High style in the Alps

Exterior view of the Womens Museum, Hittisau, Austria: In a mountain village with less than 2,000 residents, Austria’s Women’s Museum is a startlingly modern sight – a large cube, with clinical straight edges. Photograph: Hans Peter Schiess/Hans Peter Schiess, www.frauenmuseum.com

The library at the Women’s Museum, Hittisau, Austria: The basement is the village fire station, ground floor is a music hall, and first floor is the Women’s Museum – but inside is like some eastern zen temple. Photograph: Hans Peter Schiess/Hans Peter Schiess, www.frauenmuseum.com

Top Mountain Star restaurant, Obergurgl, Austria: This has to be one of the world’s most dramatic restaurant locations – the building is perched 3,080m up on a rocky ridge with vertical drops on either side, and the village of Obergurgl far below. Photograph: Hans Engels/Hans Engels, www.oetztal.com

The view from the balcony of Chesa Futura Apartments, St Moritz, Switzerland: Norman Foster's Chesa Futura apartments look like a giant unshelled peanut perched on the side of the hill, looking down to the traditional chalets and church spires of the village below. Photograph: www.fosterandpartners.com

Hotel Esserhof, Lana, Italy: Esserhof is built of entirely natural materials, mainly straw, wood and clay. But the eco-values don’t get in the way of the chic design. Photograph: www.esserhof.com

Exterior view of Therme Vals, Switzerland: Alpine designer Peter Zumthor has been dubbed "the mysic of the mountains". Zumthor’s masterpiece is the spa at Vals, where vast clean walls of concrete and quartzite, contrast with the alpine meadows outside. Photograph: www.therme-vals.ch

Interior pool at Therme Vals, Switzerland: Being inside Therme Vals, say architecture critics, is like being in a series of geometric caves. Swimming through the spa’s various pools, is "a profoundly moving experience". Photograph: www.therme-vals.ch

Hotel Omnia, Zermatt, Switzerland: Zermatt is the classic chocolate box mountain village – but it’s also home to avant-garde architect Heinz Julen, who is single-handedly turning it into a site of incredible modern design. His new hotel, the Omnia is accessed by an elevator through the rock face. Photograph: www.the-omnia.com

Tschuggen Bergoase (mountain oasis), Arosa, Switzerland: Tschuggen seems closer to a cathedral than a leisure centre. Tall steel and glass skylights project from the roof like upturned boat hulls, echoing the mountain peaks. Photograph: www.tschuggen.ch

Vigilius Mountain Resort, Lana, Italy: This building by star architect Matteo Thun is designed to blend into the forest, thus promoting quiet "observation". Photograph: www.vigilius.com