Village of Zermatt, Switzerland
The village of Zermatt is nestled in a deep valley and surrounded by some of Switzerland’s highest mountains.The tall pyramid-shaped Matterhorn stands silent watch over the village below, made famous after seven British climbers first ascended the deadly mountain in 1865. Zermatt is a car-free village and as we stepped off the train, horse drawn carriages and little electric taxis were awaiting to whisk the new arrivals off to their hotels. Most striking was despite the hustle and bustle in the main square, Zermatt was quiet and peaceful.
Main Street
The main street, simply known as Main Street, runs through the village and is lined with restaurants, bakeries, and shops. With more than 360 kilometers of marked slopes in the Matterhorn Ski Paradise, the village was fairly quiet at our mid-day arrival. We took advantage of the few hours before we headed up the Gornergrat for our overnight igloo adventure to get to know Zermatt.
Just 40 years ago, transport in Zermatt was almost exclusively by horse drawn carriages. We opted to walk to stretch our legs, but there is something romantic about taking a trip through Zermatt in a horse drawn carriage (and perhaps back in time?).
Perhaps our favorite part of the village is the old town where old farm buildings built of logs called Gädini. The oldest surviving village center and some of the buildings are over 300 years old. Their sun-beaten wooden walls are made of larch wood and stand on stilts with round stone slabs on top to prevent rodents and insects from entering. The roofs of these typically Valais-style buildings are covered with shingles made of flat stone slabs. As we strolled around the remaining old part of the village, Fabiene from Zermatt Tourismus explained that people would live on the top and their sheep, pigs, and cows lived in the barn on the bottom. The heat from the livestock would rise, making the top a nice, cozy home.
Fabiene tells us if you go to this pub, you’ll be crawling home!
Sadly, many of the Gädini fell into decline around the 1960s and their cultural heritage and value was not realized until many years later. Restoration projects have seen the outsides of the Gädini preserved in the traditional style and the insides have been modernized and converted into chic pubs and even holiday apartment rentals.
The village also has two curling rinks where curling teams from around the world come to train and the Horu-Trophy, one of the largest and best open air curling tournaments in Europe, takes place. We stop for a while and learn more about the sport while sipping on glühwein.
We stroll by Zermatt’s oldest hotel, the church, and the fountain dedicated to Ulrich Inderbinen, a famous Swiss mountain guide who had ascended the Matterhorn over 370 times and made his last ascent when he was 90. We learned a bit more about him on our visit to the Matterhorn Museum.
The village of Zermatt is an idyllic place to wander around and even though you’ve likely come for the world-class skiing or mountaineering, be sure to take time to explore the village.
Where to Stay
After our night in the igloo village, the Sunstar Style Hotel Zermatt was a lovely (and warm!) place to call home. We loved that the rooms all have balconies overlooking the village. The hotel also has a health center with indoor pool, jacuzzi, steam bath, and sauna. A 4-course dinner is included with the half board option and the menu changes nightly. A lavish breakfast buffet is served in the restaurant each morning.
Know Before You Go
- Zermatt can be reached by car by driving to Täsch, 7 kilometers away, and taking the railway to Zermatt. The train takes 12 minutes and costs 16 CHF round trip. Check the timetable for departures.
- Zermatt can also be reached by air; fly to either Geneva or Zurich airports and then take the train.
- There are many restaurants in Zermatt; we recommend the Restaurant Grill at Hotel Walliserhof and Restuarant Stadel.
Thank you to Zermatt Tourimus for hosting us during our stay in Zermatt. As always, all opinions are entirely our own.
Jennifer Dombrowski
Jennifer Dombrowski is a location independent globe trotter and bases herself in Prata di Pordenone, Italy. She works as a social media and innovation strategist in higher education and is a regular contributor on johnnyjet.com. Her website, jdombstravels.com, is the 2012 Destinology Travel Bloggy Best Newcomer award winner. Google+
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We’re Jennifer and Tim and we love traveling! We are just one ordinary couple who have found that travel brought us closer together, taught us patience, the art of compromise, and how to truly appreciate the diversity of this extraordinary world. So far, we've visited 37 countries, lived in the United States and Italy, and Tim has lived in Korea. And we do it all while both holding down full time jobs. 
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Andi of My Beautiful Adventures
February 26, 2013 at 3:41 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Oh it’s soooo beautiful!!!! I wish I was there now in one of those cottages drinking hot chocolate.
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 26th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
The village is very beautiful, Andi! An it is lovely to pop into one of the many cafes for a hot chocolate or hot cup of tea.
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memographer
February 26, 2013 at 4:54 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Ahh, this is so good. Thanks for the story and info. Love those snow caps on the roofs of Gädini buildings.
memographer recently posted..The Miracles Of Polaroid: Girl With A Red Hat
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 26th, 2013 at 9:39 pm
The Gädini buildings were my favorite too and the way they were snow capped was so beautiful. Like a postcard!
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Andrew
February 26, 2013 at 10:43 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
This is pretty high on our list being not so far from Freiburg and on Ali’s check off list.
I like the explanation of the double decker houses. The farmhouses from the BlackForest are wider, but similar shaped. The roof sheds the snow nicely. I don’t think the livestock live under the houses, but neat anyway.
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 27th, 2013 at 12:21 am
You and Ali should definitely visit Zermatt! We saw many of the Valais style houses on the drive to Tasch and wondered about them. So it was definitely interesting to learn about their heritage.
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Sharon Bijo
February 26, 2013 at 9:49 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
I've been going to Zermatt every year to ski and it's definitely the gem of the Swiss Alps. Not only does the ski resort have the best slopes I've ever seen in the country, but it also has great restaurants, lots of history and culture (like you mentioned) and a lot of activities to do besides skiing. I once went up to the top of a mountain at night for a fondue, and then came down sledding through the darkness with only a flashlight guiding the path. It was an amazing experience — highly recommended.
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Jdomb's Travels Reply:
February 27th, 2013 at 10:54 am
That sounds like so much fun, Sharon! What an adventurous way to get back to the village.
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Sharon
February 26, 2013 at 10:50 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
I’ve been going to Zermatt every year to ski and it’s definitely the gem of the Swiss Alps. Not only does the ski resort have the best slopes I’ve ever seen in the country, but it also has great restaurants, lots of history and culture (like you mentioned) and a lot of activities to do besides skiing. I once went up to the top of a mountain at night for a fondue, and then came down sledding through the darkness with only a flashlight guiding the path. It was an amazing experience — highly recommended.
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Shalu Sharma
February 27, 2013 at 10:42 am (UTC 2) Link to this comment
The village of Zermatt seems very interesting. The only place I have been to Switzerland is Zurich but hope to visit some other places and the village of Zermatt seems like a place going. These log buildings are amazing to look at. Its amazing how only 40 years ago transport to the Zermatt was mainly by horses.
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 27th, 2013 at 2:18 pm
We also liked Zurich, but we love the smaller Swiss towns and villages. We’d love to do some hiking in the area and even hike the 40 kilometer long wine road in the Valais region.
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Andrea
February 27, 2013 at 5:52 pm (UTC 2) Link to this comment
How delightful! I love Switzerland and a car-free village sounds charming…
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
February 27th, 2013 at 7:52 pm
Most definitely charming, Andrea! Only 5500 people live in the village, so it is very homey feeling and everyone knows everyone.
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Lu-Gerda
March 6, 2013 at 10:47 am (UTC 2) Link to this comment
Hi, Zermatt is beautiful with the snow everywhere. I loved the village when we visited in the summer of 2011 but I think I must start planning a winter trip to Switzerland.
Lu-Gerda recently posted..Beaufort West Dutch Reformed Church
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Jennifer Dombrowski Reply:
March 7th, 2013 at 9:53 pm
Too funny, Lu-gerda! We want to plan a trip back in summer to go hiking around Zermatt.
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