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Zermatt is hands down one of our very favorite places in Switzerland! It is a dreamy escape tucked away in the Swiss Alps. No matter where you go in the village, you are surrounded by the most incredible landscape. It truly has the kind of views that stick with you forever. Not only that, but the town itself is incredibly charming and cozy. Plus, there is A LOT to do. Zermatt is small, but don’t underestimate it! We’ve stayed an entire week before and never ran out of activities. If you’re a winter person, the skiing and winter sports here are top-notch. But even in summer, there are loads of activities like hiking, fishing, biking, and just exploring the surroundings. We put together this ultimate 3-day Zermatt itinerary to help you get the most out of this magical place!
This itinerary contains activities that can be done in both the summer AND winter. For more specific info on things to do in Zermatt during specific seasons, you can check out our Insider’s Guide To Zermatt.
We are Sandro & Juli! Sandro is a Swiss native and Juli was born and raised in California. We LOVE to travel – especially to Sandro’s home country. Because we are often asked by friends and acquaintances where to visit in Switzerland, we decided to dedicate a place where our knowledge of all things Switzerland can live. We are always adding to our travels, so follow along as we share all our best tips, hidden gems, travel guides and everything in-between.
Happy travels!
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The Insider’s Map of
Zermatt, Switzerland
Have easy access to all the places mentioned below on your phone and at your fingertips.
Zermatt is a car-free town. So you will be taking the train to get there no matter what.
However, if you are traveling Switzerland by car, you can drive to the nearby town of Täsch and park your car there. From Täsch, you’ll need to take the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn train to reach Zermatt. It’s about a 15-minute train ride. We drove there once and it was fine. You will leave your car in the train station parking lot and hop on the train from there.
The nearest major international airport to Zermatt is Zürich Airport (ZRH). So if you are flying in to ZRH and going directly to Zermatt, you will take a train from the airport to Zürich Hauptbahnhof (main train station), and then catch a train to Zermatt. It takes about 3 hours and 15 minutes. There are no direct trains, so you will have to transfer at least once.
Hot Tip: To avoid more than one transfer, check the train schedule and book your tickets ahead of time.
If you’re already in Switzerland, you can take a train to Zermatt from pretty much all the major cities like Geneva, Bern, or Lucerne. For example, you can take a train from Zürich to Zermatt and only have to transfer once. Just hop on a train at the respective main train station, and you’ll be on your way!
Upon arrival, your hotel will come and pick you and your luggage up and bring you to your accommodations. Every hotel has a cute little electric vehicle with their name on it, so you’ll know it’s for you! You will either have arranged your arrival time with your hotel beforehand or you will just have to call them when you get to the Zermatt train station and they will send someone to get you.
Mont Cervin Palace: $$$$
If you’re feeling fancy, this is a beautiful 5-star hotel that is impeccably decorated and has tons of amenities like a pool, a spa, a fitness center, and 3 restaurants.
Hotel Schönegg: $$$
We had an excellent experience during our stay here. It’s a beautiful chalet-style hotel with lovely, spacious rooms and the breakfast that was included was delicious!
Hotel Jägerhof: $$
We stayed here over Christmas and LOVED it. The hotel was charming with clean, updated rooms and the staff was helpful and pleasant. It is one of the more affordable options and it really is a gem.
Zermatt’s main street (the Bahnhofstrasse) is packed with shops and restaurants. It’s really fun to walk around and browse the shops and just soak in the charm of the town.
In the winter you can get a mulled wine and chestnuts from one of the street vendors. (Make sure you have Swiss Francs on you!).
This is also the area where you will be buying your souvenirs.
In the summer (August) they have an annual Folklore Festival that is delightful to watch as the locals parade down the street in traditional Swiss attire with music and dancing!
There is an area near Zermatt’s main street that can actually be easy to miss if you aren’t paying attention or unless you accidentally stumble upon it. It’s called the “Old Village” as it’s filled with old houses and barns from the 16th and 18th centuries. The small wooden houses were built on stone slabs that were then balanced on stilts to keep them off the ground. The idea was to keep the mice out (kind of brilliant actually).
If you want something fast you can grab a sandwich from one of the cafés or you can have a nice, leisurely lunch at any of the restaurants!
While you’re in the main part of town, you should also stop and visit the Matterhorn Museum. It’s right on the main street and it shows the history of Zermatt and the culture of the region. You also learn about all the famous mountaineers who have climbed the Matterhorn. It’s pretty fascinating!
*Disclaimer: Gorner Gorge is not open in the winter, however it is open the rest of the year so we are including it because it’s worth seeing if you are visiting outside of the winter months.
Gorner Gorge is a narrow chasm that was carved into over centuries by the glacier river Gornervispe. The rock is SUPER old. Like 220 million years old! You walk along these wooden walkways and bridges through the gorge. It’s really cool!
This is really a must-do while you are in Zermatt. It is the highest cable car station in all of Europe with a 360 degree viewing platform at the top. The views are unreal and you get to really soak it in as you go up in the cable cars – it is about a 45-minute ride with stops along the way.
Hot Tip: Try to check the weather ahead of time and pick a day to do this when the weather looks the best. One of the times we tried to go up, we were turned away due to the strong winds.
On the way, make sure you stop at Glacier Palace! It’s the highest glacier palace in the world. You are basically straight up walking into a glacier – everything is carved out of ice. We really enjoyed this and there are some great photo ops!
Just a note: It is a bit pricey to do this, but totally worth it. You can check ticket prices here.
You’ll basically take a gondola and a series of cable cars, starting from the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise gondola station (Zermatt Bergbahnen) in Zermatt. You can easily walk to it or take the bus.
From there, the first gondola takes you to Furi.
From Furi, there are essentially two ways to go. You can either take the cable car from Furi to Schwarzsee or you can go from Furi directly to Trockener Steg. Both will end up taking you to the Glacier Paradise, but one route is a bit faster, while the other is slightly more scenic. We’ve experienced both, but we enjoyed Furi to Schwarzsee because there is another Matterhorn viewpoint that is incredible! If you choose to go through Schwarzsee, you will then hop back on the gondola to Trockener Steg.
From Trockener Steg, you will then get on the final cable car to the summit!
Hot Tip: Make sure you check the cable car schedules ahead of time, as the hours differ according to the season.
Restaurant recommendations here.
This is another thing not to miss while you are in Zermatt. The Gornergrat Bahn is a historic train that was the world’s first fully electrified cog railway! It is also the highest open-air railway in Europe. The train ride itself is already a really cool experience as you get incredible views during the journey through the mountains. It stops at several viewpoints along the way.
Gornergrat is a rocky ridge that overlooks the Gorner Glacier at an altitude of 3,089 meters. You’ll be in awe of the stunning panoramic views. You can see 29 different mountain peaks and of course, the Matterhorn.
There is actually a hotel up here you should check out as well, Kulmhotel Gornergrat (Europe’s highest altitude hotel). Have some lunch at the restaurant and soak in those views!
If you are into hiking, there are some trails you can take from Gornergrat. You can hike all the way back down if you want to. But there is a nice downhill hike that we suggest if you are wanting something easier and to continue enjoying the views. (Honestly, Zermatt has views for days! It’s easy to see why we love it so much.)
Gornergrat to Riffelsee is the hike we recommend. It’s called Scenic Trail (Nr. 15) and it only takes about 1 hour. From Gornergrat you will follow the signs that say “Aussichtsweg”. Once you get to Riffelsee, you can take the train back down to Zermatt from the Rotenboden train station.
Restaurant Spycher
Restaurant Schaferstube
Chez Max Julen
Hot Tip: If you are traveling to Zermatt during a high season (either summer or around Christmas in December), you will want to make restaurant reservations ahead of time. When we were there during Christmas week, we had made reservations months in advance and were sure glad we did! Pretty much every place was booked out.
There you go! The perfect 3-Day itinerary for Zermatt! If it’s your first time in Zermatt, you will quickly see why it’s one of our favorite places to visit in Switzerland.
Obviously, you can do any of these activities in any order you want. You may also want to adjust the itinerary according to the season you’re visiting. For example, if you are visiting in the winter and really want to ski for a day, then you definitely should! We go into more specific activities in our Insider’s Guide To Zermatt.
The great thing about the activities we included in this itinerary, is that they can pretty much be done year ‘round (except for Gorner Gorge).
Happy travels!
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We are Sandro & Juli! Sandro is a Swiss native and Juli was born and raised in California. We LOVE to travel - especially to Sandro's home country. Because we are often asked by friends and acquaintances where to visit in Switzerland, we decided to dedicate a place where our knowledge of all things Switzerland can live. We are always adding to our travels, so follow along as we share all our best tips, hidden gems, travel guides and everything in-between.
Happy travels!
We are Sandro & Juli! Sandro is a Swiss native and Juli was born and raised in California. We LOVE to travel - especially to Sandro's home country. Because we are often asked by friends and acquaintances where to visit in Switzerland, we decided to dedicate a place where our knowledge of all things Switzerland can live. We are always adding to our travels, so follow along as we share all our best tips, hidden gems, travel guides and everything in-between.
Happy travels!
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