Way of life

People with roots, heart and character
Although you don’t have to worry about culture shock, a little preliminary information about the character of the Valais’s residents couldn’t hurt. Besides the local Swiss-German dialect, “Walliserdeutsch”, the people of Valais are defined by their down-to-earth attitude, conviviality, kindness and strength of character. Traditions and customs including cow fighting and the colourful carnival are still alive and well here. A lively arts and culture scene offers exhibitions, events and performances on stages of all sizes to round out the cultural offer.

Language

A medieval dialect
The official languages in Valais are French (from Sierre down the Rhone river to St-Gingloph and German (from Sierre up the Rhone to Gletsch). English

Through contact with their many international guests, the Valaisans generally have a good ear for foreign languages. The approximately 80,000 German-speaking people of Upper Valais…

Holidays

Holidays with tradition
Swiss National Day on 1 August is the only federal holiday. According to the Federal Constitution, it is regarded as equivalent to a Sunday

Valais takes full advantage of this. The canton’s public holidays reflect Catholic tradition. …

Religion

In the name of the Father
Valais is traditionally Catholic. The Roman Catholic Church and the Swiss Reformed Church are recognised as public institutions.

There is a Catholic church in every municipality. Protestant churches, mosques and other places of worship are more commonly found in cities (Brig-Glis, Visp, Sierre, Sion,…

Customs

Evil spirits and pugnacious animals
Over many centuries, the people of Valais have learned to celebrate in style and seize every opportunity they can to get together and

On Corpus Christi, for example, processions make their way across fields and open countryside all over Valais. During carnival season, characters such as the “Tschägg…

Culinary art

Pure passion and delight
When both the wine and the food are perfectly suited to the occasion, you know you are in the heart of culinary Valais.

Valais is a wine country: just under half of all Swiss wines come from our sun-drenched canton, including the Pinot noir of Salgesch, the Cornalin of Lens (Vaas), the Petite…