Zermatt: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
English|
CHF 85 - 290 Hotel Parnass
 This family-run hotel enjoys a central yet quiet location, 400 metres from the Zermatt Train Station. It offers free Wi-Fi and panoramic Matterhorn vi… MoreCHF 169 - 380 Hotel Phoenix
 Hotel Phoenix can be found in the quiet Wiesti quarter of Zermatt. The train station and the Bahnhofstrasse with its numerous shops and restaurants ca… MoreCHF 205 - 700 Hotel National
 Located in the centre of Zermatt directly opposite the Sunegga-Paradies express and only a 5-minute walk from the train station, the Hotel National is… MoreCHF 140 - 460 Hotel Metropol & Spa Zermatt
 Boasting fantastic views of the Matterhorn, the charming Hotel Metropol & Spa is located in the centre of Zermatt, offering cosy rooms with free wirel… MoreCHF 200 - 950 Hotel Matthiol
 Situated in peaceful surroundings on the edge of Zermatt, the chalet-style 4-star-Superior Hotel Matthiol features exclusive wellness facilities and o… MoreCHF 194 - 477 Hotel Pollux
 The Hotel Pollux in the centre of Zermatt and 200 metres from the train station offers you newly renovated rooms, charmingly combining rustic elements… MoreCHF 85 - 495 Hotel Primavera
 The Primavera hotel enjoys a quiet and sunny position and a wonderful view of the Matterhorn and of Zermatt. It´s a 7-minute walk away from the … MoreCHF 120 - 580 Hotel Riffelberg
 Located at 2,600 metres above sea level, Hotel Riffelberg offers panoramic views of the mountains around Zermatt from all rooms. It has a traditional … MoreCHF 90 - 260 Hotel Sarazena
 The small Hotel Sarazena is located next to the train station in Zermatt and features a sauna. Rooms have an en-suite bathroom, cable TV and Wi-Fi int… MoreCHF 66 - 182 Hotel Rhodania
 A 3-minute walk from the bus to the ski areas around Zermatt, this centrally located hotel offers free Wi-Fi, heated ski or bicycle storage and rooms … MoreCHF 125 - 430 Hotel Rex
 The Rex Bed & Breakfast hotel is is situated in the Steinmatte area of Zermatt, a 5 minute-walk from the centre. It features a 400 m² wellness area a… MoreCHF 170 - 360 Hotel Restaurant Derby
 The Hotel Derby offers a very central location on the main street of Zermatt, about 50 metres from the train station and the Gornergrat Railway and ab… MoreCHF 240 - 1,000 Hotel Matterhorn Focus
 Enjoying a unique location in car-free Zermatt, Hotel Matterhorn Focus boasts unbeatable views of the Matterhorn. It offers a rich breakfast buffet, f… MoreCHF 182 - 1,306 Hotel La Ginabelle
 La Ginabelle enjoys a quiet and central location in the heart of Zermatt. It features an exclusive spa and water world.
Enjoy the indoor and outdoor … MoreCHF 89 - 1,000 Hotel Daniela
 The Hotel Daniela enjoys a very calm location in Zermatt and offers you superb views of the Matterhorn from many of its cosy guest rooms.
Guests of t… MoreCHF 160 - 254 Hotel Dufour Traditionell
 The Hotel Dufour Traditionell is a typical Swiss chalet hotel enjoying a sunny, central location in Zermatt and offering superb views of the Matterhor… MoreCHF 122 - 294 Hotel Couronne
 The 3-star-superior Hotel La Couronne is located in a sunny and quiet but very central place in Zermatt, offering Matterhorn views. Within a 10-minute… MoreCHF 90 - 246 Hotel City
 Hotel City offers a quiet location in the centre of Zermatt, within a 5-minute walk from the Gornergrat and Sunnegga-Rothorn cable cars. It features … MoreCHF 130 - 290 Hotel Butterfly
 The Best Western Hotel Butterfly enjoys a quiet location in the centre of car-free Zermatt, 2 minutes´ walk from the Gornergratbahn train statio… MoreCHF 150 - 420 Hotel Eden
 Hotel Eden is a 5-minute walk from Zermatt´s famous Bahnhofstrasse. It offers Matterhorn views and a spa area with indoor pool. Guests benefit f… MoreCHF 110 - 550 Hotel Excelsior
 The renovated, family-run Hotel Excelsior is located in the centre of Zermatt. All rooms offer panoramic views of the Matterhorn mountains and free Wi… MoreCHF 170 - 396 Hotel Holiday
 The Hotel Holiday is situated in a quiet place, 8 minutes´ walk from Zermatt´s centre and only 200 metres from the Sunnegga Express, takin… MoreCHF 88 - 666 Hotel Jägerhof
 Hotel Jägerhof enjoys a quiet location close to the centre of Zermatt, a 5-minute walk from the Klein Matterhorn cable car. It has a modern gym and … MoreCHF 95 - 260 Hotel Helvetia
 Hotel Helvetia is located on the famous Bahnhofstrasse in the lively heart of Zermatt, a 4-minute walk from the train station and the Gornergrat cog r… MoreCHF 140 - 350 Hotel Garni Testa Grigia
 Offering stylishly furnished rooms with balconies and coffee machines, the Testa Grigia hotel is only a 5-minute walk from the Zermatt Train Station a… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Zermatt: Guide
Zermatt is a car-free village in the upper Valais, one of the alpine cantons of Switzerland. It's probably best known as a platform for skiing and mountaineering, especially on the mountain which towers above the village, the . The surroundings are breathtaking but this comes at a price: Accommodation in Zermatt is among the most expensive in Switzerland.
Understand
If you've never experienced a car-free city of any size then Zermatt could be a bit of a surprise: during the high season nearly 20,000 people living in a town with only 5 or 6 streets and more significantly almost no internal combustion vehicles except very occasional outside delivery and specialist services. This means that you can leave a noisy bar or party, and a few minutes later on foot find yourself in utter tranquility. You can sit on the hotel balcony and listen to dozens of varieties of songbirds while watching the sun set on one of the most striking mountains in the western world. Wake up with the sun in a four or five-star room or a canvas tent to the sound of the aforementioned birds, crickets, church bells, and children's laughter.
Almost all vehicles in Zermatt are battery driven and almost completely silent. Taxi drivers have a habit of assuming that pedestrians have eyes in the backs of their heads, with occasional alarming though seldom injurious consequences. Horse drawn vehicles are equipped with bells and many startled pedestrians might well wish taxis were similarly provided.
You can cycle or stroll in complete safety. Really unless you are in love with your car you'll be tempted to look at the real-estate adds offering the rare but occasional opportunity to own a restaurant on one of the side streets, just hire one Swiss (and show that you have capital to operate for a year) and you are good to go.
Incidently there is a version of the standard Zermatt skimap/summer walking map in English although for some reason the lift stations only seem to hand out the German/French versions with tickets. The map is free - you can generally find it on one of the stands in the lift stations or in the Tourist Information centre.
Get in
Probably the best way to reach Zermatt is by train, since you won't be able to drive once you get there anyway. Around half of the trains are operated by a private company, but the tickets are available through the . In general railpasses are valid on the train, but there is a surcharge.
Private cars can only drive as far as Täsch. The last 7 kilometres must be travelled by train or by taxi. In winter it is necessary to reserve your parking space well in advance (call. +41 27 967 33 66).
If it's in line with your budget will fly you in from major airports arround.
Get Around
Be aware that if you inadvertently drive your car into Zermatt, you will be fined 100CHF on the spot. The Swiss German policemen will not accept an excuse that you didn't see the sign( he will show you a photocopy of a photo of the sign and tell you that he is only doing his job.)
If you have never been to Zermatt before and are not a skier or walker and are not aware that it is a car free zone, it is easy to miss the sign.
On foot
The village of Zermatt, while dense, is geographically very small. There are three main streets which run along the banks of the river Matt, and numerous cross-streets, especially around the station and the church which forms the center of the village. In general anything is at most a twenty minute walk away if you are fit. There is no motor traffic to worry about, so walking right down the middle of the street is not only possible but advisable, though do watch out for the occasional mess left by horses (or goats).
During the summer there are roads and hiking trails leading up to a number of year-round restaurants in the direction of the Matterhorn.
Taxi
Many of the higher-end hotels have porters who will meet you at the station with a small electric car/truck and will ferry you directly to check in, depositing the luggage in your room. A few of the really exclusive ones still use horse-drawn carriages.
Cable Car
There are a series of cable car runs leading all the way to the summit of the Klein Matterhorn (3883m), presenting the highest scenic outlook platform in Europe. A ride along the entire series costs 82CHF (about 55EUR) round trip.
Train
Gornergrat Railway A railway to the top of Mount Gornergrat. 36 CHF one way. Allow a few hours and enjoy the great view and the sunny place. A nice trip is to take the train up and hike down.
Cycling/Mountain Biking
Zermatt is a great place to mountain bike although it doesn't appear to have really become popular there yet. Bikes can be hired from several shops around Zermatt from about 35CHF per day. For some reason helmets are not included and cost around 5CHF extra.
Mountain bikes may be carried on most of the ski lifts that are open in the summer although you will be charged extra. Lift passes that are valid for more than 3 days appear to include bike transport as standard although you can pay for individual journeys if you wish. Note that the Gornegrat train is not included in some summer lift passes.
You can also buy area passes on a daily basis that include the lifts on one particular peak (either Rothorn or Schwarzsee). These passes are available in mountain bike versions for not much extra.
The following lifts should allow your bikes:
Zermatt - Sunnegga (funicular)
Sunnegga - Blauherd (cable car)
Blauherd - Rothorn (Telecabin)
Gornergrat (Mountain railway)
Schwarzsee lifts
The tourist information centre next to the Zermatt train station sell a mountain biking map for 2CHF which includes a number of routes down from the various peaks. The map states that Zermatt's cycling policy is that any track wider than 2 metres is a valid cycling route. There are numerous roads that run down and around the mountains in the summer that carry cyclists in safety. Remember that Zermatt is generally car free so you will only rarely see a powered vehicle.
The Rothorn area is particularly good and suitable for all levels of cyclist. It is possible to cycle down from the summit following a wide but occasionally steep and rocky path down the back of the mountain that brings you back to the Blauhard lift station. From there you can follow the quiet mountain road routes all the way down to Zermatt. There are some excellent cross mountain routes that present you with stunning views and take you over to Gournergrat near Rifflealp. Unfortunately there is no cycling route down on the official map from that point so you can either get on the Gournergrat train or turn around and come back down to a lower point on the Rothorn.
The restaurant at Fluhalp is a pleasant first ride from the Blauhard lift station and a good way of familarising yourself with a hire bike.
Make sure that you take some good quality cycling gloves since you can expect significant vibration from cycling along rocky tracks!
Breithorn The "Breithorn" (4150 m) is the easiest 4000er of the Alps. Using the lifts "Furri" (1700 m), "Trockener Steg"(2800 m), "kleines Matterhorn" (3883 m) you reach the top of the little Matterhorn. Go down to the "Theodul-Gletscher" and follow the trail to left on the Breithorn. The top of the Breithorn can be reached after 2 h walking (no climbing!). A rope is useful but not necessary. You should not start the tour from the little Matterhorn after 10:00 in the morning, because the snow gets too weak and you will not reach the last lift down to Zermatt in time. The Glacier Paradise (Klein Matterhorn) ski area is at 3850m (3899m when the additional summer season drag lift is open).
There are other options. You can camp, or as throughout Europe vacation apartments are the rage. Time shares are another option: if you know you want to ski one week per year, maybe go in with a friend or two on a property. Foreigners are allowed to buy up to a certain square meterage in Switzerland, and you are free to lease, rent, or otherwise assign the property any way you like, barring industrial use.
For beginner campers there is a camping area open in Zermatt during the summer months. It's to the left of the train station's main exit. Follow the street for a couple of hundred meters.
The campsite in Tasch is only about 100 metres from the train station and works out at about 20CHF a night for 2 people sharing a small tent without a car.
Stove fuels are reasonably hard to find although you can buy them in some of the outdoor shops in Zermatt itself. You are unlikely to find any in Tasch. MSR butane/propane cannisters and Coleman's liquid fuel are definitely available if you hunt around. Obviously in Switzerland you can also buy fondue fuel (usually meths) which will work well in Trangia stoves.
Hotel Bahnhof offers hostel-like dormitory accomomdation for 33CHF as well as singles from CHF65 and doubles from CHF90. It is just east of Bahnhofplatz. http://www.hotelbahnhof.com/
Matterhorn Hostel, Scluhmattstrasse 32, offers dorm accommodation for CHF33, or CHF29 for stays of 3 nights and longer. http://www.matterhornhostel.com/
If extensive hiking is in your plans, mountain huts/berggästhause may be an option.
Near the base of the Matterhorn, the SAC-operated Schönbielhütte offers dormitory lodging for CHF32. SAC members are accommodated first and enjoy cheaper rates. Schönbielhütte is a 4 hour hike from Zermatt via Zmutt, but consider the more scenic 6 hour route via Pension Edelweiss, Hotel du Trift, and Höhbalmen.
http://www.holidaynet.ch/schoenbielhuette/e/
Near Rothorn, the Fluhalp Restaurant offers dorm accommodation for CHF29 or doubles for CHF86. Fluhalp is accessible on foot (3 hours from Zermatt via Winkelmatten) or by funicular/cable car (Zermatt-Sunnega-Blauhard, then 45 min walk).
http://www.fluhalp-zermatt.ch/
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Zermatt". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.
You can wheel your bike through the tunnel to the bottom of the funicular and then place it in the bottom compartment on the train. You will have to carry it up about 8 steps at this stage. At the top of the mountain don't follow the crowd up the steps to the exit - there is a lower exit that you can wheel your bike straight out of and onto a slighly lower path. Alternatively get in the elevator lift located here and it will take you up the 15 metres or so to the top exit.
When you arrive at the ticket barrier the attendant should notice you and take your bike around the barrier. Since they don't fit in the cabins your bike(s) will be carried in an open cargo cable car. You will have to wait for it to appear on the cable but this shouldn't take more than a few minutes. The attendant then loads your bikes in and fastens them down whilst you get in a standard cabin. They then radio the top station who unload them for you on arrival.
The top stage of the Rothorn route is one of the huge telecabins that carry 150 people at a time. In summer you can just wheel your bikes in and out again at the top.
Bikes can be carried on the Gornergrat railway right to the summit. There are special cars where you can hang up your bike vertically.
A biking lift pass is available and a number of routes are marked down the mountain from this area.See
Check out the village cemetery. It's full of gravestones of people that died in the mountains, mostly on their way back.Do
Sleep
For a tiny hamlet Zermatt has more hotels than most big cities. A rough estimate places the number of places to stay at somewhere in the range of 600-700. Apparently that's still not quite enough. If you want a good value room then perhaps you should consider booking ahead. Camping
If you're on a budget try camping. The climate is mild, even in the winter, so if you know a bit about camping you should be able to stay warm and dry at pretty much any altitude lower than about 500m above the village pretty much any time of year.Budget
Despite the great number of hotels, pensions, and vacation apartments in Zermatt, few can be considered "budget."Mid range
Daniela, Perren and ParnassSplurge
Hôtel Julien, Mont Cervin or ZermatterhofTasch
Tasch is the next village down the mountain from Zermatt itself and shuttle trains run between the two villages approximately every 10-20 minutes during the day. The journey time is about 10 minutes and passes through some stunning scenery. The last train down the mountain to Tasch leaves Zermatt at around 11.20 pm. The trains cost 7.60 CHF each way and tickets can be bought from automatic machines. The machines only except coins or 20 CHF notes although you can buy tickets from the ticket office instead for most of the day. Note that the cash dispensers don't give out notes smaller than 50 CHF so don't arrive late in Tasch without any change...