Leysin

It looks like back in the 1930's hotels sprang up on the steep hillsides of Leysin with another building boom taking place in the 1950/1960's. Today, Leysin with its dated buildings and few new ones, looks like a town in a time warp. Many of the former hotel buildings have been converted into school buildings or dorms for students. An American school (high school) has created a good-sized campus on the hillside. There's also a Japanese school and an American university. The biggest and grandest hotel in Leysin (formerly the Palace Hotel), is now home to a Swiss hotel management school. Thanks to a hazy light fog, the valley floor isn't visible in this photo. Downtown shopping streets aren't much to brag about with few choices. This is the spiffy exterior of a restaurant in the village area. Judging from looking into the windows of empty storefronts, there used to be an artist colony here. Horseback riding takes place here. Here's the ski lift.