Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Zermatt sits at the head of the Mattertal valley in the canton of Valais, at the foot of the Matterhorn, the mountain that has come to stand for the Alps themselves.
St. Mauritius Church and the Mountaineers' Cemetery
Gorner Gorge
Gornergrat
Riffelsee
+3 more places
This guide walks you through the best places to visit in Zermatt, from the old wooden barns of the village to glacier terraces and mountain lakes, with practical tips on timing, transport and seasons.
The Matterhorn alone is reason enough. At 4,478 metres, its four steep faces rise straight above the village, and the north and east faces glow orange at sunrise on clear mornings.
Zermatt also has one of the largest lift networks in the Alps, so you can reach high glacier country without technical climbing. In summer, hundreds of kilometres of marked trails connect mountain lakes, hamlets and huts. In winter, the ski area links across the border with Breuil-Cervinia in Italy, and some glacier runs stay open even in summer.
Bahnhofstrasse runs from the station through the heart of the village, lined with hotels, outdoor shops and cafés.
Just off the main street, the Hinterdorf quarter preserves Zermatt's farming past. Dark larch-wood barns, stables and granaries stand on wooden stilts topped with flat stone slabs, a design that kept rodents out of the stored grain.
The parish church of St. Mauritius marks the center of the village. Beside it, the Mountaineers' Cemetery holds graves and memorials to climbers who died on the Matterhorn and surrounding peaks, including members of the 1865 first-ascent party.
The Mountaineers' Cemetery in central Zermatt holds graves of climbers who died in the surrounding peaks. Photo: Addvisor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Built partly underground near the church, the Matterhorn Museum recreates an old mountain village with houses, a chapel and a hotel interior, and tells the story of the first ascent and the growth of tourism.
A short walk south of the village, the Gorner gorge is a narrow cleft cut by meltwater from the Gorner Glacier. Wooden walkways and stairs fixed to the rock walls lead you above the rushing green water.
Walkways lead through the narrow Gorner gorge just south of Zermatt village. Photo: Tiia Monto, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Gornergrat rack railway, opened in 1898, climbs from a station opposite the main railway station to a ridge at just over 3,000 metres, the highest open-air railway in Europe. From the top you look across the vast Gorner Glacier to Monte Rosa, the Liskamm and the Matterhorn, with 29 peaks above 4,000 metres in sight.
The Gornergrat railway has carried visitors from Zermatt to the Gornergrat ridge since 1898. Photo: Alarris2, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Get off the Gornergrat train at Rotenboden and walk a few minutes down to Riffelsee, a small lake below the Riffelhorn. On still mornings it holds a near-perfect reflection of the Matterhorn.
On calm mornings Riffelsee, below the Riffelhorn, mirrors the Matterhorn. Photo: Deralpinbergsteiger, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
An underground funicular climbs from the village to Sunnegga, a sunny terrace with a family-friendly lake, Leisee, a short walk below. Continue by gondola to Blauherd to start the Five Lakes Walk, a marked trail linking Stellisee, Grindjisee, Grünsee, Moosjisee and Leisee.
Stellisee is one of the lakes on the Five Lakes Walk above Sunnegga. Photo: Giles Laurent, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Above Blauherd, a cable car continues to the Rothorn at over 3,000 metres, a quieter summit with a wide panorama that includes the Matterhorn from a different angle and the Weisshorn to the north. It is a fine spot for lunch on a clear day.
A chain of lifts via Furi and Trockener Steg reaches the Klein Matterhorn at 3,883 metres, the highest point in Europe you can reach by cable car. A viewing platform looks over glaciers toward Mont Blanc on clear days, and an ice palace inside the glacier shows crevasses and ice sculptures.
The Klein Matterhorn station at 3,883 metres is the highest point in Europe reachable by cable car. Photo: Roy Egloff, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Schwarzsee is a small dark lake at about 2,580 metres on the shoulder of the Matterhorn, reached by gondola via Furi. A tiny chapel stands by the shore, and the Hörnli ridge, the normal climbing route, rises right above you.
A small chapel stands beside the Schwarzsee lake at the foot of the Matterhorn's Hörnli ridge. Photo: Smtunli, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Two old hamlets above the village show how Zermatt families once lived through the summer grazing season. Findeln sits on a sunny slope below Sunnegga, a cluster of weathered larch chalets and barns with a small chapel and some of the most popular terrace restaurants in the area.
Valais is the home of raclette, the dish of melted cheese scraped onto potatoes with pickled onions and gherkins, and you will find it in village restaurants and mountain huts alike.
Valais is also Switzerland's biggest wine region. Look for whites such as Fendant and Petite Arvine and reds such as Cornalin and Humagne Rouge.
Popular dishes to try in Zermatt
Staying near the station and along Bahnhofstrasse puts you in the middle of the restaurants and shops and close to the Gornergrat railway, which suits first-time and short-stay visitors.
Hillside areas such as Wiestistrasse often have the best Matterhorn views from balconies, but involve some uphill walking. For more space at a lower cost, consider Täsch down the valley, which has its own shuttle train to Zermatt and works well for travelers with a car.
Where to stay in Zermatt
July to September is the main hiking season, when high trails are usually clear of snow, lakes are thawed and wildflowers fill the meadows.
Winter, from late November to April, brings one of the longest ski seasons in the Alps, with cross-border runs into Italy.
Most visitors arrive by train. Frequent services run up the valley from Visp, which connects to mainline trains from Zurich, Bern, Geneva and Milan.
Private cars cannot drive into Zermatt. If you come by car, park at the Matterhorn Terminal in Täsch and ride the shuttle train, which runs about every twenty minutes, or book an electric taxi transfer.
Arrive, settle in and walk Bahnhofstrasse to the Kirchbrücke and the Mountaineers' Cemetery.
Take an early Gornergrat train, enjoy the summit panorama, then walk down past Riffelsee to Riffelberg or Riffelalp before riding back to the village.
Ride the funicular to Sunnegga and the gondola to Blauherd for the Five Lakes Walk, with lunch at a mountain restaurant in Findeln on the way down.
Go high to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise in the morning, then stop at Schwarzsee on the way down and finish with an afternoon visit to the Gorner gorge.
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