International (Europe/Japan/Southern Hemisphere) Zermatt

[Jmwils1]

My family is flying to Switzerland the first week of April and we do plan to ski Chamonix (4/2) and Zermatt (4/4). As we are traveling by train and will have 4 children (ages 10-12) we have decided against bringing skis due to the logistics of having to lug so many bags between stations. We are comfortable on blues and on piste blacks in the US. We would appreciate any advice on rental shops, restaurants and ski areas. In Zermatt we are staying near the Zermatt train station so closer to that gondola and a good distance from the Furi. I believe we have decided on brevent for chamonix as posted in another thread.

 

[SIMMS7400]

Well, you're in for a treat! Zermatt was one of the most beautiful places I've been. Depending on how "close" you are to the train station, it still may be a bit of a walk to the closest lift. It's actually a funicular and then you upload to a gondola (Alpen-Metro -> Sunnegga). Not terrible, but could be an interesting walk back at the end of the day with 4 tired children Unless of course you upload/download via the Gornergrat which leaves very close to the train station.

Good choice on not bringing skis. The transfer in Visp can be a nightmare with multiple bags, especially ski bags. Pretty much a stampede from the main train to the cog train you need to board and gear storage is limited (relatively speaking). We only bring our boots when we go to Europe, less hassle. Although, you're going during a non-peak time so hopefully it's not too bad.

Hard to talk about the skiing in Zermatt without writing a novel, so just grab a map and go. There is plenty of terrain for all abilities and perfectly groomed. I would most definitely recommend the add-on ski pass to ski into Italy, it's beautiful! Keep an eye on lift statuses because the connection is often closed due to wind/bad weather. Not that the add-on is expensive, but perhaps it makes sense to buy your passes daily so you can determine when you want to go to Italy based on schedule and weather.

I'm not sure if this is feasible since you'll be traveling with children, but try to hit Cervo for Apre. It's a beautiful and lively spot at the literal end of trail when you come back down through Sunnegga. This assumes there is enough snow below the tree line to get there. They just got a refresh recently and they have decent snow making on their lower trails so I'm sure you'll be fine in early April, provided no major warm-ups.

On Mountain 'must-stops' :

1. Stafelalp on the Furi side
2. Chez Vrony on the Sunnegga side (off of the Findlebahn)
3. Fluhalp on the Sunnegga side
4. Findlerhof on the Sunnega side (off of the Findlebahn)
5. Iglu Dorf (off of the Riffelberg) - neat spot to check out (especially with the kids) the huge igloos and they have mulled wine
6. Adler Hitta

Soups and Charcuterie were the main go-to's when we stopped at those locations. Don't sleep on the Rosti at Alter Hitta, however.

My wife and I don't really like the 'pinkies out' style places when we go skiing, and there's certainly a ton of them in Zermatt. So we tended to find the lower-key spots to eat for dinner. We frequented Grizzly's quite a bit (near the train station) - a low key bar/bistro. Another one we hit was Du Pont, in the middle of Zermatt. Your classic fondu place )with other options) and apparently the oldest restaurant in Zermatt, but still very low key and unassuming. If you're looking for Italian, Refuge du Théodule!

Overall, the food in Zermatt is fine, but don't expect to have your socks blown off. You're there for the magnificent skiing and scenery, not the food When compared to other resorts in Italy or France, it certainly doesn't rate as high, but that's expected. With that said, make sure to stop at a place or 2 on the Italian side to indulge

For gear rental, we went to FLEXRENT which is "near" the train station, very very close to Sunnegga. You can also drop your skis off their at the end of the day as well to hopefully make your walk back with 4 tired children easier lol We stayed at Hotel Schonegg just up the hill from FLEXRENT so didn't need to drop skis off but always the option.

Hope this helps a bit!

​

 

[Swiss Toni]

If you are flying into Geneva airport, it will be a lot quicker if you get a bus to Chamonix rather than the train.

For train travel within Switzerland make sure you get a Swiss Family Card, the kids will then be able to travel for free https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch...n/tickets-public-transport/swiss-family-card/ It might be worthwhile getting Swiss Travel Passes for the adults https://www.sbb.ch/en/tickets-offers/tickets/guests-abroad/swiss-travel-pass.html

The nearest ski rental shop to the railway station is Bayard Sport, they also have lockers.

The Gornergrat railway station is across the road from the main railway station. It takes around 5 min to walk from the railway station to the Sunnegga funicular. If you want to get to the Matterhorn Express Gondola at the other end of the village you will have to take either a bus or a taxi, the bus stop is next to the Gornergrat railway station, roughly opposite the North Face store.

There are over 200 eateries in Zermatt so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find somewhere to eat. There have been a lot of changes since the Covid pandemic, so restaurant recommendations from before then might not be valid now. The kids might like the Golden Lok restaurant, it has an old loco from the Gornergrat railway in the dining room that has been covered in gold leaf https://www.zermatt.ch/en/Media/Restaurants-bars-clubs/Pizzeria-Trattoria-Osteria-Zermatt-Golden-Lok

You might be better off sticking to the self-service restaurants when skiing. The food is pretty average, but you won’t have to worry about reservations, arriving on time etc. If the resort is busy you usually have to reserve if you want to eat at one of the better mountain restaurants.

 

[Jmwils1]

Thanks-we arrive in Zurich and do have train cards for the family. I was planning to rent from Bayard. That is great info on the bus to the Matterhorn Express and I believe the fare should be included in our train cards. Will definitely check out the Golden Lok!

 

[Swiss Toni]

The bus fare is included with the Swiss Travel Passes and the lift passes. Getting the bus from the Gornergrat railway station means that you will get on at the first stop, the buses are very often full by the time they get to the middle of the village. When you get to the Matterhorn Express bus stop you cross the bridge over the river and take an elevator up to the Matterhorn Express lift station. There are photos of the bus stops on the Zermatt tourist office website https://www.zermatt.ch/en/arrival/Getting-around-the-village/Bushaltestellen/Bus-stops unfortunately they are not in the correct order.

 

[eric100]

E bus in Zermatt is free. When I was there no one was checking any passes on the in town bus.

 

[Swiss Toni]

I know it appears that the E-buses in Zermatt are free, as everybody just gets on them, but actually they aren’t. If you look at the lift pass T&Cs https://www.matterhornparadise.ch/en/terms-and-conditions it says “Local bus travel is included in all tickets.”

If you have a valid ticket for a bus journey in Switzerland you usually get on the bus using the doors in the middle. If you don’t you get on via the door at the front and buy a ticket from the driver. The bus drivers don’t normally check tickets, this is done on a random basis by ticket inspectors, if you are found to be traveling without a valid ticket the fine is CHF 90, plus the cost of ticket.

 

[Jmwils1]

Thanks everyone for all the information. We had a wonderful time skiing Zermatt. The snow and weather were perfect and I wish we could have done more than one day here. With the recent deaths from the avalanche a few days ago we stayed entirely on piste, mostly on reds and only on the Sunnega side. We did go up the Furi to the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise to check out the view and see the Glacier Palace and the skiing on that side looked excellent as well. I think 3-5 days would have been perfect. We rented from Bayard and would recommend them. I was on some Mavericks and my wife on Mavens. Both were well tuned and in good condition for rental skis. I tend to prefer a more centered mount and twin tip models which they do not offer, but for what we did these were quite good. We ate at Grampis and Swiss Chalet for dinner. The food and service was good and while expensive, I anticipated this. Aside from a long line and crowding (to be expected at 5pm) we had no issues with the bus which we rode back from the Matterhorn Express to the train station.