Switzerland · Valais
Zermatt
The most famous mountain in the Alps, seen from a car-free village with lifts to 3,883 m and skiing that runs into summer.
Zermatt sits at the head of a dead-end valley under the Matterhorn, the sharpest and most recognisable peak in the Alps, and has arranged itself entirely around that one view. The village is car-free and reached only by train, with electric buggies and horse carriages moving between chalet hotels and five-hundred-year-old timber granaries. Above it, a cogwheel railway and a chain of cable cars climb to glaciers and ridges near four thousand metres, putting serious high mountains within reach of an ordinary visitor. It is expensive, and it does not pretend otherwise.
Suggested stay
3–6 days
Language
German, French, Italian
Currency
CHF
Timezone
UTC+2
Why you'll love Zermatt
The Matterhorn it stands alone at the end of the valley, in view from the main street, the Gornergrat train and half the trails above the village
Car-free no traffic and no fumes, just electric buggies, hotel carriages and the sound of the Vispa running through the middle of town
High country made easy a cog railway and cable cars lift you above three thousand metres in half an hour, to glaciers, huts and a horizon of four-thousanders
Two full seasons hundreds of kilometres of marked trails in summer, three linked ski sectors in winter, and glacier snow that holds on into July
Best time to visit
May-Sep
14-20° days
46.021° N, 7.749° E
UTC+2 · Europe/Zurich
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Weather & when to go to Zermatt
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best May-Sep
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Zermatt
Zermatt is expensive all year and busiest at Christmas, in the February holidays and in high summer. November and the weeks after Easter are the dead ones: lifts, huts and mountain restaurants close between seasons and much of the mountain simply shuts. Winter is cold and short on daylight, and hard going for anyone who has not come for snow, which is also when the skiing is at its best.
Top things to do in Zermatt
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Gornergrat Railway - the cogwheel line to the glacier balcony
scenic history 👍 PopularAn open-air cog railway grinds up from the village to a ridge above three thousand metres, where the terrace faces the Matterhorn on one side and the long tongue of the Gorner glacier and the Monte Rosa massif on the other. It has run since 1898 and works as well in deep winter as in summer.
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Matterhorn Glacier Paradise - the highest cable car station in Europe
scenic snow 👍 PopularCable cars climb in stages to the Klein Matterhorn, where a lift and a tunnel bring you out on a platform at 3,883 m in the middle of the glaciers, with the Matterhorn suddenly close and the Alps running to the horizon. An ice cave of carved chambers is cut into the glacier below.
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Five Lakes Walk - the Matterhorn reflected five times
hiking scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedA half-day trail from Blauherd down past Stellisee, Grindjisee, Grünsee, Moosjisee and Leisee, three of which hold the reflection of the peak on a still morning. Mostly downhill if you take the funicular and gondola up first, and clear of snow only in the summer months.
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Hörnli Hut and Schwarzsee - the foot of the climbing ridge
hiking climbing ⭐ Highly recommendedA gondola to Schwarzsee, with its small dark lake and chapel, then a rising traverse under the north face to the hut where Matterhorn attempts start before dawn. The last stretch is exposed and fitted with fixed ropes, and it is the closest a walker gets to the mountain.
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Zermatt ski area - Rothorn, Gornergrat and the glacier
snow 👍 PopularThree linked sectors above the village, with long descents, wide open terrain and lifts to nearly four thousand metres, so snow holds here when lower resorts struggle. The Theodul glacier carries skiing on through the summer, and lifts cross the ridge into Italy.
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Matterhorn Museum - the rope that broke in 1865
history culture artsBuilt underground as a reconstructed old village, the museum tells the story of the first ascent and the accident on the way down. The broken rope is here, with the boots, lanterns and letters of the men involved, and the gear of a century of guiding that followed.
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Hinterdorf - the old village raised on stone discs
history culture artsA short lane of dark larchwood barns and granaries, some of them five hundred years old, standing on stone posts capped with flat discs to keep mice out of the grain. It survives a minute from the shop windows of the main street, which is the surprise.
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Mountaineers' Cemetery - what the Matterhorn has cost
historyBeside the parish church, a small graveyard holds climbers who died on the peaks above, among them men from the 1865 disaster. The inscriptions are plain and unsparing, and it is the quickest way to understand the other half of the mountain's reputation.
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Gorner Gorge - meltwater in a slot of green serpentine
nature wildlife scenicTimber walkways bolted to the rock follow the river where it cuts a narrow gorge through polished serpentine just below the village, loud with grey glacier meltwater. A short walk from the edge of town, and open only in the warmer months.
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Findeln, Zmutt and Blatten - lunch in the hamlets
food hikingClusters of old timber houses on the slopes above the village, each with a few mountain restaurants serving rösti, melted cheese and Valais dried meat on a sun terrace. Reaching them on foot or on skis is half the point, and Zmutt looks straight up at the north face.
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Monte Rosa Hut - the silver capsule under Switzerland's highest peak
hiking climbingA faceted aluminium refuge standing alone on rock above the Gorner glacier, reached by a long walk from Rotenboden that crosses the ice and needs care and settled conditions. It serves climbers heading for the Dufourspitze, and is a serious day out even as a visit.
Best areas to stay in Zermatt
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Bahnhofstrasse and the centre
First-time visitors $$$Car-free main street, hotels and shop windows
Explore hotels in Bahnhofstrasse and the centre →
Hinterdorf
Old-village character $$Old timber granaries on stone stilts
Explore hotels in Hinterdorf →
Winkelmatten
Quiet and residential $$Quiet uphill hamlet with its own chapel
Explore hotels in Winkelmatten →
Steinmatte and the south end
Ski-in convenience $$$Riverside chalets by the glacier lifts
Explore hotels in Steinmatte and the south end →
Täsch
Budget and drivers $Car park village down the valley
Explore hotels in Täsch →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Zermatt
Getting to & around Zermatt
Getting there
There is no airport near Zermatt and no road into it. Everyone arrives by train: a main-line service along the Rhone valley to Visp or Brig, then the narrow-gauge Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn up the side valley. Drivers get no further than Täsch, where a terminal car park sits above the station and a shuttle train runs up every twenty minutes. The station is in the middle of the village.
Train
Zermatt station, middle of the village
Main-line trains run along the Rhone valley to Visp or Brig, where the narrow-gauge Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn turns up the side valley and climbs to Zermatt in a bit over an hour. Services are frequent through the day and the steep sections are rack-assisted.
Train
Zermatt station (Glacier Express terminus)
Zermatt is the western end of the Glacier Express, the slow panoramic run to and from St Moritz over the Oberalp pass. It takes most of a day and needs a seat reservation, so treat it as a sightseeing trip rather than a way of getting somewhere.
Drive
Matterhorn Terminal Täsch
The valley road ends at Täsch, about five kilometres short of the village. Leave the car in the terminal car park and take the shuttle train, which runs every twenty minutes through the day and takes roughly twelve. There is no way to drive further up.
Flight
Zurich or Geneva airports, then train
No airport is close. Zurich and Geneva are each around three and a half to four hours away by train with a change in the Rhone valley, which makes the last leg a journey in its own right. Milan works from the Italian side, via Domodossola and Brig.
Getting around
Walking
Nothing in the village is more than about twenty minutes on foot, though it climbs at both ends and turns icy underfoot in winter.
Free
Electric bus
Two short lines cross the village, linking the station with Winkelmatten and the glacier lift base every few minutes in season.
TBC
Electric taxi
Small silent buggies carry luggage from the station to the hotels, are usually booked ahead, and are the only vehicles in the lanes.
TBC
Horse-drawn carriage
Hotel carriages and winter sleighs still meet trains at the station, more ceremony than transport, but they do move your bags.
TBC
Mountain railway and lifts
The Gornergrat train, the Sunnegga funicular and the gondolas are the real local transport, and all start within walking distance of the centre.
TBC
Shuttle train to Täsch
Runs every twenty minutes between the station and the valley car park, taking about twelve minutes with luggage racks on board.
TBC
Day trips from Zermatt
Breuil-Cervinia, Italy
Full dayCrossing to the Italian side
Lifts run from the top of the Zermatt system over the Theodul pass and down into Italy, where the same mountain is the Cervino and lunch turns into pasta. Skiers do it as a winter loop; the crossing also carries foot passengers, and passports go in the pocket.
Getting there
Cable cars over the Theodul glacier, roughly an hour and a half each way
Saas-Fee
Full dayGlacier village next valley
A car-free village of the same kind one valley east, ringed far more tightly by ice, with a wall of four-thousanders above it and a revolving restaurant on the Mittelallalin. Quieter and less polished than Zermatt, and the glacier comes much closer to the houses.
Getting there
train | bus
About an hour and a half by train to Stalden-Saas and postbus up
Randa and the Charles Kuonen suspension bridge
Full dayFootbridge on the Europaweg
A wire footbridge close to half a kilometre long hangs across a ravine high above Randa, on the Europaweg path that runs back to Zermatt. The climb from the valley floor is stiff, and the bridge is a thin ribbon over a great deal of air.
Getting there
train | walk
About fifteen minutes by train to Randa, then a steep climb on foot
Glacier Express to Andermatt
Full dayPanoramic Alpine railway
The full run to St Moritz takes a day in one direction, but the first leg through the Goms valley and up to the Oberalp pass is the scenic heart of it, and turning around at Andermatt or Brig keeps the whole thing to a single day out.
Getting there
train
Zermatt is a terminus; Andermatt is around four hours each way by train
Sion and the Valais vineyards
Full dayCastles and wine country
The valley floor below is the biggest wine region in Switzerland, terraced up both sides of the Rhone. Sion stands under two hills, one carrying a ruined castle and the other a fortified church with what is claimed to be the oldest playable organ in the world.
Getting there
train
Around two hours by train down the valley through Visp
A little history of Zermatt
Zermatt began as a farming hamlet of German-speaking Walser settlers at the head of a dead-end valley, poor even by the standards of the Valais, its main contact with the outside world the mule track over the Theodul pass into Italy. The Matterhorn above it was thought unclimbable and of no use to anyone. That changed in the middle of the nineteenth century, when British alpinists arrived in the golden age of Alpine climbing and Alexander Seiler began turning village inns into hotels.
The summit fell to Edward Whymper's party on 14 July 1865, after years of failed attempts from the Italian side; on the descent a rope broke and four of the seven men died, and Jean-Antoine Carrel reached the top from Italy three days later. The disaster made Zermatt famous overnight. The railway arrived from Visp in 1891 and the Gornergrat line in 1898, while the valley road was left to end at Täsch, so cars never came up. Much of the land is still held by old Zermatt families and the burgher community, which is why the place has grown as chalets rather than towers.
Walser farmers settle the head of the valley; the hamlet appears in records under the name Pratobornum.
Horace-Bénédict de Saussure crosses the Theodul pass to measure the peaks, among the first outsiders to come for the mountains rather than the trade route.
Alexander Seiler takes on the Hotel Monte Rosa and begins turning a farming village into a resort.
Edward Whymper's party makes the first ascent of the Matterhorn on 14 July; four men die when the rope breaks on the descent.
The railway from Visp reaches Zermatt, ending the long climb up the valley by mule.
The Gornergrat Bahn opens, the first electric cog railway in Switzerland.
The cable car to the Klein Matterhorn opens, the highest lift station in Europe.
Avalanches and heavy snow cut the valley off for days, and guests are flown out by helicopter.
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / J
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+41
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
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FAQs about Zermatt
▸ When is the best time to visit Zermatt?
It depends what you came for. June to September is the settled half of the year and the walking season, with the high trails clear from about midsummer. December to April is cold and short on daylight, and it is when the skiing is at its best, which is why most winter visitors come. Late spring and November are the between-seasons weeks, when much of the mountain shuts.
▸ Can you drive to Zermatt?
No. The village is closed to private cars and the valley road ends at Täsch. Drivers leave the car in the terminal car park there and take the shuttle train up, which runs every twenty minutes and takes about twelve. Inside the village it is walking, the electric buses, a small electric taxi or a horse-drawn carriage.
▸ How do you get a proper view of the Matterhorn without hiking?
Three lifts do the work. The Gornergrat railway climbs to a ridge facing the peak across the Gorner glacier, the cable cars to the Klein Matterhorn put you higher than any other lift in Europe, and the Sunnegga funicular reaches a sunny terrace in minutes. All three run in winter as well as summer.
▸ Is Zermatt expensive?
Yes, and it is one of the dearer resorts in a country that is already costly. Hotels, mountain restaurants and lift passes all sit at the top end, and there is little competition to hold them down. Staying down the valley in Täsch, self-catering and buying a multi-day lift pass are the usual ways of taking the edge off.
▸ Can you really ski in summer here?
Yes, on the Theodul glacier above the Klein Matterhorn, which keeps lifts and pistes through the warm months and is used by national teams for training. Sessions run in the morning before the snow softens, and the terrain is small next to the winter map, so treat it as a novelty and a training ground.
▸ Can an ordinary visitor climb the Matterhorn?
Not without serious preparation. The normal Hörnli route is a long rock ridge that guides climb with one client at a time, starting in the dark from the hut and taking most of a day up and down. It needs alpine experience, real fitness and a settled weather window, mostly between midsummer and early autumn.
▸ How long should I stay in Zermatt?
Three or four nights is enough to ride the Gornergrat, get up to the glacier, walk a long trail and still lose a day to weather. Skiers usually take a week, since the three sectors are large and the crossing into Italy eats a day of its own.
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