Zermatt is located in the German-speaking part of Valais its most popular sight is the iconic Matterhorn peak, one of Switzerland`s most famous mountain. The charming mountain resort town of Zermatt draws mostly skiers, hikers and mountaineers.

If it`s in line with your budget Air Zermatt will fly you in from major regional airports. Otherwise the nearest airport is in Sion, but due to its very limited flight schedule most tourists opt for Geneva, Zurich or Milan Malpensa airports. From these airports it`s possible to book an airport transfer by limousine or van to get to Zermatt.

If you fly into Zurich you can take the train down to Zermatt, about a 3 hour ride.

For most people the most convenient way to Zermatt is going to be by train. Half-hourly trains run from Visp, which has connection to most major Swiss cities as well as the airports in Geneva and Zurich. Zermatt is also the end station of the Glacier Express, a panoramic express train going to St. Moritz.

Zermatt is car-free. If you plan to come by car, you can park your car in Täsch (3 miles from Zermatt) in an open lot or a garage and then take a short (and scenic) train ride from the town of Täsch to Zermatt. You can also take a shuttle service from Täsch if you don`t want to take the train, this will cost about 18Fr per person round-trip.

Getting around Zermatt is easy. It`s fairly small so you can walk or take the electric powered taxis. There are three main streets which run along the banks of the river Vispa, 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.

During the summer there are roads and hiking trails leading up to a number of year-round restaurants in the direction of the Matterhorn.

There are several companies in Zermatt that run small electric taxis. You can call one of the companies` numbers (printed on side of the taxi) to pick you up at any location in the village or they can be hired from the ranks outside the main train station or cable car station.

In addition, 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.

Zermatt has a local bus with two lines. Both lines take the same route through the center of the village, passing by the main station, as well as the Gornergrat and Rothorn stations. The green line then goes to the cable car whereas the red line makes a loop around the Winkelmatte area. Trips cost about 2.50F on the green line and around 3.20F on the red line, however if you have a ski pass or a train ticket, you can take it for free. A weekly pass with unlimited rides costs around 22F. Buses run every 20-30 minutes depending on the time of the day and year.

By Cable Car: There is a series of cable car runs leading all the way to the summit of the Klein Matterhorn (12739 ft), presenting the highest scenic outlook platform in Europe. A ride along the entire series costs about 82F round trip.

One of the main reasons people visit Zermatt from all over the world is the incredible ski and snowboarding. Zermatt is the highest ski resort in Europe, envelops two countries, has 99% guaranteed snow, and is open 365 days a year. If you are a ski or snowboard enthusiast a ski trip to Zermatt should be on your bucket list.

Zermatt is world famous for its long ski runs, and some point between 8,202 ft. and 12,795 ft. Perhaps on of the most intriguing aspects of skiing in Zermatt is the fact that you can literally start your day in Switzerland and ski right down into Italy. Zermatt`s ski area expands across Switzerland and Italy.

-Skiing, of course. People from all over the world come here to ski.
-Winter snowshoeing and hiking, 44 miles of hiking trails.
-Tobogganing
-Mountain excursion to check out the views.
-Cross country ski
-Ice skate
-Paraglide
-Visit the Igloo Village

-Hiking
-Mountain biking
-Climb 13,123 foot mountains
-Enjoy 13 miles of slopes still!
-Golfing
-Enjoy the alpine lakes
-Paragliding

The village is known for its fun crowds and live bands. It`s considered one of the best party ski resorts in Switzerland. At the end of every day on the mountain skiers and boarders from everywhere come to gather at some of the many mountain huts at the base of the Matterhorn.

Zermatt is home to every kind of cuisine. If you run out of things to do in Zermatt, you won`t run out of places to eat. In fact, one of the best ways to immerse in Swiss culture is by indulging in some Swiss specialty cuisine. Some of the must-try foods are obviously cheese fondue, meat and oil fondue, raclette, and Gluihwein.

The town`s main shopping street is bahnhofstrasse where you`ll find an amazing variety of top-class shops.

The currency of Switzerland is the Swiss franc, usually indicated as CHF or SFr. While Switzerland is not part of the European Union and thus is not obliged to convert to the Euro, many prices are nonetheless indicated in euros so that visitors may compare prices. Most of the restaurants, bars, cafes and clubs accept euro, but expect to pay a premium rate.

The Swiss Franc (CHF or SFr) is divided into 100 centimes (known as Rappen in German speaking Switzerland). Bills come in 10, 20, 50, 100, 500 and 10000SFr and coins are divided into 5, 10, 20 and 50 centimes and 1, 2 and 5SFr.

US dollars are not accepted. Please be sure to have the correct currency on hand or be prepared to exchange your dollars for Swiss Francs upon arrival. Currency exchange desks can be found at the airports, train stations and many bank locations.

Peak winter season is from December until Easter, while peak summer season runs from end of June until middle of September. During the peak seasons, weather conditions permitting, all the lifts, runs, hikes and restaurants are open.

For skiers, snowboarders and winter hikers, we recommend visiting Zermatt any time between the end of November and the middle of April. For hiking and climbing, typically the best time to visit Zermatt is between the end of June and the beginning of October.

We highly recommend visiting the Matterhorn Museum. There you can have a virtual experience of Zermatt and the Matterhorn while seeing how this area developed over hundreds of years. Or you can take a tour of the old part of the village and visit the mountaineers` cemetery. Also be sure to check out the indoor activities: billiards, fussball, bowling, climbing wall, enjoying a movie or shopping. Another great option is visit one of the relaxing spas in town, Zermatt spas are offered in two dozen hotels here. Many times you do not have to be a guest of the hotel to enjoy them.

Rothorn, Gornergrat or Matterhorn glacier paradise - those are the possibilities available to choose from.

There are various viewing locations in the village from which you can see the Matterhorn: for instance, the Kirchbrücke, Brücke zum Steg, Schulmatten or Zen Stecken.

Even though it’s just across the border from Italy, most people in Zermatt speak Swiss German. They may know French as well, which is the other official language for Switzerland. Though mostly everyone knows a few words in English, don’t expect everyone to speak fluently. It also doesn’t hurt to learn a bit of German. We suggest you get a good English-German guidebook and familiarize yourself with common phrases such as hello, goodbye, excuse me and numbers 1-10.