Fondue in the Sky

As many of us are aware, skiing has been a popular sport in the Alps since the 19th Century. Next season will see one of the oldest resorts turn 150; Villars will be celebrating the important anniversary by opening a fondue restaurant for one night only. A fondue restaurant, I hear you say, there must be a catch.

There is. This fondue restaurant is usually a gondola.

On the 25th of February 2017, the Fondue in the Sky restaurant will open for the evening. Catering to 360 people, the restaurant will offer seating for groups of six in each cabin. Guests for the evening will be taken on two full rotations of the lift, with the speeds slowed right down to make the dinner last an hour and 45 minutes.

The dinner will include a three course meal looking out over spectacular views of Mont Blanc, and will cost CHF85 for adults and CHF70 for under 16s. Taking place in the Roc d’Orsay lift, whose 60 cabins will be transformed into 60 private dining rooms, diners will enjoy charcuterie, fondue and dessert while drinking kirsch and white wine.

With their choice of birthday celebration, Villars becomes the latest in a string of repurposed lifts including last year’s restaurant in the Vanoise Express cable car. In that instance, the diners were suspended between Les Arc and La Plagne while Michelin-starred chef Stephane Froidevaux prepared luxury cuisine. Last year also saw the Saulire cable car in Courchevel transformed into a one bedroom apartment for the night.

Sitting on a sunny hillside overlooking the Rhone valley, Villars is historically one of Europe’s prime resorts. Popular in the 20s and 30s, the famous mountain cog railway was built in 1913. It was joined by the first ski lift in 1936. In the years since the resort was first established, Villars has become a charming village for families and second home owners.

Check out Fondue in the Sky for yourself if eating fondue while hanging in a metal box, looking out over Mont Blanc, seems like your thing.