| Zermatt, Switzerland » Location In the extreme S of Switzerland, near the Italian border. 30 mls SW of Saas-Fee. 140 mls E of Geneva and its international airport. 130 mls SE of Bern and its international airport. » Position In a beautiful valley, at the foot of some of Europe's highest mountains, including the famous Matterhorn. » Description This picturesque, somewhat sprawling, long-established village is considered one of those must-see-once destinations, if just for the mountain scenery. The village itself is fairly compact (measuring just over 1 ml by 750 yds), a mix of old traditional-style chalets and modern stores forming its centre. As the resort is completely off-limits to cars, motorists must leave their vehicles at Tasch and take a taxi or the 15-min train trip to Zermatt; the latter can be crowded in high season. Transport in the resort is mainly by expensive electric bus, taxi or a small number of horse-drawn sleighs. It's not the peaceful traffic-free haven it sounds, however, and some agility is required to dodge the electric taxis, which can move at a fair speed. It is an hour in the lifts to the Italian resort of Cervinia, but an early start is needed to profit fully from the groomed slopes there. » Suitable for Plenty to keep the expert and intermediate happily challenged. Unsuitable for beginners, as it can be quite steep and rocky in parts. Rather upmarket resort, also popular with nonskiers for its range of alternative activities and walks. » Accommodation Mostly good-quality, pricey hotels, catered chalets and a wide choice of self-catering apartments. » Shopping A good selection of shops, including a large number of high-end jewellery stores (which says something about the type of clientele who frequent the resort), plus designer fashion shops, lots of quality Swiss souvenirs (cuckoo clocks, Swiss army knives and music boxes) and a fair number of art galleries. Prices are pretty high. » Entertainment Daytime: snowboarding, paragliding, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, winter hiking, ice climbing, curling, ice-skating (one natural and one artificial rink), tennis, squash, bowling, sledging, tubing and sleigh rides. Tennis, swimming and golf (all indoor). Summer: hiking and mountain-biking. Nightlife: very lively, with plenty of bars, discos and restaurants. » Eating Reputedly has more restaurants than any ski-resort in Europe. Something to suit all tastes and pockets, from the relatively cheap and filling fondue to more sophisticated gastronomic feasts such as Thai, Indian, Italian and Japanese. 38 on-slope restaurants. » Public Transport A bus service links the station with the Matterhorn lifts. This is not covered by the lift pass and fills up very quickly, although it runs every 10 mins at peak times. A weekly pass is available. With any ski-pass, however, there is free access to the electric ski-buses around the resort. Non-skiers can buy a pass for 15 journeys. » Excursions Cross-border skiing to Cervinia (Italy) and, for a real treat, a helicopter trip around the Matterhorn. Not particularly well located for summer excursions; trips are offered to Stresa on Lake Maggiore (Italy) and Riederalp/Bettmeralp (scenic Swiss villages). » Skiing Descsription Skiing is in 3 main areas, all well served by an extensive system of lifts (which includes the Sunnegga funicular and the Gornergrat mountain railway, 16 cable cars, 5 chair-lifts and 10 drag-lifts). The ski-areas are not particularly well linked, and at ground level it is difficult to get from one to another without long walks on treacherous icy paths or by crowded electric ski-bus. Can be long queues for the lifts to the Klein Matterhorn area in late March and April. Zermatt is essentially a "lazy man's resort", with the busiest time between 10am and 11am. There are 2 ski schools, with many English-speaking instructors. The instruction does not generally start until Monday, which is not very useful for guests arriving on Saturday. Ski-passes can be bought for the entire Zermatt area, for the Zermatt/Cervinia area or the Klein Matterhorn/Cervinia area. Good but expensive off-piste skiing and heli-skiing also available. » Statistics Village: 5,315 ft; highest lifts: 12,610 ft. Season: year-round. Excellent snow conditions with extensive summer skiing. 19 blue runs, 33 red runs and 11 black runs. 11% snow-making coverage. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Hotels in Zermatt, Switzerland |
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