TL;DR: A 70-minute self-guided walk through Sion, the capital of Valais and one of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in Switzerland. Explore the twin hilltop fortresses of Valere and Tourbillon, hear the oldest playable organ in the world, wander through 7,000 years of history, and taste the wines grown on the sun-drenched hillsides of the Rhone valley.
Tour Overview
| Duration | ~70 minutes (walking + narration) |
| Distance | ~4 km |
| Stops | 7 |
| Difficulty | Moderate to challenging (steep uphill climbs to both hilltop sites) |
| Start | Sion train station |
| End | Rue du Grand-Pont / Old Town |
| Best Time | Morning or late afternoon for light; avoid midday heat in summer, as the Rhone valley is the driest region in Switzerland |
| Accessibility | Old Town is mostly flat; the climbs to Valere and Tourbillon are steep with uneven surfaces and require good mobility |
Introduction
[Duration: 2 minutes]
Welcome to Sion, or Sitten in German. This is your ch.tours audio guide, and for the next 70 minutes, we are going to walk through one of the most ancient and dramatically situated towns in all of Switzerland.
Sion sits in the heart of the Rhone valley, flanked by two rocky hills that rise like sentinels above the flat valley floor. On one hill stands the Basilica of Valere, a fortified church dating to the 12th century that contains the oldest playable organ in the world. On the other stands the ruined castle of Tourbillon, a medieval fortress destroyed by fire in 1788 and never rebuilt. Together, these twin peaks create one of the most iconic skylines in Switzerland -- visible from kilometers away as you approach through the valley.
But Sion's history goes far deeper than the Middle Ages. Archaeological excavations have revealed continuous human habitation here for at least 7,000 years. Neolithic settlers farmed this valley around 5000 BC. The Celts built a settlement here. The Romans established a town they called Sedunum. And in the early Middle Ages, the Bishop of Sion became one of the most powerful lords in the western Alps, ruling the Valais as both spiritual leader and temporal prince.
Sion is also the capital of a wine region. The Rhone valley around Sion is the driest place in Switzerland, receiving less than 600 millimeters of rainfall per year. The south-facing slopes above the town are terraced with vineyards that produce some of Switzerland's most distinctive wines, including Fendant, the local name for Chasselas, and rare indigenous varieties like Petite Arvine, Amigne, and Cornalin that grow almost nowhere else in the world.
This is a walk through deep time, from the Neolithic to the 21st century, through a landscape shaped by geology, faith, power, and wine. Let us begin.
Stop 1: Sion Station and the Approach
GPS: 46.2328°N, 7.3596°E Duration: 4 minutes
[Narration]
Step out of Sion's station and look north. The two hills are immediately visible, rising about 120 meters above the valley floor. The hill on the left, with the church and fortified walls, is Valere. The hill on the right, with the romantic ruin on top, is Tourbillon. Between them, a saddle of lower ground is covered with the rooftops of the Old Town.
Sion has been the capital of the canton of Valais since 1848, and today it is a city of about 35,000 people. But the valley around it has been inhabited for millennia. The Rhone valley offered everything early settlers needed: a flat, fertile flood plain for agriculture, elevated positions for defense, a river for transport and irrigation, and a climate that was warmer and drier than the mountain regions on either side.
The name Sion is believed to derive from the Celtic word Sedunum, which may relate to the Celtic Seduni tribe that inhabited the region before the Roman conquest. The Romans took control of the Valais in the 1st century BC, and Sedunum became an important way station on the route over the Great St. Bernard Pass to the Aosta Valley and Italy. This route, one of the oldest Alpine crossings, was used by Celtic traders, Roman legions, and medieval pilgrims for centuries.
Look at the valley floor stretching in both directions. The Rhone River, which rises at the Rhone Glacier about 90 kilometers to the east, flows through this broad valley on its way to Lake Geneva. The valley is remarkably straight -- a geological trench carved by glaciers and maintained by the river -- and it creates a natural corridor that has been used as a transport route since prehistoric times.
Walk now toward the Old Town. Head north along Avenue de la Gare, the main boulevard, and after about 400 meters you will reach Place du Midi, the gateway to the historical center.
Stop 2: Place du Midi and the Old Town
GPS: 46.2340°N, 7.3597°E Duration: 5 minutes
[Narration]
Place du Midi is one of Sion's main squares, and it serves as the transition point between the modern city and the medieval Old Town. The square is lined with cafes and shops, and on Friday mornings it hosts a large open-air market that has been operating in various forms since the Middle Ages.
Turn right and walk along Rue du Grand-Pont, the principal street of the Old Town. Despite its name -- Grand Pont means Great Bridge -- there is no bridge here anymore. The street takes its name from a medieval bridge that once spanned the river Sionne, a small tributary of the Rhone that used to flow through the center of town. The Sionne was covered over in the 19th century and now flows underground beneath the street. You are literally walking on top of a buried river.
The buildings along Rue du Grand-Pont and in the surrounding Old Town date primarily from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Look for the elaborate wrought-iron signs hanging from the facades -- they mark the locations of historic inns, shops, and guild halls. The architecture is distinctly Valaisan: thick stone walls built to withstand earthquakes, which are more common in the Valais than in most of Switzerland, and deep window reveals designed to keep out the intense summer sun.
Sion's Old Town is compact and walkable, but every few steps bring a new layer of history. Roman foundations underlie medieval walls, which support Renaissance facades, which are topped by 19th-century additions. The Archaeological Museum on Rue des Chateaux, which we will pass on our way to Valere, houses finds spanning the full 7,000-year sweep of human presence here, from Neolithic pottery and stone tools to Roman bronzes and medieval jewelry.
One building worth noting as you walk is the Hotel de Ville, the Town Hall, on Rue du Grand-Pont. Built in the 17th century, it features an astronomical clock and a beautifully carved stone entrance. Inside, a Roman inscription from the 4th century AD is embedded in the wall, a physical reminder that this street has been the center of civic life for nearly 2,000 years.
Walk now to the east end of Rue du Grand-Pont and turn left onto Rue des Chateaux. This steep lane leads uphill toward both Valere and Tourbillon.
Stop 3: The Climb to Valere
GPS: 46.2333°N, 7.3625°E Duration: 4 minutes
[Narration]
You are climbing Rue des Chateaux, and the path steepens as you approach the saddle between the two hills. This is the ancient route to the fortified church, worn smooth by centuries of pilgrims, priests, and soldiers.
Pause here and look at the landscape around you. The hillsides above the Old Town are covered with vineyards, and this is no accident. The Rhone valley around Sion has the most favorable climate for viticulture in Switzerland. The combination of intense sunshine -- Sion averages over 2,000 hours of sunshine per year -- low rainfall, and the foehn wind that funnels warm, dry air down the valley creates conditions that would not be out of place in the south of France.
The vineyards are planted on terraces cut into the rocky hillside, supported by dry stone walls called murgiers that have been built and maintained for centuries. The steepest vineyards, those directly above the town, are so precipitous that they can only be worked by hand. Tractors cannot operate on the slopes, and the grapes must be carried down in baskets or lowered by cable. It is backbreaking work, but the wines that result from these extreme vineyards are among the most distinctive in Europe.
The signature white grape of the region is Fendant, which is the local Valaisan name for Chasselas. Fendant is a light, dry, mineral wine that is the traditional accompaniment to raclette -- the melted cheese dish that is the Valais national food. But the real treasures of Valaisan viticulture are the indigenous varieties: Petite Arvine, a white grape that produces wines of extraordinary complexity; Amigne, grown almost exclusively in the commune of Vetroz, a few kilometers west of Sion; Humagne Rouge and Cornalin, red grapes that produce deep, rustic wines unlike anything you will find elsewhere in the world.
Continue climbing. The path splits ahead -- left to Valere, right to Tourbillon. We will go left first, to the basilica.
Stop 4: Basilica of Valere
GPS: 46.2318°N, 7.3648°E Duration: 8 minutes
[Narration]
The Basilica of Valere is one of the most remarkable religious buildings in Switzerland, and it contains a treasure that exists nowhere else in the world: the oldest playable organ on Earth.
The church was built between the 12th and 13th centuries as the church of the cathedral chapter -- the community of canons who served the Bishop of Sion. Unlike most churches, Valere was also a fortress. The thick walls, defensive towers, and fortified entrance that surround the church were not decorative; they were functional military architecture. The canons of Valere needed protection because the political situation in medieval Sion was volatile. The bishop, the canons, the local nobility, and the citizens of the town were frequently at odds, and armed conflict was not uncommon. Building your church inside a castle was a practical precaution.
Step inside the basilica. The interior is a Romanesque nave with Gothic additions, and the atmosphere is one of austere beauty. The walls retain fragments of medieval frescoes, some dating to the 13th century, depicting biblical scenes and saints. The carved choir stalls, dating to the 17th century, are among the finest in the canton.
But the glory of Valere is the organ. Mounted high on the wall of the nave, this instrument dates to approximately 1430, making it the oldest playable organ in the world. Let that distinction settle for a moment. This instrument has been producing music for nearly 600 years. It was already old when Columbus sailed. It was already ancient when Mozart was born.
The organ has four registers and a manual keyboard with a short octave. The pipes are Gothic in design, and the painted wing panels that protect them when not in use depict scenes of the Annunciation and the Virgin Mary. Musicologists come from around the world to study and play this instrument, and during the annual International Festival of the Organ in Valere, held each summer since 1969, concerts are performed on the instrument using music from the period when it was built. Hearing 15th-century music played on a 15th-century organ in a 12th-century church is one of those experiences that transcends tourism and enters the realm of genuine pilgrimage.
The basilica complex also houses the Valere Museum, part of the Musee d'histoire du Valais, which traces the history of the canton from prehistoric times to the present. The collection includes medieval church furniture, liturgical objects, and the remarkable painted wooden ceiling panels from demolished Valaisan houses, which show a folk art tradition of vivid color and robust humor.
Walk out to the terrace below the church. The view from here encompasses the entire Rhone valley, from the peaks of the Bernese Alps to the north to the Pennine Alps to the south. On a clear day, you can see the pyramid of the Weisshorn and the distant bulk of the Matterhorn massif. Below you, the geometrically ordered vineyards and the grid of the modern city create a contrast with the wild mountain scenery that is quintessentially Valaisan.
[Transition to Stop 5]
Walk back down to the saddle between the two hills and take the right-hand path up to Tourbillon. The climb is steeper than the one to Valere, but shorter.
Stop 5: Chateau de Tourbillon
GPS: 46.2325°N, 7.3670°E Duration: 6 minutes
[Narration]
The Chateau de Tourbillon crowns the higher of Sion's two hills, and it is a magnificent ruin -- romantic, atmospheric, and deeply evocative of the turbulent history of this region.
The castle was built in 1294 by Bishop Boniface de Challant as the episcopal residence and the military stronghold of the Bishops of Sion. For nearly 500 years, it served as the seat of temporal power for the prince-bishops who ruled the Valais as both spiritual leaders and feudal lords. This dual role -- religious authority and political power combined in a single office -- made the bishops of Sion among the most powerful figures in the western Alps.
The castle you see is a ruin because of a catastrophic fire on May 24, 1788. A fire that broke out in the town below, driven by the fierce foehn wind that periodically sweeps through the Rhone valley, climbed the hillside and engulfed the castle. The blaze was so intense that the stone walls cracked, the wooden floors and roofs collapsed, and the entire interior was gutted. The castle was never rebuilt. The ruins were stabilized and gradually became the romantic ruin you see today -- walls without roofs, windows opening onto sky, staircases leading nowhere.
What survives is impressive. The outer walls and defensive towers still stand to nearly their full height, giving you a clear sense of the castle's scale and military purpose. The chapel, partially restored, retains fragments of 14th-century frescoes that are among the finest medieval wall paintings in the Valais. And the views from the summit are even more expansive than those from Valere -- a full 360-degree panorama that takes in the entire central Rhone valley.
The history of the bishops of Sion is a saga of power, conflict, and eventual decline. In the medieval period, the bishop was the sovereign lord of the Valais, holding his authority from the Holy Roman Emperor. He controlled the Great St. Bernard Pass, collected tolls and taxes, administered justice, and commanded an army. But the communes of the upper Valais gradually asserted their independence, and a series of wars between the bishop and the communes during the 14th and 15th centuries eroded episcopal power.
The most dramatic episode came in 1375, when the nobleman Antoine de la Tour led a revolt against Bishop Guichard Tavelli. The bishop was thrown from the window of Chateau de la Soie, a castle west of Sion, and killed. This act of defenestration -- echoing the later Defenestration of Prague -- marked a turning point in Valaisan politics. The communes gained increasing power, and by the 16th century, the bishop's temporal authority was largely nominal.
Tourbillon is best visited in the morning or late afternoon, when the sun illuminates the stone walls and the shadows create dramatic contrasts with the ruin. On summer evenings, when the castle is open late, watching the sun set from this hilltop is one of the great free experiences in the Valais.
[Transition to Stop 6]
Descend from Tourbillon and return to the Old Town. We will walk through the vineyards on the lower slopes, where the story of Sion's wine culture comes to life.
Stop 6: The Vineyards of Sion
GPS: 46.2335°N, 7.3610°E Duration: 5 minutes
[Narration]
You are walking through the vineyards that cover the hillsides below Valere and Tourbillon, and these terraced slopes represent one of the oldest wine-growing traditions in Switzerland.
Wine has been made in the Rhone valley for at least 2,000 years. The Romans cultivated grapes here, and the tradition was maintained through the Middle Ages by the monasteries and the cathedral chapter. The first documented mention of wine production in the Valais dates to the 9th century, but the practice is certainly much older.
The Valais is Switzerland's largest wine-producing canton, accounting for about one-third of the country's total wine production. The vineyards extend along the Rhone valley from Visp in the east to Martigny in the west, a distance of about 50 kilometers, and they are among the highest vineyards in Europe, with some plots reaching above 1,100 meters.
What makes Valaisan wine unique is the terroir -- that combination of soil, climate, and altitude that gives wine its distinctive character. The valley floor is composed of alluvial deposits from the Rhone, but the hillside vineyards grow in thin, rocky soil over schist and gneiss bedrock. The foehn wind, which blows warm and dry from the south, ripens the grapes fully and prevents fungal diseases. The intense sunshine provides energy, while the cool mountain nights preserve acidity and freshness.
The result is wines of startling character. Petite Arvine, the queen of Valaisan white grapes, produces wines with an intense mineral quality and a distinctive saline finish -- tasters often describe it as having a hint of salt, a rarity in white wine. Heida, also known as Paien or Savagnin Blanc, thrives at high altitudes and produces rich, complex whites. Among the reds, Cornalin is deeply colored and rustic, while Humagne Rouge has an earthy, herbal quality that speaks directly of the mountain soil it grows in.
If you have time, stop at one of the caveaux -- wine tasting rooms -- in the Old Town. The Cave de Tous-Vents, run by the cantonal wine museum, offers tastings of Valaisan wines and is an excellent introduction to the region's remarkable diversity.
Stop 7: The Cathedral and Old Town
GPS: 46.2340°N, 7.3610°E Duration: 5 minutes
[Narration]
Back in the Old Town, we end our walk at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame du Glarier, the seat of the Bishop of Sion and one of the oldest dioceses in Switzerland.
The current cathedral dates primarily from the 15th century, though fragments of earlier structures, including a Romanesque bell tower from the 12th century, are visible. The diocese of Sion was established in the 4th century AD, making it one of the oldest in the Alpine region. The bishop's jurisdiction once extended over the entire Valais, from the Rhone Glacier to Lake Geneva, and his authority was both spiritual and temporal.
Inside the cathedral, the atmosphere is one of austere grandeur. The nave is a late Gothic hall church, with pointed arches and ribbed vaults. The most notable feature is the collection of Romanesque carved capitals in the cloister, which depict biblical scenes, animals, and decorative motifs with a naive energy that contrasts with the formal architecture.
The area around the cathedral, known as the episcopal quarter, contains several buildings of historic interest, including the Maison Supersaxo, a grand Renaissance house built in 1505 by Georges Supersaxo, a powerful local nobleman who was one of the most colorful figures in Valaisan history. The house's ceiling, a spectacular carved and painted wooden masterpiece depicting the Nativity, is one of the finest examples of late Gothic decorative art in Switzerland and is open to public viewing.
Sion's Old Town is best experienced at a leisurely pace. The narrow lanes, the ancient stone walls, the vine-covered terraces, the scent of wine cellars -- everything here speaks of a long and complex history, layered like the geological strata of the mountains that surround it.
Conclusion
[Duration: 2 minutes]
Thank you for exploring Sion with ch.tours. You have just walked through 7,000 years of human history, from Neolithic settlements to the world's oldest organ, from medieval power struggles to modern viticulture.
Sion is a town that rewards repeat visits. The summer festival season brings concerts, theater, and art exhibitions to venues throughout the town, including performances on the Valere organ. The wine harvest in October transforms the hillsides into a blaze of gold and crimson, and the autumn light in the Rhone valley is some of the most beautiful in Switzerland.
If you are continuing your journey, the Valais offers extraordinary possibilities. The great Alpine peaks -- the Matterhorn, the Monte Rosa massif, the Grand Combin -- are all within reach. The thermal spas of Leukerbad are 30 minutes to the east. And the vineyards extend along the valley in both directions, offering wine trails that wind through some of the most scenic agricultural landscapes in Europe.
Before you leave, find a terrace in the Old Town, order a glass of Fendant and a plate of raclette, and raise your glass to the twin hills above you. Valere and Tourbillon have watched over this valley for centuries, through invasions and plagues, fires and floods, and the slow, patient turning of the seasons. They will still be there long after we are gone.
This has been your ch.tours audio guide to the Sion Historical Walk. Safe travels, and sante.