Located in the Vaud region near Lake Geneva, Leysin ski resort attracts students with its superb sporting facilities and lively après-ski, while boarders come here for the January Snowboarding Championships. Leysin offers 60kms of marked pistes, 42kms of which are reserved for beginners, making it a great place to learn. Skiers with intermediate to expert skill levels are also catered for.

Situated at 1,200m above sea level and boasting spectacular views over the Rhône Valley, Leysin is an appealing village, although somewhat spread out. It has all the facilities of a larger resort town and accommodation is wide ranging, with 8,400 beds available in total.

Leysin's slopes run over 60kms of easy to difficult terrain, with a ratio of a huge 70 per cent for beginners; 20 per cent suited to intermediate skiers; five per cent, advanced; and five per cent for expert skiers. There are 16 lifts able to uplift 12,400 skiers per hour. In addition, there are 10kms of cross-country trails.

Other winter activities and facilities include: 40kms of mountain paths; artificial ice-skating; curling; paragliding; mountaineering; and horseback riding. There are also plenty of indoor facilities, including: a sports centre, with tennis courts and swimming pool; a fitness centre; and squash facilities. Après-ski is lively and exciting, with an array of bars and clubs.

The best snow of the December to April season is usually from early February to early or mid-March, with cheaper weeks at the beginning and towards the end of the season.

Leysin ski resort is best accessed by taking a flight to Geneva, and then a train from the airport to Aigle and changing to a cog-rail for Leysin-Feydey. Alternatively, there are good roads to Leysin, making transfer by hire car much quicker.