Zermatt

A nearly perfect ski resort

The first time we arrived in Zermatt, we saw the giant constructions of the Matterhorn Glacier ride. Therefore,  we decided to return after it was finished before we reviewed Zermatt for you. 

When we returned, we discovered that since then, they have built the 1st autonomous gondola in the world and have several big projects planned that will make this superb ski resort the best ski resort in the world.

Keep reading if you want to learn about these new developments and gain essential knowledge on recommended ski runs, where to sleep in Zermatt, and many more insider tips. 

Switzerland is famous as the most beautiful country in the world. It is hard to get more ‘switzerish’ than Zermatt.

Switzerland is considered by many as the most beautiful country in the world.

Located on the north side of the area where the Alps squeezed to the highest elevations between the African and European tectonic plates lies Zermatt, surrounded by 38 peaks over 4 km. 

The second highest peak in the Alps, the Monta Rosa (4607m) and the most iconic peak in the world, the Matterhorn (4478m), stands tall in the middle of the ski area and gives it its name: Matterhorn Ski Paradise. 

Matterhorn ski Paradise. Indeed!

38 peaks over 4 km. Monta Rosa is on the left

Zermatt shares this ski area with the towns of Vatournenche and Cervinia, on the Italian side. The total length of the continuous ski runs in the Matterhorn ski paradise is 360km! 210km are part of the Swiss side, and 150km are on the Italian side.

This is not part of the 360km of slopes. More details in the tips section

The highest FIS ski race globally is in Zermatt and is the only one stretching over two countries. But this is far from being the only record Zermatt conquered. Zermatt has the highest cable car station (3883m), the highest ski lift of 3899m, and the highest 3-seater cable car globally. As well as the longest ski run in the world, with a fantastic length of 25km. And finally, it is also the largest glacier ski area globally and the highest ski area in Europe.

The highest FIS ski race globally is in Zermatt and is the only one stretching over two countries.

What to see in Zermatt village?

Once you arrive in Zermatt, you immediately feel the magic of this place.

A big and vibrant ski village where you will only find a few special electric cars (only in Zermatt), and their electric ski bus system. 

Midtown,Kirchbruck. you immediately feel the magic of this place

On the other side of the train station, you will see the terminal of the Gorbergrat train,

Gornergrat terminal in Zermatt Town

an iconic train line that will take you to the highest open train station in Europe, at the highest Gonergrat peak of 3089m. The highest train station in Europe is on the Jungfrau mountain. You can learn more about it in our Grindelwald Ski Resort review.

Gorbergrat train . on its way to the highest open train station in Europe

From the Bahnhof, the main street of Zermatt, Bahnhofstrasse stretches half a kilometre south and is filled with shops, restaurants, bars and hotels. Several other beautiful streets are connected to it. 

the main street of Zermatt, Bahnhofstrasse

After 350 meters, take a left after the round Ogier shop to enter Hinterdorfstrasse, which crosses the old village of Zermatt 200 meters to the Vipsa river flowing in the middle of Zermatt. 

take a left after the round Ogier shop to enter Hinterdorfstrasse

You can see all around Hinterdorfstrasse wooden houses dating back from the 15th hundreds! The other side of this ancient area is next to Harri’s bar.

If you continue south on Banhoffstrasse, you will pass the nightlife area and arrive at the church at the end of the street. 

Nightlife area

Here you will also find the entrance to the Matterhorn Museum, holding a huge underground exhibition about the history of the Matterhorn and Zermatt (10CHF, free for Swiss Travel pass holders).

If you turn left after the museum, you will pass through the Mountaineering’s cemetery and arrive at the Kirchbruck, where you will find the best view of the Matterhorn in midtown.

Matterhorn Museum

Another lovely tour to explore is this: go to the Sonnegga- Rothhorn funicular. Before entering the funicular, turn left and take the lift up. Then, you can turn right and walk back to Kirchbruck, with the best views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn in the background. 

Sonnegga- Rothhorn funicular.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

 Where to stay in Zermatt?

Well, unsurprisingly, the best locations to stay are next to the lifts that will take you straight to the slopes, but there are some nuances:

For beginners, an excellent place to stay will be around the Sunnegga- Rothhorn funicular. The Wolli Beginners Area is near the top station of the funicular.

The Wolli Beginners Area is near the top station of the funicular.

Even for non-beginners, starting your day in this funicular is not a bad idea because the only south-facing runs close to the town are in this area; therefore, it could be a nice warm-up for the day, with the best views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn in the background.

Another good place to stay is around Gornergrat Valley Station. If you stay here, you will be first on the tracks of the Gornergrat area. 

Gornergrat Valley Station(on the right)

This west-facing area is relatively sunny and a good place to warm up, especially the 37, 38 and 45 blue runs from Rotenbonden station.

If you stay around Gornegrat valley station, you are in downtown, close to Banhoffstrasse with all the shops, galleries and bars, and of course to the train station itself, which can be a bonus for short stays.

Banhoffstrasse with all the shops, galleries and bars

the train station

Another great area to stay is next to the Matterhorn Express Gondola.

Matterhorn Express Gondola.

Matterhorn Express Gondola village station areaThis gondola arrives at the Furi lifts hub and is the best option for advanced skiers who want to explore more of the Italian side and the Matterhorn Glacier area.

Additionally, run 50 ends here – so if you want to finish your day at the Hennu Stall apres-ski, which we will show you later, and ski back to town, this is the place to stay.

Hennu Stall

The only downside is that you are a bit far away from the centre and the nightlife places.

In all the other areas, you will probably need to take the electric green or red bus lines, which pass every 20 minutes or so. If you stay along the Vipsa river, you will always be close to a ski bus station.

Electric quiet ski buses. many stops along the Vipsa River

Matterhorn Ski Paradise Ski Area

The 360 km of continuous runs are divided into 74 km of blue runs, 227 km of red runs, 20 km of black runs, and 36 km of yellow freeride trails.  The total number of slopes is 148, served by 54 lifts.

Matterhorn ski paradise is the highest ski area in Europe and the best summer ski option in the northern hemisphere.

360 km of continuous runs

The highest point is the highest point in all of the ski resorts in Europe at 3899 meters, and the lowest is 1620 meters at Zermatt village on the Swiss side,

and 1524 meters at Valtournenche in the Italian side! The whole natural theatre here is like the Alps on steroids. The diversity of terrain here is huge.

Matterhorn Ski Paradise. Gornergrat train

 Zermatt Slopes recommendations

Before we begin the slopes review, we must say that it was difficult to choose because it was hard not to find great runs with fantastic views.

We will begin the review of recommended runs from left to right on the ski map or from north to south:

The first area is Sunnegga- Rohorn:

Run 3 red: Easy red valley run with the closest views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn in the background. Pay attention at the end of the run – there is a steep funnel. Not for beginners!

Run 15 red: A new long and wide slope along with the first autonomous gondola in the world, the Kumme Gondola, that opened in December 2020. The first part is steeper, and the last one turns south and curves its way to the tree line—the best panoramic views of Zermatt plus Matterhorn from an utterly new slope. 

Run 7 blue:  West facing, wide easy cruising with spectacular views of the Matterhorn . Run 7 and run 6, are marked as slow slopes, where you have to keep your speed in control for the beginners around you and also for yourself to relax and enjoy the view.  After the Sunnegga restaurant, you can turn right to run 4 red or left to the recommended run number 6 blue.

Run 6 blue:  A south-facing slope combined of 3 runs. If you keep right, you will pass Adler Hitta, one of the most recommended restaurants serving local cuisine. If you take the left lane when skiing near Wollie Beginner Area, you will pass by another recommended place for a break, named Paradise. If you continue, you will arrive at another highly recommended place,  Cheez Vrony, which also has a takeaway hut. Here you are meant to take it easy and observe the pictorial huts and fantastic views. 

Run 6 is also recommended as a warm-up run because it is the only run close to town that you can ski south from the top station of the funicular. On the other hand, the snow can be slashy at noon in the late season.

Run 19 red: A 4.5 km red run that begins at the Rothorn Peak at 3103m with a unique view of Findel Glacier, then it turns south and curves its way to the glacier base;

from there, it continues west to a lovely part for cruising while watching the magnificent mountain. On this run, you are at the most remote distance from the Matterhorn.

At the end, run 19, aka Fluhalp run, passes through the tree line until the base station of the HoHtalli cable car.

Hohtalli base station

The second area is the Gornergrat area:

Run 44 red:  A long cruiser, from the Hohtalli peak to the Gornergrat main area.

Generally, the main area of the Gornergrat, like runs 35 and 45, is great for curving or speed cruising, where you can find plenty of nice off-piste playgrounds around. If you read until the end, we will share with you another insider secret later on. 

Gornergrat area. hide secrets between the cruise slopes

The third and largest area is the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise:

Here you can find the longest ski run in the world, from the highest mountain station in Europe at 3883 meters down to Zermatt village at 1620 meters: It has a height of 15km if you measure it straight down, but 25 km of skiing.

The runs on the way are 85 red, 83 red,81 red, 73 blue,  66,65 and 64  reds (nice sequence here)  62 black, which is a very easy black, and finally, run 50 red from Furi to Zermatt village.

In this area, you can actually ski on the north base of the Matterhorn, and the Hirli area, run 69 and run 52 are recommended.

Here you can also find the Zermatt snow park. You need to take the Furggasattel chairlift to get there. There is another snowpark in Cervinia, close to the south base of the Matterhorn, or Cervino, its Italian name.

Zermatt Snow Park

Cervinia snow park

The most recommended run in Cervinia is run 7, a carving paradise of 13km. It starts at Testa Grigia peak at 3480 meters until Cervinia village at 2050 meters.

Cervinia

Most of its upper part is part of the new FIS downhill world cup course.

Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. Trockner Steg station( The Base of the Glacier)

Apres-ski Scene in Zermatt

late lunch at the Iglu village in the Gornergrat area

You will find the best on-mountain apres-ski bars on the run 50 from Furi to Zermatt.

First, you will encounter Blatten, a chill-out place with tanning chairs and a nice view.

Blatten Apres ski bar

However, we recommend you to continue to the next bar on the trail, one of the best apres-ski bars in Switzerland, the Hennu Stall; this is as close as you get to Moserwirt vibe in Swiss.

Hennu Stall. The best apres ski bar we experienced in Switzerland

Back in town, you can stop in Papparela pub, next to Kirchbruck, the first bus stop of the green bus.

Papparela

Another place is Harry Pub, at the second bus stop.

Harry Pub

Zermatt Nightlife Scene

The centre of the nightlife in Zermatt is around the Hotel Post on Bahnhofstrasse. Next to the hotel, you will find Hexen Pub, decorated with many witch dolls and has a friendly vibe.

Hotel Post. The nightlife hub

In the Hotel Post, we recommend Pink Bar if you are into live gigs.

Pink Bar

The Brown Cow and the Broken Bar club are for late nights and mainstream music lovers. 

Broken club

In front of the Hotel Post, you will find a bar and club called Mamacita. 

Mamacita bar

On the ground floor, you can find a nice bar with live gigs, and underground is the club – on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, they have cool techno parties for the clubbers among us.

Mamacita club.

new and future and developments of Zermatt and Matterhorn  Ski Paradise

As mentioned before, the building of the “Matterhorn Glacier Ride” S3 gondola released past conjunctions at Trockner steg. 

The “Matterhorn Glacier Ride” S3 gondola at top station(3883m)Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.

The “Matterhorn Glacier Ride” S3 gondola in Trockner Steg station (2927m)

The building of the S3 gondola also significantly improves the connection to Cervinia in windy weather.

In 2023, another 3s gondola will connect Testa Grigia Peak and the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. This will significantly improve the resort’s summer ski area and make Zermatt and Cervinia better resorts for the late season.

In 2023, another 3s gondola will connect Testa Grigia Peak and the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise.

Other projects planned for the next few years are a cable car from Hotalli peak to Stockner peak, to increase the number of free ride trails and the building of a chairlift from Breitboden to Rosenritz peak. 

There are also plans to create new valley runs!

Zermatt Bergbahnen is the lift company with the most outstanding projects and developments in our days.

Blauhard-Rothhorn cablecar

The highest FIS ski race globally is in Zermatt and is the only one stretching over two countries. The “Gran Becca” race starts at 3800m and finishes in Cervinia at Lagi Cimi Bianche at 2865 meters. “Gran Becca” is the nickname by the locals in Vatournenche and Cervinia for the Matterhorn.

The FIS “Gran Becca” race. The highest ever.

For those of you who are not familiar with FIS,  the speed events are downhill and super G.  Super G means super giant slalom.

In 2022 The first race was cancelled due to a lack of snow.

Riffelberg station on the Gornergrat line

How to get to Zermatt?

Zermatt is unique because there are no cars here. The best way to get to Zermatt is by train, and you can do so directly from Zurich and Geneva airports. 

The round-trip tickets from Zurich airport are around 60 euro, there is a train every hour, and the drive is approximately three and a half hours long. There is a train from Geneva every 40 minutes (about 50€), and the ride is less than four hours long. The train leaves every 40 minutes, and the time to get to Zermatt from the airport will take around 3 hours and 15 minutes.

If you come by car, you will leave your car at Tasch Indoor Parking for 16CHF per day (Round trip train ticket 16.40CHF ), and there is a train every 15 minutes. The train ride itself is less than 15 minutes. 

At the exit from ‘Bahnhof’, you will see the electric cars of the hotel you booked waiting for you, and if you booked a hotel without this service, take an electric taxi if your hotel is not within walking distance.

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If you have an extra dime in your pocket, you can also arrive by helicopter from the mentioned airports and the Milan Malpensa Airport.

The electric cars of the hotel you will book will wait for you at the train station

Pros.

• A big, diverse and stunning ski area
• Slopes are well-groomed
• A snowsure resort
• Good infrastructure, particularly on the Swiss side
• Kids under nine years old get free ski passes
• A magical pedestrian village
• A relatively good apres-ski and nightlife for a Swiss resort
• A vibrant town
• Plenty of free-rider options

Cons.

• Relatively expensive.
• Hard to get to
• Very few “ski in -ski out” accommodations
• No beginner valley runs to town

Ratings

Here are our ratings for Zermatt;

Beginners: 7

Intermediate: 10

Advanced: 9

Snowboarders: 9

Freestylers: 9

Free riders: 9.5

Apres Ski:8.5

Nightlife: 7.5

Resort Charm: 10

Value for Money: 8.5

 So, the ‘‘Ski Resorts video” total score for Zermatt is… 9.2! 

Insider tips

1. On Gornergrat, after you pass the Igloo village, you will find a hidden natural halfpipe between Igloo Run, run 45, and Run 37(insider secret). It is not easy to identify the entrance. 
2. Before you book accommodation, keep in mind that there are no ski lockers in the Zermatt-Furi gondola and cablecar town station.
3. Take an extra layer of clothes; the best is another softshell in your backpack when you head to the slopes. Unfortunately, the gigantic height differential also means a big temperature difference.

The secret natural halfpipe between Igloo run, run 45 and run 37. Great for cover shots

If you are looking for a cheaper resort in the Matterhorn paradise, we highly recommend our thorough review of Cervinia.

If you want to explore another beautiful and brilliant late-season ski area, check out our Tignes review.