Living and Housing
Whether you decide to settle down in the French or German speaking part of the canton, in a cozy mountain village or a vibrant valley town, there are multiple opportunities to suit every need and lifestyle. Unlike urban centers such as Zürich or Geneva, our beautiful canton enjoys a low cost of living. Learn more about the different municipalities in the Valais.
This is also reflected in the broad, affordable housing on offer. From temporary accommodation, renting an apartment or buying your own real-estate, you can find a broad choice of housing options here.
Across the Valais and in Visp in particular, public transport connections are excellent and reliable, making it easy to reach from the Canton of Bern. Lonza Visp grants all commuting employees a generous travel allowance (75% of travel costs). Learn more about our employee benefits.
Sport, Leisure and Activities
The Valais is often called the sun centre of Switzerland, as the mild and dry climate of our region brings an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. This makes the Valais a paradise for a variety of outdoor sports and leisure activities. The people of the Valais are passionate about their fantastic mountain landscape and love the vast choice of outdoor activities – among them hiking, climbing, cycling, downhill skiing and ski-touring, snowshoeing or simply relaxing in the soothing thermal spas of the region.
At Lonza in Visp, we encourage our employees to take part in different activities as part of the “Lonza Makes You Fit” program.
What we offer:
Sports and Nature
- 2,000 km of snow-guaranteed ski slopes in the highest-altitude ski areas of Switzerland
- More than 8,000 km of hiking trails amidst breathtaking alpine landscape
- A vast network of 1,600 km mountain bike and cycling trails connecting cultural and scenic attractions
- Mountaineering, climbing and ski touring in the breathtaking Valais mountains, with 45 peaks over 4,000 metres
- Spa region with thermal springs from the mountains to relax and unwind
Arts and Culture
- Internationally-renowned art at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny
- UNESCO world heritage site visitor center and other museums giving an insight into the unique natural, cultural and historical heritage of Valais
- Internationally recognized cultural events such as the Leukerbad literary festival or the Zermatt or Saas-Fee classic music festival
- Popular music festivals such as the Open Air Gampel or Zermatt Unplugged
- Local traditions such as carnival processions and alpine festivals
Food and drink
- Culinary Valais: local delicacies such as raclette, rye bread and dried meats, Abricotine, saffron and many more
- Haut cuisine: 75 GaultMillau-rated restaurants
- Apéro time: discover a huge variety of local specialty wines including Cornalin and Petite Arvine
Language and Culture
People in the Valais are characterized by their down-to-earth outlook and sociability, kindness and strength of character and are proud of local traditions and customs. The German-speaking people of Upper Valais (approximately 80,000) are especially proud of their local dialect “Walliser Deutsch”. This fairly complicated dialect might be hard to comprehend at first, but Valais people are generally also fluent in one of the two official languages of the canton (German and French). Because of the tourism industry in the Valais, English as a second language is also quite common.
The Valais is known for its strong communities, which have an open-minded, multinational character. Opportunities for celebrations and social gatherings are a key part of the local culture with Carnival being one of the biggest events in the Valais calendar at the end of Winter. In the summer, alpine festivals such as cattle drives and cow fighting are a regular feature on the calendar.
Family Life
The Valais is a very family friendly canton and excellent place to bring up children. The outdoor lifestyle and vast choice of sports and leisure activities are all great for kids and families can benefit from high-performing schools and high-quality healthcare. In addition, the cost of living is lower than in many other parts of Switzerland.