Siders (French: Sierre), pleasantly situated on a number of hills and nestling among vineyards, is a small town in the Valais blessed with a great deal of sunshine. Wine-growing and cultural events are both of great importance here. Thanks to its central position, Siders is also an ideal starting point for lots of excursions.

Siders is advantageously positioned on the border between Upper and Lower Valais and on the language border between French and German. The Romans called it "the town of a hundred hills". On some of these hills, castles and fortresses were built and settlements grew up round about them. Today, these settlements have joined together to form the little town of Siders. At its heart are the richly decorated Town Hall and the picturesque Rue du Bourg, lined with historic houses and the parish church of Ste-Catherine.

Many artists have fallen in love with the location and culture of the town. Perhaps the most well-known of them was Rainer Maria Rilke, who was so enthusiastic about the town and its surroundings that he lived here from 1921 until he died in 1926. There is a museum dedicated to the Austrian writer.

The area around Siders and Sitten is one of Switzerland's most important wine-growing regions. The Fendant, made of the Chasselas grape, is the most famous product of the Valais. The equivalent for red wines is the Dôle from Pinot Noir grapes. If you take the Vineyard Trail, (which links the two sites of the Valais Wine and Vineyard Museum), you will learn more about the region's fine wines.

On a sunny terrace immediately above Siders lie the twin resorts of Crans-Montana, forming one of the main winter sports centres of the Valais. In summer, Crans-Montana, with its three golf courses, is especially popular with golfers.

It is worth making an excursion to the Eifischtal (Val d'Anniviers) to the south of Siders, to see the spick-and-span little mountain villages such as Chandolin, Grimentz or Zinal with their weathered wooden Walser-style houses. Zinal, furthest up the valley, is the starting point for long-distance hiking tours in the high mountains.

Just 15 km away is the canton capital Sitten (French: Sion) with its two hilltop castles, and the fortified church of Notre-Dame-de-Valère crowning the Valère hill. The spa town of Leukerbad and the wild Turtmann Valley are also worth a visit.

Highlights

• Sierre/Salgesch wine-growing region – the wine museum of Château de Villa near Sierre and the Zumofen-Haus in Salgesch together make up the Wine and Vineyard Museum and are linked by a 6 km long themed walk.
  
• Rainer Maria Rilke Museum – in the Maison de Courten. Rilke (1875-1926) spent the last years of his life in the medieval stone tower called the Château de Muzot.
  
• Happyland theme park – enjoy a day full of adventure in Switzerland's biggest theme park, in Granges between Siders and Sitten.
  
• Underground cave lake of St-Léonard – Europe's largest underground lake is between Siders and Sitten.
  
• Eifischtal (Val d'Anniviers) – charming side valley with many unspoilt mountain villages such as Zinal or Grimentz with their weathered wooden Walser-style houses.
  
• Pfynwald – Europe's largest pine forest, included since 1998 in the federal inventory of landscapes and natural monuments of national importance.