A VERY LIVELY SCENE FROM LATE AFTERNOON RIGHT THROUGH TO THE EARLY HOURS

Apres-ski is taken seriously in Saas Fee and there are plenty of bars to suit all ages and tastes. As the lifts start to close, so the crowds start to build up at places such as the Zur Muhle, just beside the slopes, which has an animated terrace by the roadside and a cosy, dark interior and the Black Bull, just next to the Boccalino Pizzeria, which has a huge sundeck and lively music from a live DJ. The Iglu Bar is not in fact an igloo, but rather a wooden construction of a subterranean nature with wood chippings on the floor. It is very popular in the early part of the winter and also opens during the daytime in really bad weather.

The most popular après-ski spot in Sass Fee is unquestionably Nesti’s Ski Bar, run by a local ex-racer. On my last visit I tried to gain entry at 5.30, 7.30, 9.30, 11.30 and 12.30, but on each occasion the place was so packed with people having fun that I simply could not get beyond the front door.

The Metro Bar is a jolly little cavern-like drinks bar with some of the tables and chairs suspended from the ceiling on chains. Beneath the Metro is the Poison nightclub. The successor to the famed Go-Inn bar, this continues to be a lively, packed, sweaty bar popular with the younger set, with drinks themed around various categories of poison. The Holzwurm is another subterranean place with pool tables. The live music on my last visit was execrable, but the ambience was good, nevertheless. The Music Club in the Grand Hotel Metropol is another place with pool tables, while the Western Saloon in the same building has good entertainment.

Snowboarders and the trend-conscious will undoubtedly head for the Popcorn Bar/Shop beneath the Hotel Dom. During the day the shop and the bar are one entity, but in the evening the snowboard display retracts on rails and is locked up. Then the place becomes a very busy bar with occasional live music.

Those in search of a more grown-up après-ski ambience should head for the Walliserhof’s smart new Art Club disco/nightclub or the Whisky Bar of the Metropol.