Pont-de-Nant

An exceptional garden, a family story

Founded in 1891 at an altitude of 1260 metres, the alpine botanical garden La Thomasia gathers around 3000 mountain species from every corner of the world within an intimate, abundant space. It owes its name to the Thomas dynasty, a family from Bex whose trade in dried plants and seeds drew the greatest botanists in Europe for nearly a century. A little gem to savour at a leisurely pace.

Where science took root

Did you know that Jean de Charpentier, director of the Bex Salt Works in 1813, laid the foundations of the theory of glaciation right here? His observations on glacial erratic boulders reshaped geology worldwide. Later, Eugène Rambert, Jean Muret and Juste Olivier celebrated these mountains in their writings, helping to give birth to alpine tourism in Switzerland. Their names are engraved in the rock at the entrance to the Vallon de Nant.

A nature worth discovering

The Vallon de Nant is home to one of the last Swiss populations of the Hépiale, a nocturnal moth of mysterious habits. Late at night, the males swirl around the lights of the inn. Keep your eyes open for the three Apollo species found in Switzerland, or look out for the black salamander in the rain: this live-bearing species, which gives birth to its young after two to three years of gestation, is a true curiosity in the world of amphibians.

A protected natural refuge

Since 1969, the Vallon de Nant has been a nature reserve of 14 km², one of the great forest reserves of Switzerland. Here, trees grow old and decompose freely, offering shelter to three-toed woodpeckers, owls and 800 species of fungi. The rivers flow unimpeded, shaping braided rivers of a dynamism rarely seen in Europe.

The inn, a warm haven

The team at the Auberge de Pont-de-Nant welcomes you in summer and winter alike, at the foot of the garden and on the threshold of the valley. The perfect setting to prolong the magic around a table.