Nicknamed "The Resort of the Stars", this village in the Val d'Anniviers focuses on astronomy, with its François-Xavier Bagnoud Observatory and its Planet Trail.

The oldest part of the village lies at an altitude of 1650m, 7km from Vissoie, where all the roads in the Val d'Anniviers cross. A funicular links it to Tignousa, near the astronomical observatory, perched at an altitude of 2200m.

The whole of the old village is devoted to astronomy, with numerous educational panels that are often surprising and amusing. The meeting of old traditional chalets and the search for extraterrestrial life might seem incongruous, but the charm works straight away.

The François-Xavier Bagnoud Observatory organises astronomical evenings and sun observations in summer and winter, subject to prior registration. More info: www.ofxb.ch.

Starting in Tignousa, the "Chemin des Planètes" (Planets' Trail) offers an educational and fun way to discover the planets of the Solar System, where every metre walked represents 1 million km. Allow 3 to 4 hours for the round trip from Earth to Neptune!

Although the village has only 300 permanent residents, it offers more than 6,000 tourist beds and, in winter, it becomes a ski resort linked to the Chandolin resort to form a ski area comprising 12 ski facilities (ski lifts, chairlifts, funicular) and 65 kilometres of pistes.

Useful links

Swiss Canton of Valais - Wikipedia