La Chotte, the Secret of Arolla

Some places are never found in guidebooks; they are passed on. La Chotte is one of them: a small high-altitude bar perched at 2,166 metres above Arolla, which the regulars rather keep to themselves. You come for the view, for the sun on the terrace, and for that rare feeling of having found a place nobody sold you.

What is a chotte?

The word deserves a word of its own, for it is very much from these parts. In French-speaking Switzerland — and the Valais in particular — a « chotte » is a shelter where you take cover when the rain or snow begins to fall: a rough-and-ready alpine refuge in which you simply wait for the weather to pass. La Chotte of Arolla holds to that spirit — a plain, unfussy spot whose charm lies precisely in never trying to be anything more.

At 2,166 metres, the insiders’ terrace

Run by Cyril and Ambre, La Chotte is that mountain bar where you settle in between two runs, after a ski tour on sealskins, on the way back from a long hike, or simply to bask in the sun for a whole afternoon. There are good snacks, something to drink, and above all a view that needs no commentary. The mood is convivial, a little playful, entirely unpretentious — the place locals choose when they want to keep to their own.

You don’t go to La Chotte for what you order, but for the time you let slip away there — facing the peaks, with no reason at all to head back down.

Getting there from the hotel

The best part is that you reach La Chotte without a car. From the Grand Hôtel & Kurhaus, the path slips into the lovely forest of larches and Swiss stone pines, climbs gently among the trees, and opens onto the terrace in under thirty minutes. It is a contemplative walk rather than an ascent, set in mountain scenery that is more than enough to hold the eye. In winter you strap on snowshoes or skis as you please; in summer, sturdy shoes are all you need.

It is exactly the kind of outing the hotel makes an ideal base for: set off on foot after the morning coffee, linger up there as long as you like, and come back down for tea in the lounge. A pocket of pure mountain, just outside the door.

The rest, we’ll let you discover up there, glass in hand and feet in the sun. #lostintimeinArolla