Zermatt

Why go

The Matterhorn — the most recognisable mountain in the world, and it stands alone at the head of the valley. No cars — combustion engines are banned; the village runs on electric carts and horse carriages. Skiing into Italy — the lift system crosses to Cervinia, and the glacier skiing runs all year. Gornergrat — a cogwheel railway of 1898 climbing to 3,089 metres with the peak in the window the whole way.

The character

Zermatt was a farming village of five hundred people when British climbers began arriving in the 1850s, and everything since dates from 14 July 1865, when Edward Whymper's party of seven reached the Matterhorn summit and four of them died on the descent when a rope broke. The mountain made the village, and the graveyard by the church — full of climbers, many young, many British — is the other half of that story.

The car ban, in force since the 1960s, is the second defining decision. Visitors leave vehicles at Täsch and arrive by train, and the resulting quiet changes everything: you hear the Vispa river through the village, the horses on the main street, and on still mornings the rockfall on the mountain itself. Zermatt is not cheap and not undiscovered, but it has kept an unusual seriousness about the mountain — a third of the village works in guiding, lifts or rescue, and the Matterhorn is treated as a working colleague rather than a logo.

Places of character

Gornergrat railway — take the first train, sit on the right, and get off at Rotenboden for the Riffelsee reflection. The mountaineers' cemetery — beside the parish church, and the most sobering ten minutes in the Alps. Matterhorn Museum — built underground in the village centre, with the broken 1865 rope on display. Hörnli Hut — the climbers' base at 3,260 metres, reachable on foot in summer by anyone reasonably fit. Findeln — a hamlet of old barns above the village with sun terraces and the best lunch on the mountain. Matterhorn Glacier Paradise — Europe's highest cable car station at 3,883 metres, and year-round snow.

The way to do it

Arrive by train from Täsch; there is no alternative and that is the point. Take the Gornergrat on a clear morning before anything else — the view sets up the whole stay. Eat lunch in Findeln in place of at a lift station. And in summer walk: the trail network above the village is the finest in Switzerland and the Matterhorn is in view for most of it.

One perfect day

First Gornergrat train at seven with the peak lit pink, then walk down from Rotenboden past the Riffelsee where the mountain doubles in the water. Ski or walk on to Furi, and take the cable car up to Glacier Paradise for the top of Europe, briefly, before the cloud. Lunch on a terrace at Findeln with the Matterhorn filling the frame. Afternoon on the long runs home, or the trail down to Zmutt hamlet in summer. Sauna. Then the graveyard at dusk, quietly, and dinner in the old village where the barns still stand on stone discs to keep the rats out.

Grand hotels

Mont Cervin Palace — 1852, the village's original grand hotel, opened before the summit was climbed. Riffelalp Resort — at 2,222 metres on the Gornergrat line, with the highest outdoor pool in the Alps.

When to go

Best expression: March, for long days, settled snow and the peak clear more often than in midwinter. Consider: September, when the walking is at its best and the village is quiet between seasons. Avoid if possible: November and early May, when the lifts largely close and the village stands down.

The frame

Ideal stay 5 nights · Minimum 3 nights · Best arrival train from Visp via Täsch; cars stop at Täsch · Airport GVA 240 km, ZRH 250 km · Walkability total, and no cars at all · Best without a car obligatory