How Non-Swiss Residents Can Own in the Swiss Alps For $100,000 Dear International Living Reader, Cows with tinkling bells around their necks…chalets with firewood already stacked up outside for winter…magnificent alpine views in all directions. I don't know where to look! The two-carriage electrified train that hauls its way up from Bex into the mountains isn't listed as one of Switzerland's great railway journeys, but maybe it should be. I'm still in French-speaking western Switzerland, but now 4,200 feet up in the Alps, at Villars-sur-Ollon. This charming village attracts skiers in winter and ramblers in summer, but as resorts go, it's very low key. Certainly not a party resort. From the center of the village it's like looking out from a balcony--before you is a whole range of mountains including the jagged peaks of les Dents du Midi (The teeth of midday). When it's less hazy, I'm told you can see Mont Blanc in France. Villars-sur-Ollon has around 3,500 inhabitants and it's another place that foreigners who don't have Swiss residency permits can buy. The village has just about everything you could wish for: almost 300 miles of rambling paths, 146 ski lifts serving over 70 miles of piste including a link to the Les Diablerets glacier, ice-skating, a golf course, horse riding…there are even two international schools here. I spent a few hours being shown around by realtor Monsieur Michel Ernand of Gerance Service. I learnt that while Villars-sur-Ollon is low-key, it does have an air of exclusivity about it. The racing driver David Coulthard and Greek singer Nana Mousskori are just two of a number of celebrities who have bought here. "There are people who could certainly afford to buy in Gstaad, but they prefer Villars," said Mr Ernand. Starting price here is around $100,000 for a bijou studio, but you'll pay around $490,000 for a newly-built 1,100-square-foot chalet with a small garden. However, there are cheaper options in Gryon, a village below Villar-sur-Ollon. Foreigners can buy here, too. More details in the print edition of International Living. Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro-editor, International Living | 
