By Gemma Tedaldi | Published: 5 August 2025 | Updated: 5th August 2025
Château d’Oex is a location in Switzerland that isn’t very well known, but really should be. With majestic mountains overlooking the town, an incredible hot air balloon festival every winter and day trips to nearby more touristy destinations that you can reach aboard the beautiful GoldenPass Bell Époque train, what more could you want? So here is how to spend a long weekend In Château d’Oex:
📍 Weekend in Châteux d’Oex Day 1: Chateux d’Oex
📍 Weekend in Châteux d’Oex Day 2: Glacier 3000
📍 Weekend in Châteux d’Oex Day 3: Gstaad & Schönried
Planning Your Trip? Use our favourite travel resources below:
Accommodation: We recommend Booking.com
Rental Car: We recommend Rentalcars.com
Flights: We recommend Kiwi.com
Tours: We recommend Get Your Guide & Viator
Currency Conversion: We recommend Wise
Travel Insurance: World Nomads
Weekend In Château d’Oex Map
Weekend In Château d’Oex Itinerary
Although we have set out what we found to be the perfect Châteux d’Oex itinerary below, you can of course switch up the days if the weather is better on one day over another. For example, we wouldn’t suggest heading up to Glacier 3000 if the weather is overcast or rainy as you’ll miss out on the incredible views.
Weekend in Châteux d’Oex Day 1: Chateux d’Oex
You can’t book a weekend in Châteux d’Oex and not spend time in Châteux d’Oex itself, so for the first day of the itinerary be sure to explore this small town. As it is a small town, you can easily walk from one end to the other in under an hour, so it makes it perfect for wandering through at a leisurely pace stopping in a cafe or two to try the local dishes, (the vin cuit or cooked wine meringues are particularly delicious!).
If you are lucky enough to have timed it to be visiting whilst the Châteux d’Oex International Balloon Festival is on, (which we highly recommend, it is crazy seeing hot air balloons in the snow!), then be sure to visit the main balloon zone in the valley at the edge of the town as well as heading up to the Temple Saint-Donat for some of the best views of the hot air balloons taking off and flying through the valley and up into the mountains.
As Châteux d’Oex is known for its hot air ballooning, also be sure to visit the Espace Ballon Museum, in the town centre to learn about the history of ballooning in Switzerland.
There are a few really lovely restaurants and eateries in Châteux d’Oex, but our favourites are Au Montagnard, (traditional dishes and fondue), Au Relais, (perfect pizzas), or Caribou Bar Lounge, (burgers, rostis and tarte flambee).
Weekend in Châteux d’Oex Day 2: Glacier 3000
For the second day of the weekend in Châteux d’Oex, we are heading out of the town and to the nearby Glacier 3000, a 3000m peak, (who would have guessed!), with some of the most incredible panoramic views over the surrounding Alps.
From Châteux d’Oex you need to take the train to Gstaad, (20 minutes), then hop on the 180 Postbus to the valley station at Glacier 3000, Col du Pillon, (a further 30 minutes). From there you simply head up the cable car to the top.
Get your Glacier 3000 ticket here.
At the top there are numerous year round activities you can get involved in including walking the Peak Walk by Tissot, (the only suspension bridge in the world that connects to mountain tops!), and numerous hiking trails, with around 75 kilometres of marked trails including the Glacier Walk which takes around 1 hour each way to the Refuge l’Espace restaurant at the glacier edge. If it is snowy when you visit you can also ski / snowboard or take part in sled dog rides or if you are visiting during the warmer months then there is an alpine coaster that you can ride, (tickets cost from CHF 9 per person and can be bought on Site) and various via ferrata that you can do too.
When we visited Glacier 3000 in late January we did the Peak Walk, (it has a bit of a bounce to it and sheer drops underneath, so don’t try to cross it if you have a fear of heights!) and also hiked out along the Glacier Walk. At the time we didn’t realise we were actually on top of the glacier itself as the snow was so thick you couldn’t see it, but boy the views were stunning.
Other than the restaurant at the end of the Glacier Walk, there are also a few other eateries both up Glacier 3000 and at the valley station, so be sure to grab a bite to eat with a view or before heading back to Châteux d’Oex.
Restaurant Le 3 – a self service restaurant at the mountain station, with some seriously good views.
Restaurant Cold Du Pillon – a traditional eatery at the valley cable car station.
Weekend in Châteux d’Oex Day 3: Gstaad & Schönried
Just a short 20 minute train journey along the valley from Châteux d’Oex you will find the beautiful town of Gstaad. Best known as being a skiing destination for the rich and famous, it is actually very affordable to visit as part of a day trip from Châteux d’Oex and something we would highly recommend.
The town itself is full of beautiful traditional Swiss architecture, and of course a luxury shop or two, but there are also plenty of outdoor activities that you can do in the area too. If you are visiting in the winter, there are numerous skiing options but also sledging, snowshoeing and winter hiking routes throughout the area too. If you are visiting in the warmer months, then these routes are still accessible just as a normal hiking trails instead.
We spent the morning hiking from Eggli back down into Gstaad via a lovely trail through farmland, woodland and along paved tracks. It is easy to get to Eggli as it is one of the local mountains to Gstaad so there is a cable car station a short walk out of the main town, Bergbahn Eggli, which whisks you up to the peak and the incredible views. There is also a great mountain restaurant with a massive outdoor terrace at the top, Bergrestaurant und Lounge Eggli Gstaad, which is the perfect place to grab a bite to eat or drink and to take in the views, (the Chässchnitte is particularly delicious!), before setting off.
On the route from Eggli to Gstaad there is also a toboggan run, however the snow was too melted for us to do it on our first trip to Châteux d’Oex / Gstaad, but it pretty much follows the same route as the walk. You can hire sleds at the Bergbahn Eggi valley station.
In the afternoon it is time for one of the most unique things you can do in the area, if not in Switzerland! Picking up a Fondue Backpack. Yes, it is exactly what it sounds like and yes, it is one of the best things you can do in the Gstaad area!
There are numerous dairies that you can pick you backpack up from, and numerous fondue pots and huts that you can hike to in the area around Gstaad, we have marked them all on our map above or you can check out the Fondue Rucksack website for more information.
We picked up our backpack from the Molkerei Schönried in Schönried, just a short 10 minute train ride from Gstaad, then walked a short way up to the Fondue Caquelon Schlittmoos, a giant fondue pot you can sit in to have your own fondue.
We highly recommend grabbing some wine from the Coop in Gstaad, (it is near the station), before setting out on your fondue hike, as it is goes down rather nicely with some delicious melty cheese and some incredible views.
In the summer months they also offer raclette backpacks as well as fondue backpacks, (it is basically all the same thing just a different way to cook the cheese).
Where to stay in Château d’Oex
We can highly recommend staying at Chalet Nostalgie during your weekend in Château d’Oex. Not only is the house incredibly cosy and perfect for anyone’s stay, with multiple bedrooms and a central fire place, (you can use the wood from the cellar to keep the place toasty in the winter!), but you get views over the balloon festival, (if visiting during January), and the owner is the friendliest most helpful person you will meet! Just be sure to book well in advance here as it is often unavailable, especially during the hot air balloon festival.
There are also a few other accommodation options in Château d’Oex which you can find on the map below.
Where to eat in Château d’Oex
There are numerous locations to eat in Châteux d’Oex, but our favourites include the following:
🍴 Early Beck Boulanger Confiseur – a small bakery perfect for grabbing breakfast of a snack for lunch
🍴 Le Chalet – Swiss restaurant near the train station perfect for dinner but be sure to reserve!
🍴 Au Montagnard – if you want traditional fondue this is the place to go
🍴 Au Relais – a lovely pizza restaurant great for lunch or dinner
🍴 Caribou Bar Lounge – burgers, rostis and tarte flambee, all in a cute town square.
If you would rather save a little money, then there is a Coop supermarket near the train station where you can buy anything you need for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We can highly recommend grabbing some local vin cuit meringues here if you haven’t tried them elsewhere – they are delicious!
Weekend In Château d’Oex Itinerary FAQs
Where is Château d’Oex?
Château d’Oex is located in the Vaud canton in southern Switzerland, between Lac Leman and Gstaad.
Is Château d’Oex worth visiting?
Château d’Oex is most definitely worth visiting, especially in the in winter and over the Château d’Oex Balloon Festival. Even if you aren’t visiting in the winter though, this little village is a wonderful place to visit and learn about the history of ballooning in Switzerland.
What is the Château d’Oex Balloon Festival?
The Château d’Oex Balloon Festival is an annual hot air balloon festival that take place for a week in January. It is the one and only place in Switzerland that celebrates hot air ballooning, and even more special due to the fact that it is a snowy winter ballooning festival.
Conclusion: The Perfect Long Weekend In Château d’Oex Itinerary
So there you have our guide on how to spend a long weekend in Château d’Oex. With day trips to nearby Gstaad and Glacier 3000, as well as some delicious local cuisine on offer, what more could you want from a Châteux d’Oex itinerary?
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Gemma Tedaldi
Gemma is the owner and author of The Travelling Tedaldi, a travel blog helping travellers to discover the best road trips and travel itineraries throughout the UK and Europe. When she isn’t writing about her favourite travel destinations, she can often be found out exploring local hikes or planning future trips.