Zermatt, 1,594m (5,315 ft.) above sea level, is a small village at the base of the Matterhorn. It made its debut as a hiking and hill-climbing resort more than 150 years ago, when it was discovered by English tourists.
Zermatt is a world-renowned resort with many luxurious accommodations and dozens of fashionable boutiques. You can walk from one end of the town to the other in about 15 minutes, which is handy because no cars are allowed on the local streets. The town does, however, have one of the best networks of alpine cable cars, gondolas, and cog railways in Switzerland -- 36 of them operating in the winter and 21 in the summer. In the peak season it's mobbed with hundreds of tourists.
Because more snow falls on Zermatt than on many other winter resorts in Europe, high-altitude skiing -- especially at the Théodul Pass -- continues throughout the spring and early summer. As for winter skiing, skiers can choose between wide, gentle slopes and difficult runs only for world-class champion skiers.
HOW TO GET THERE
TRAIN Take a train to Visp or Brig, where you can transfer to a narrow-gauge train to Zermatt. Departures are every 20 minutes daily between 6am and 11:30pm. It's about a 4-hour trip from Geneva.
BUS
In addition, buses run from Visp and Brig to Täsch hourly, which is the departure point for the cog railway that ascends frequently to Zermatt.
SELF DRIVE If you're driving, head to Täsch, 4.8km (3 miles) from Zermatt, and park your car in an open lot or a garage. A rail shuttle in the center of the village will then take you to the resort for 15F ($9.60) per person round-trip.
THINGS TO SEE AND DO
From Zermatt, you can take one of the grandest and most scenic train rides in Europe. The Glacier Express might be the slowest express train in the world, taking 7 1/2 hours to pass through southeastern Switzerland, but it's the most panoramic. A stunning feat of mountain engineering, the train begins its daily run in Zermatt, heading for the resort of St. Moritz in the Engadine. Along the way it crosses 291 bridges and goes through 91 tunnels. Windows on the train are designed to take in these stunning mountain panoramas. There's also a dining car aboard.
A satellite of the Badrutt's Palace Hotel complex, Chesa Veglia is a 1658 chalet farmhouse hideaway a few minutes' stroll from the central behemoth. It consists of three restaurants and two bars. The Patrizier Stuben dining room serves Swiss and international dishes (on a terrace in the summertime). The Chadafö is the elegant alpine room of the bunch, concentrating on French cuisine and grilled meats with a backdrop of live piano tinkles. The laid-back Heuboden is a pizzeria and pasta joint. Of course, it wouldn't be St. Moritz (or Badrutt's) if there weren't a fourth dining room operated strictly as a private club and open only to appointed lifetime members.
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