While Zermatt is technically 242.91 squared km (93.79 sq. Miles), only .8% of that is inhabited! This makes is seem like a small, quant village with a great location nestled at the southern end of the Matter Valley. The city itself dates back to 1495 when it first appeared on a map and then was later mentioned in text in 1546, though its true age is unknown. Zermatt is hidden within the grand Valley of Rhône surround by several mountains including Monte Rosa, the Dom, Liskamm, Wesshorn, and of course, the most infamous Matterhorn!!! Maybe you’ve eaten a Toblerone chocolate and notice a small mountain on its packaging. Turns out, this mountain is not so small at 4,478 m high.

There are three specific mountain excursions: Gornegrat (3,089 m), Matterhorn glacier paradise (3,883 m), and Rothorn (3,103 m). It is here that you can buy passes to ski in two different countries including (Italy and Switzerland) while also gaining a view of France!! There are 360 km of plush whit skiable ground divided into 148 different slopes of all levels, and a total of 54 ski lifts. I highly suggest downloading a ski map app on your phone as it was quite a challenge navigating the different lifts with the slopes. While Zermatt has plenty of activities across the four seasons including hiking, rock climbing, and swimming in the lake Leisee lake, the ski area in Theodul Glacier is open 365 days a year! If you are beginner skier and you are not comfortable moving to red slopes yet, wait until a little later into the ski season for the lower slopes to be open.

While we didn’t quite make it to Gornergrat this time around (rest assured we have a trip planned to go back this summer 2022), we did take the lifts up to Glacier Paradise to gain an exceptional view of Matterhorn. My oldest daughter and I bought a three day ski pass, two day ski school passes, and rented all of our gear from Intersport. They have everything you need from clothing, helmets, goggles, skis, boots, and ski polls. No need to drag all of your ski gear along. There are also several ski gear storage rentals available so you don’t have to lug everything back and forth. This was quite handy since there are no cars allowed in Zermatt. Zermatt has its own set of electric vehicles used for deliveries and public transportation.

On that note, be advised that you will have to park your car somewhere and take the train into town. We rented a spot at the Matterhorn Terminal Täsch at a very good price and then purchased round trip tickets for the train into town. The town is small enough to walk anywhere you need to go. Be mindful that is built in the valley of a mountain range and thus some lodging may include a steep walk. We rented an Air BnB and had to do quite a bit of walking to get up a pretty steep hill to our lodging, but it was totally worth it (though my youngest daughter might disagree). However, by getting an apartment with a higher elevation, we had a direct view of the Matterhorn while overlooking the small city.

We quite enjoyed simply walking around town taking in the magnetic scenery of the surrounding mountains, the Matter Vispa river that runs through the center of the city, and the architecture of the small shops, restaurants, and lodging within the city. There are of course over 100 restaurants within this small city. We could not go to Switzerland and not have fondue! I highly recommend visiting any number of restaurants that serve fondue. Be sure to do your research prior to dinner because most places will require a reservation, many of which can be made online.

The iconic Matterhorn can be seen from almost every view point in the valley and up in the mountains. There are many great photography spots depending on your taste of photography. I did not get to my top 5 spots since most of the areas I wanted to visit are up in the mountains on the 5 lakes trail. I was quite impressed of the lower photography spots I found. November travel to Zermatt offered more limited areas I was to visit, however, I was able to capture beauty of fall colors and snow! If you have not traveled to a mountain area for photography, remember sunrise and sunset are different due to higher elevated areas surrounding you. Sunrise (1 hour later) and sunset (1 hour earlier) are about an hour different from where you are pulling your information.

Travel Blog

Posts tagged with valley-of-Rhone

Zermatt visit the tiny village nestled in the valley of the Pennine Alps.