Dianedancer

My husband and I went to Zermatt this past week. We have been to Switzerland 4 other times but never to Zermatt. I've always wanted to be in the Alps in winter and so we went. And, no, we don't ski. So we went to hike and tobaggon.

<b>The Short and Sweet:</b>
It is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. The whole area. It's known for The Matterhorn but there are 100s of peaks surrounding you. Numerous cable car trips to take. We did the Gornegrat, Sunegga, Furri and Schwarzee. The Matterhorn Paradise was unavailable due to winds.

We lucked out with beautiful blue skies except for one day which we spent in the town. Even then the weather cleared up in the PM.

The town itself is much bigger than I imagined and fun to walk through, and not just the main street. And some really interesting very old wooden houses.

Our hotel was Hotel Jagerhoff. Great family owned place. And their kitchen in which we had 3 out of our 4 dinners, served delicious food.

Everyone was nice to us. Everyone.

It is a truly beautiful area.

Highly recommended.

Well, that's it. Short and Sweet as I said.

If you have any questions, I'd be glad to answer them.

schlegal1

I am glad I saw this--I was just looking at possible places to do some trekking this summer and have gotten overwhelmed looking and comparing (Italy, Austria, Switzerland). I loved your descriptions and it gives me a much better idea of how one might plan such a trip.

Dianedancer

schlegal1 - Glad if I could help.

We've been to the Berner Oberland area in Switzerland few times and loved it and it's much closer to Zurich and Bern, but we wanted something different. I had read that Zermatt is far away and thought it was only "good" for the Matterhorn. But, it's so much more than the Matterhorn, stunning as that is. Again, it is in the middle of hundreds of peaks and the town itself is really nice. And lots and lots of trails to trek. And in the summer there won't be any skiers so you should have it all to yourself and other hikers.

How many days are you going?

Tough (and great) decision that you have to make.

We've also been to the Dolomites in Northern Italy and loved it there.

schlegal1

I think we will have about a week. We would like to explore a town, do some day hikes and also maybe an overnight or multinight trek. Oh the Dolomites are also such a good choice...it's going to be hard to decide.

JulieVikmanis

Thanks for your report. We leave for Chamonix and Zermatt (our third time in Zermatt) in mid-February. Our son skis and we walk about the town and take day trips on the wonderful Swiss rail system. If you're inclined to do a day trip, I recommend Brig (with the fabulous Stockalper Palace), Sierre, and Sion. We love these "ski" vacation with our son. They are so relaxing. We just slow down, walk about the towns, have wonderful meals and sit for hours in front of a roaring fire at our favorite Allalin Hotel--and feel like we're part of the "ski scene." Love it.

Dianedancer

Julie- We've been to Chamonix as well. Much preferred Zermatt. Do you take cable cars up to the various mountains? We did and did a lot of walking while up there. It was gorgeous.

JulieVikmanis

Dianedancer, sorry not to have replied to your post earlier. We were in Vienna and Salzburg with our daughter and family. While in Zermatt we took a cable car up to Gonergrat and really enjoyed the opportunity to photo the mountains up close and personal. Had been thinking to try to do that in Chamonix this time but have been put off by indications of need to climb stairs at altitude--not my thing. Actually "my thing" is cheese dishes in every possible style.

deladeb

Aguille Du Midi was awesome in the summer. Did you ascend that Diane when you went to Chamonix. Thanks for the review of Zermatt region.

kappa1

> While in Zermatt we took a cable car up to Gonergrat ...

Just for the record, there is no cable car to Gornergrat.


If Julie did go to Gornergart, she must have taken the cogwheel train.

If she did take the (aerial) cable cars, she went to Kleinmatterhorn ( called these days "Matterhorn Glacier Paradise" )

Dianedancer

deladeb - Yes we went to the Aguille du Midi. On a gorgeous day. We got a little weak kneed up there and didn't climb further up.

The cable cars that take you over to Italy from there were not working at the time because of winds.

Zermatt - Plenty of cable cars, but not to Gornegrat. That's a train.