Saas-Fee

Saas-Fee (German: [zaːsˈfeː]) is the main village in the Saastal, or the Saas Valley, and is a municipality in the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The village is situated on a high mountain plateau at 1,800 meters (5,900 feet), surrounded by a total of 13 peaks above 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) which is the highest concentration in the Alps, giving the village the nickname the Pearl of the Alps. It is a classic ski resort characterised by well-preserved Swiss wood architecture and a car-free city centre. The villages in its neighbourhood are Saas-Almagell, Saas-Grund and Saas-Balen.

Its location close to the glaciers of the Dom and the Allalinhorn provides winter sport opportunities throughout the year, and neighbouring peaks such as the Weissmies, the Nadelhorn and the Lenzspitze are popular climbs in the summer season. The community is considered to be a very attractive winter sport destination in the Swiss Alps. Typical activities include skiing, snowboarding, snowshoe trekking, canyon climbing and ice climbing.

Saas-Fee offers 22 lifts, including 3 cable cars, 1 funicular railway (Metro Alpin), 5 gondolas (1 dedicated to walkers), 2 chairlifts, the remainder being surface lifts (draglifts). The ski run has a vertical drop of 1,800 m (5,906 ft), a top elevation of 3,600 m (11,811 ft) and covers 150 km (93 mi) (80 km (50 mi) beginner, 45 km (28 mi) intermediate, 25 km (16 mi) advanced). Other activities include paragliding, hang gliding, and tobogganing.

Saas-Fee can be reached by car or bus – postal buses run during much of the day half-hourly from Brig and Visp, though none provides a service beyond the bus terminal through the length of the town during the winter. No cars are allowed to enter the city (they have to be parked in special car parks outside); only small electric vehicles operate on the streets between the hotels and ski area. The decision to exclude most motor vehicles was made by the village at the time of the construction of the road from Saas Grund in 1951 in order to eliminate air pollution.

The resort offers many culture, sports, and off-slope activities, including classical music, a sports and leisure complex, restaurants, and nightclubs. The resort features the highest underground funicular railway in the world up to the skiing area and the highest revolving restaurant in the world at 3,500 m (11,500 ft). The touristic slogan of Saas-Fee is "Die Perle der Alpen" (The Pearl of the Alps) as it is surrounded by a total of 13 peaks above 4,000 metres (13,123 feet), the most in the Alps. A campus of the European Graduate School is located in Saas-Fee.

Saas-Fee is first mentioned in 1304 as vee. The municipality was formerly known by its French name Fée ([fe]); however, that name is no longer used.

Saas-Fee has an area, as of 2011^[update], of 40.6 square kilometers (15.7 sq mi). Of this area, 5.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.3% is settled (buildings or roads) and 83.6% is unproductive land.

The municipality is located in the Visp district, at the foot of Dom Mountain. The village is surrounded by thirteen Four-thousander mountains (mountains that are at least 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) above sea level).