For other places with the same name, see Saint-Maurice (disambiguation).
Saint-Maurice is a cosy small town in Valais, Switzerland. It looks back on a long history, with the first mention in the year 200 as a Roman outpost. It is famous for its abbey. Its location where the Rhone valley narrows down into a canyon made it an important defence post throughout the history of the town and fortifications from the period of the Second World War and the infamous National Redoubt can still be visited today.
Get in
Direct trains with stops at major stations from Geneva and Brig arrive at Saint-Maurice hourly. Regional trains leave half hourly in direction Martigny and Monthey.
Saint-Maurice lies directly on the A9 motorway as well as on the regular main road. As the valley narrows down to below 100 metres, all the roads converge here and you are unlikely to miss the town.
Get around
See
- La Grotte aux fees, 46.223056°, 7.001667°, +41 24 485 10 45. 15 March - 15 November: 10:00-17:00. The Fairy’s Cave, first tourist cave opened to the public in Switzerland with 504-m-long gallery and 77-m-high waterfall inside. Fr. 9/6 2016-11-02
- Abbey, 46.219444°, 7.003333°. Tu-F 10:00-17:30, Sa Su 13:30-17:30. Having celebrated its 1500th anniversary in 2015, it is said to be the longest-run Catholic monastery in the world. While the monastery cannot be visited, the Basilique, the monastery treasure and an archeological site can be visited. Fr. 14/8 2016-03-29
- Chapelle Notre Dame du Scex, 46.21627°, 6.99751°. Situated in the cliff which dominates the village, open 24 hours. To get there you need to climb around 500 steps. 2016-10-04
- Fortifications, 46.2083°, 7.02361°. There are several fortifications from the period of the Second World War and the cold war. They were decommissioned in 1995 and can now be visited. Fr. 12-20 2016-07-13
- Saint-Maurice Castle, route du Chablais 1, 46.223261°, 7.003109°. Tu-Sa 13:30-18:00, Su 11:00-17:00. Fr. 10/5 2016-10-04
Do
Visit Lavey Spa & Resort - thermal baths with two outdoor pools, one indoor pool that maintain a temperature of 32°C to 36°C and are open all year round Su-Th 09:00-21:00, Friday – Saturday 09:00-22:00. Entrance fee for pools only: €16 for 3 hours. The baths are placed 2 km away from the village, it is possible to book a room in the complex.
Buy
Eat
During low season the major part of restaurants is closed, the kitchen of those that are open works till 21:00, near Lavey Spa there is a restaurant/pizzeria with flashing sign that is open in the evenings and serves wonderful fondues.
- Le Philosophe, Avenue d'Agaune 3, 46.21755°, 7.00360°, +41 24 485 22 03. Nice restaurant in the middle of town. The daily set menu at Fr. 18 with salad and soup is good value. Fr. 20-40 for mains 2016-12-13
Sleep
- Hotel La Dent-du-Midi, 46.21696°, 7.00461°. Avenue du Simplon 1, a small family run hotel with marvelous views over the mountains. It is advisable to book apartments on the 3d floor (Nr. 41 and 42). They have two rooms, a big bathroom and a big balcony with a table and chairs.