There’s just something about that Matterhorn. With its bent peak, it’s the most recognizable mountain on the planet. Anyone who says, “You’ve seen one mountain, you’ve seen them all,” hasn’t seen this one. The Matterhorn has a nearly mystical draw on people. It’s like the Stonehenge of Switzerland.
Oh, and there’s a town, too. Zermatt, a little burg of 5,500 people, might well be the most touristy resort in Switzerland. While there are pockets of traditional charm, virtually every building in town has something to do with the tourist trade. Aside from the quarries you’ll pass on the way in, tourism is Zermatt’s only industry.
This is a one-mountain town. Many visitors find it overrated, especially considering its inconvenient location at the end of a long, dead-end valley in the southwest corner of the country. And if you make the long trek and find only cloudy weather, there’s little else to do … other than wish they had a T-shirt that reads, “I went all the way to Zermatt and didn’t even see the lousy Matterhorn.”
Little Zermatt has over a hundred hotels-and all of them are expensive. This is a resort town, plain and simple, where even the budget bunks cost big bucks.
Hotel Romantica offers 15 rooms a few scenic steps up from the main street, in a flower-dappled chalet surrounded by old-fashioned huts (doubles around $200-250, www.reconline.ch/romantica).
Hotel Tannenhof is a great value, hiding a few steps off of the main drag ($170-180 doubles, www.tannenhof.zermatt.info). Hotel Bahnhof, with 17 slightly worn but tidy rooms across the street from the train station, might be Zermatt’s best value ($140 doubles, www.hotelbahnhof.com).
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The town is charming enough, despite its single-mindedness about catching the visitor dollar. The streets are lined with chalet after chalet. Just off the main drag, you’ll spot small stands of traditional shacks on stone stilts to keep out mice. You’ll also spot a handful of churches, including the big landmark Catholic church and the smaller English church, built for the many British mountaineers who have flocked to this region.
Zermatt brags that its streets are traffic-free. Well, not quite. Electric cars (big golf carts) buzz around the streets like irritating scooters, some with surprisingly aggressive drivers. Watch your step.
The town itself is short on attractions. On rainy days, the locals can only shrug. They’ll suggest you go swimming at one of the big hotel pools or visit the museum.
The cute little Alpine Museum is squeezed into two floors of a creaky old building. Twist your way around the stuffed alpine fauna, exploring the history of Zermatt and the Matterhorn. You’ll find out why Teddy Roosevelt climbed the famous peak before he was president. The reliefs of the mountain (and surrounding region) offer helpful perspective. There’s a morbid room displaying artifacts found after deadly accidents, and a room dedicated to July 14, 1865, the day the Matterhorn was finally conquered by a team of seven climbers. Tragically, four of them died on the descent.
If you visit Zermatt on a bright and sunny day, you have several good options – other than climbing – for getting thrillingly close to the photogenic mountain. Whichever way you choose, you’ll be treated to a distinctly Swiss cable-car trip leading to a stunning viewpoint. If you go up the Klein (little) Matterhorn, you’ll also see a Glacier Palace on top – basically a big hole dug into the ice that allows you to walk deep into a glacier.
Aside from hiking and views, more adventurous travelers can go parasailing or mountain biking. The hills above Zermatt are laced with great bike paths, giving you lots of extra options of how best to see that world-famous mountain.
Rick Steves of Edmonds (425-771-8303, www.ricksteves.com) is the author of 27 European travel guidebooks including “Europe Through the Back Door” (published by Avalon), and host of the PBS-TV series Rick Steves’ Europe, airing weeknights at 7 p.m. on Channel 9.
The schedule this week:
Monday: London
Tuesday: Dublin
Wednesday: North Wales
Thursday: Edinburgh
Friday: Cotswold Villages
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