70/100. The best conditions are usually from late January through February, while spring skiing in March and April brings longer days and softer afternoons.
There is no ski-in/ski-out in the village proper; hotels are a short walk or drive from the Vounetz gondola base.
Charmey has 30 km of marked pistes served by 7 lifts, between 900 m and 1630 m of altitude.
Charmey counts about 23 marked runs in total. The colour breakdown above shows how they split by difficulty, a good guide to whether the resort fits your level.
The closest alternatives, an easy switch if dates or hotels are tight.
Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
Resorts with a similar feel, snow record and size.
Bavarian Alps
Black Forest
Italian Alps
French Alps