The picturesque village of Zermatt, full of original Alpine charm, lies at the foot of the majestic Matterhorn in the southern Swiss Alps and has arguably the best panoramic views of any ski resort in the world.

Skiing

The winter sports opportunities are equally mind-blowing, with the world's second biggest lift-served vertical drop, and a virtual guarantee of snow from top to bottom throughout the season thanks to Zermatt's altitude and snowmaking ability of 129 snow cannons on the lower slopes.

There is a tremendous variety of runs available for intermediates, including scenic descents through trees and long red runs. Although better for intermediates and advanced skiers, there are some gentle slopes for beginners, with the wide-open runs of the Sunnegga providing the ideal terrain for learning.

There are three skiing areas at Zermatt: Rothorn, Gornergrat and Klein Matterhorn (Matterhorn slopes). Interlinking between Rothorn and Gornergrat is much easier than Klein Matterhorn and Gornergrat. You can also ski down to Cervinia in Italy.

Beginners and intermediates have groomed slopes to choose from and advanced skiers can enjoy the drop-off on the Plateau Rosa where world speed records of 120 miles an hour and more used to be set. 2003 also saw the opening of the Furggsattel glacier chair lift, the longest glacier chair lift in Europe.

Cross country, off-piste and glacier skiers are well catered for, as are snowboarders and those who fancy a spot of ski touring.

Other activities

Other activities include tobogganing, sledding, snowshoeing, dog sled rides, telemark, winter hiking, ice skating, curling, heliskiing, ice climbing, sleigh rides, snowtubing, and ice hockey.

Non-ice themed fun can be had at the indoor swimming pool, hot tubs, jacuzzis, indoor tennis, fitness trail, climbing wall, table football, and indoor golf.

The resort

This car-free resort is located at an altitude of 1,620m above sea level and has 250km of varied trails in the ski area between Switzerland and Italy. Transfer time is about 4 hours from Geneva and 4.5 hours from Zurich. Zermatt offers skiing 365 days a year with a 1000 metre vertical on its glacier in the summer months.

There are 100 restaurants to choose from in addition to the 38 mountain restaurants and the dozens of bars and nightclubs, making the après-ski scene at Zermatt tough to beat.

More information

Zermatt tourism website
Address: Zermatt Tourism, 3920 Zermatt, Switzerland
Telephone: 0041 279 668 100
Fax: 0041 279 668 101
Email: zermatt@wallis.ch