Villars Ski Map: Reading the Piste Map and Ski Sectors
Learn how to read the Villars ski map, tell the Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets sectors apart, and check live lift and piste status before you set out.
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The Villars ski map is the starting point for any day on the Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets domain, and its most useful feature is also the one most often misread: the area is published as three sectors, each based around its own village, rather than one undifferentiated block of terrain. The official overview describes the domain as comprising three sectors totalling over 130 km of slopes, reached by the BVB train, gondolas and chairlifts.
That sector structure shapes every planning decision, from which lift you board first to whether a link between villages is running. This guide walks through the official interactive and 3D map, what its winter and summer views include, what the downloadable version is for, and how to check live lift status before you commit to a route.
Why the Villars Ski Map Is Really a Three-Sector Map
Villars, Gryon and Les Diablerets each anchor their own sector, and the piste map reflects that by grouping slopes around the village from which they are normally accessed. The tourism overview lists the Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets domain as one of three ski areas in the Alpes Vaudoises, alongside Leysin-Les Mosses-La Lécherette and Glacier 3000. Treating the map as a single continuous domain is the most common planning mistake, because sector geography determines where you start and how much of the day is spent moving between villages.
For practical purposes, pick the sector that matches your base and your ability before you look at individual runs. If you want to sample more than one sector, the map's lift and connection layer tells you which links are needed to move between them, and those links are exactly the elements most likely to be affected by wind or maintenance on a given day. Plan one primary sector and treat any second sector as a bonus rather than a fixed commitment.
The Official Interactive and 3D Map: Winter and Summer Views
Télé-Villars-Gryon-Diablerets SA publishes an interactive trail map with winter and summer modes, plus a 3D view and a download option. The interactive version is the better tool for planning because you can zoom into a specific sector and follow the lift lines that serve it, while the summer layer changes the picture entirely and is irrelevant to a winter ski day. Use the winter view for any snow-season planning.
The download exists so you can carry the map with you rather than relying on a connection on the mountain. Download it before you travel and check it against the live status tools on the day, since a downloaded file is a snapshot and will not reflect a lift that has closed or a link that has been re-routed. TVGD also offers an app covering maps, activities, weather updates and real-time lift information.
Reading the Layers: Slopes, Lifts and Sector Connections
The map distinguishes ski slopes by difficulty, lift lines by type, and the connections between sectors, so read it in that order. The official description also notes beginner areas and a snowpark among the features shown, which matters if your group has mixed abilities and you need to know whether a beginner zone sits near your sector's main lift base. Identifying those zones first prevents a plan that strands less confident skiers at the wrong end of the domain.
Treat under-slope ratings as planning symbols rather than guarantees: the TVGD map legend defines what each colour means, and a marked run is only usable when it is open. Long runs such as the Willy Favre are named in the Alpes Vaudoises tourism overview as an example of the domain's expert terrain, but the map is the place to see how that run connects to the lift system on your chosen day. If a sector link is closed, expect to fall back on village-level lifts.
What the Villars Map Does Not Cover
Glacier 3000 and Leysin-Les Mosses-La Lécherette are separate ski areas within the Alpes Vaudoises, not extensions of the Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets domain. The tourism overview lists all three as distinct areas with their own pass links, and there is no indication of a continuous on-snow connection between them. If you want a day at Glacier 3000 or in the Leysin area, you need that area's own map and its own pass terms.
Pass boundaries deserve the same scrutiny as terrain boundaries. The published Magic Pass material from Alpes Vaudoises shows a Magic Pass relationship across the three areas, but inclusion text of that kind is dated and should not be read as a statement of current entitlements, so check the terms for your travel dates directly with Télé-Villars-Gryon-Diablerets SA or the Alpes Vaudoises tourism office before assuming a ticket covers a particular area. Ask specifically whether the area you plan to ski is included in the product you are buying.
Checking Live Status Before You Commit
A piste map shows what exists; it does not show what is turning today. The Alpes Vaudoises tourist office publishes live information for each ski area and TVGD supplies webcams, weather and app-based lift updates, which together form the status stack you should check on the morning of your ski day. Look at webcams for the sector you plan to use rather than the domain as a whole, because conditions and lift operations vary between villages.
Scheduled winter operation is conditional, so build a fallback into your plan: identify a second sector or a lower village-level area that would still work if your first choice is limited. Check opening hours and dates with Télé-Villars-Gryon-Diablerets SA for your specific travel window, since a published season is not a promise that every lift, link or piste will run on any given day. The same caution applies to the snowpark and beginner zones shown on the map.
A Practical Planning Sequence
Start with the sector decision, then the lift sequence, then the status check. Open the official interactive map, switch to winter, and locate the base lifts for Villars, Gryon or Les Diablerets depending on where you are staying and which terrain you want. Mark the connections you would need to cross sectors and decide in advance whether that crossing is essential or optional for your group.
Next, sort out the practical terms that the map cannot answer: current pass validity for your dates, whether the areas you want sit inside one product, and what TVGD publishes about opening hours. Then check live status and webcams on the day. For a wider look at how these sectors fit into a trip, the resort guide covers the domain beyond map-reading; the same discipline of separating sector geography from live status applies to any ski map you use, as our Andermatt piste Map guide shows for a very different Swiss domain.
Plan Your Visit
Read the Villars ski map as three village sectors with connections between them, not as one continuous area. Use the winter view of the official interactive map to identify your base lifts and the links you would need, then treat those links as conditional on the day rather than fixed.
Keep Glacier 3000 and Leysin-Les Mosses-La Lécherette on separate maps and separate pass questions, and check current terms, opening hours and entitlements with Télé-Villars-Gryon-Diablerets SA and the Alpes Vaudoises tourism office before you travel. With the sector plan set and the live status checked, the map does its job.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Villars ski map the same as the Glacier 3000 map?
No. Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets and Glacier 3000 are listed as separate ski areas within the Alpes Vaudoises, so each has its own map. A Villars map will not help you plan a day at Glacier 3000; use that area's own map and check its pass terms separately.
What does the Villars piste map download include?
The download is published alongside the interactive and 3D maps and covers slopes and lifts, including connections between sectors. It is a snapshot, so pair it with the webcams and app-based lift updates for status on the day.
Where can I check which Villars lifts are running?
Webcams, weather information and an app with real-time lift information are provided, and the regional tourism site links live information for each ski area. Check the sector you actually plan to ski, since operations can differ between Villars, Gryon and Les Diablerets.
Does the Villars ski map cover Gryon and Les Diablerets?
Yes. Villars, Gryon and Les Diablerets are the three sectors that make up the Villars-Gryon-Les Diablerets domain shown on the map. What the map does not cover is the separately managed Glacier 3000 and Leysin-Les Mosses-La Lécherette areas.
Sources
Useful notes for your next ski trip
Optional updates to our Alpine resort guides.
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