Relocation to Sion & Valais

Sion and the canton of Valais: geography and languages

Valais occupies the upper Rhone valley, running roughly east to west between the Bernese Alps and the Pennine Alps, with numerous side valleys branching off toward well-known resort areas. Sion sits close to the geographic and administrative centre of the canton, on the main road and rail axis that connects Lausanne and Geneva in the west to Brig and the Simplon in the east.

The canton is officially bilingual. French is the administrative and everyday language in Sion and throughout the central and lower Valais, while German is used in the Upper Valais, roughly from Leuk eastward. If your move involves a commune in the Upper Valais rather than Sion itself, expect German-language paperwork, school systems and local administration rather than French ones, and plan your own language preparation accordingly.

Finding housing in Sion and across the canton

Housing in Sion itself covers a mix of apartments in the historic centre, newer developments on the city's edges, and single-family homes in surrounding communes such as Sion's immediate periphery, Conthey or Savièse. As in most Swiss cities, rental demand is steady and viewings move quickly, so having your file ready - proof of income, references, extract from the debt collection register - before you start viewing matters.

Away from Sion, the picture changes. Resort communes in the side valleys operate a different market shaped by tourism and second-home ownership, with seasonal rental patterns and, in some cases, restrictions on second-home construction that affect what is available and to whom. If your work or family situation involves one of these areas rather than the valley floor, a local search needs to be adapted to that market rather than treated as an extension of Sion's.

Schools and childcare

Sion and the surrounding communes offer public schooling in French, following the canton's education system, with childcare structures (crèches and daycare) organised at communal level and often in demand well ahead of a start date. Families relocating to the Upper Valais will find the equivalent structures operating in German instead.

International and bilingual schooling options in Valais are more limited than in Geneva, Lausanne or Zurich, so families who need an English-language or international curriculum should confirm availability and enrolment timelines early, particularly for older children moving mid-year.

• •Public schools, taught in French in Sion and the central/lower valley, German in the Upper Valais
• •Communal crèches and daycare, generally requiring early registration
• •A smaller number of international or bilingual options compared with the larger Lake Geneva cities

Permits and the cantonal migration office

Residence and work permits for anyone settling in Valais, including Sion, are issued and managed by the canton's migration and population service, not by the commune alone. The process and required documents depend on your nationality, the nature of your employment and, for non-EU/EFTA nationals, the applicable quota and labour-market conditions.

Once a permit is granted, registering with your commune of residence in Valais - reporting your arrival, address and household composition - remains a separate, mandatory step, usually within a short window after your move.

Getting around Sion and the canton

Sion is served by a mainline train station on the Rhone valley route, connecting west to Lausanne and Geneva and east toward Brig, and by regional bus routes reaching most valley communes. Within the city, most everyday destinations are within walking or cycling distance.

Reaching the side valleys and resort areas typically means a car, a postal bus connection, or, for some destinations, a mountain railway or cable car. If your work or lifestyle involves regular travel into these areas, factor the additional travel time into your housing choice rather than into your daily commute alone.

Quality of life in Sion and Valais

Valais is known for its climate - among the driest and sunniest in Switzerland - its wine-growing hillsides, and direct access to hiking, skiing and mountain sports from a large part of the canton. Sion offers a historic centre, a manageable size, and a slower pace than the larger Lake Geneva cities, while remaining connected to them by rail.

The trade-off for many newcomers is a smaller international community and fewer English-language services outside the main resort towns, which makes early language planning and a clear settling-in strategy more useful here than in a larger, more international city.

How My Swiss Relocation supports your move to Sion & Valais

Our consultants coordinate the practical side of a move to Sion or another Valais commune: confirming which permit route applies, searching housing across both the valley towns and the resort areas, connecting you with schooling and childcare options in the right language region, and handling communal registration once you arrive.

Because Valais operates as a bilingual canton with distinct French- and German-speaking areas, and a housing market split between city and resort dynamics, local coordination matters more here than in a single-language, single-market city. We work across both regions of the canton from our Lausanne and Geneva offices.