How We Spent 3 Days Skiing in Zermatt (+ Cervinia)
Skiing in Zermatt was one of the most incredible adventures Lucie and I have ever done.
Visit Zermatt on a ski trip with us and explore the best of Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Rothorn, Gornergrat, and Cervinia!
I love skiing, and I'm from Europe. So it's easy to see why one of my childhood dreams was to one day go on a ski trip to Zermatt, one of the world's most famous ski resorts. Simply, the very best of the Swiss Alps. I know - not the most humble dream, but hey, that's what dreams are for!
As the years passed, Lucie and I (I skillfully made her see over time that this was a fantastic idea) always found enough reasons to pick a different spot for ski vacations instead of Switzerland's premier resort. For us, Zermatt was always a bit out of reach, mainly because it's super expensive, but also it's at least a 10-hour drive from our home (and we can find some amazing slope escapes within a much shorter driving range).
But I always knew that my time would come, so I waited. The final push was that Lucie's relatives moved into the Brig area, and when they invited us for a visit, we were like: "When can we arrive?"
So, what's so special about Zermatt ski resort? Stretching between Switzerland and Italy, the ski area has 360 km of groomed runs and skiing up to 3800 meters, making it one of the finest in the world. Plus, Zermatt is where you'll find the iconic Matterhorn, one of the world's famous peaks. So, here's our full rundown of how we spent three days in Zermatt to help you plan your dream vacation at Switzerland's top ski resort.
Hitting the slopes in Zermatt with the Matterhorn in sight is like a dream.
Should You Stay in Zermatt, Tasch, Visp, or Brig?
Figuring out accommodation is one of the most crucial things for any visitor to Zermatt before a ski trip - your hotel choice can make a huge difference in your overall experience. The main idea is that everyone wants to stay in Zermatt, right? The thing is that Zermatt is a bit different from other resort towns for two reasons.
A quick search of Zermatt hotels will reveal that prices for accommodation in this premier ski resort are on the higher side. Well, to put it mildly, we'd just say that the hotels in Zermatt are crazy expensive, especially in the peak season.
If you stay in Zermatt village, you'll have a great view of the Matterhorn!
The second important thing is that cars are not allowed within the Zermatt village, so practically, the only way to get there is by train from nearby Tasch (or obviously the towns and villages in the valley like Brig, Visp, etc.), which is quite important if you plan to stay outside. If arriving by car, you must park in Tasch and take the train to Zermatt from there (even if it's just six kilometers). We're mentioning that you can stay outside Zermatt to save money but be prepared to spend a lot of time going back and forth.
So, when it comes to accommodation in Zermatt, you technically have five options. Your first option is to stay in Zermatt itself. You can also stay in nearby Tasch (just six kilometers from the ski resort, but rates are not that cheaper and you might feel a bit disconnected there). Then you can stay in Visp or Brig - it is great if you can save money on hotel, but be prepared for long days as travel time takes longer. And the fifth option is to stay in any hotel along the way to Zermatt.
Hotels in Zermatt - Despite all that, staying in Zermatt is definitely the most comfortable and convenient way to explore this area, at least if you're not stressed about expenses. The village is like one big collection of hotels, guesthouses, and apartments. Zermatt is car-free (you must leave your car in Tasch) and well-connected with the Canton of Valais by train (technically even with the rest of Switzerland). The biggest selling point is that you get direct access to all three skiing areas, plus you'll have more than enough time to unwind with some apres-ski.
Both Alpen Resort & Spa Alpenhotel Fleurs de Zermatt have an excellent location, cozy rooms, and wellness facilities. Most importantly, they have a ski storage room with a ski boot dryer, which is a must! If you're looking for the ultimate luxury, The Omnia is your spot – it has everything. Interestingly enough, there's also a place for budget travelers - Zermatt Youth Hostel (which also has ski storage). It's quite expensive, though, and we would only consider it if you travel solo.
Zermatterhof is a luxury 5-star hotel in the middle of Zermatt - and way out of our price range!
Hotels in Tasch - Sitting just six kilometers before Zermatt, Tasch is the final stop of your journey when arriving by car. Surprisingly, there aren't as many places to stay as in nearby Zermatt, but you can still find some nice spots here. The accommodation here is slightly cheaper but not by much.
Hotel Matterhorn and Hotel Mountime are both comfortable hotels with free parking and fairly affordable rates. With such a small price difference, we'd only stay here if Zermatt was totally booked.
Hotels in Visp | Visp is a bit closer to Zermatt (30 kilometers from Tasch), but the difference is hardly noticeable, so we'd just go for whichever has a hotel you like and fits your budget. Baxter Hotel and Bildungshaus St. Jodern offer good value for your money.
Hotels in Brig | Brig is almost 40 kilometers from Tasch (45 from Zermatt). If you decide to stay here, Good Night Inn and Hotel Stockalperhof are among the most popular hotels in Brig. The drive from this town to Zermatt took us about 40 minutes. The train ride's around 90 minutes (a direct train runs every hour, or you can switch trains in Visp).
How to Get to Zermatt
Even though we were a bit worried about this part, getting to Zermatt in winter was surprisingly easy. The ski resort was connected to the valley by a nice, easy-to-navigate road. The only downside was leaving our car at Tasch and taking a short train ride to Zermatt (taxis were also available, but trains were cheaper).
We brought our car for this trip, but we get that's not possible for everyone. You can rent a car in Zurich, which has the largest international airport in Switzerland (or any major city).
Another popular way to reach Zermatt from Visp, Brig, or pretty much any other place is by train. Using trains in Switzerland is incredibly easy but quite expensive (unless you buy the Half Fare Travelcard that gives you access to reduced fares).
Every day, we had to catch a train between Tasch and Zermatt.
Driving to Zermatt (aka Tasch)
As we mentioned above, we stayed with relatives in Brig and brought our own car for this trip. So our day started quite early in the morning - we packed our ski gear and hit the road to cover the 40-kilometer stretch between both places while it was still dark. We arrived in Tasch, parked at the huge parking garage, and took the train to Zermatt. Luckily, the parking garage is connected to the train station - we could walk right onto the train with our ski boots and skis on our shoulders.
At the end of the day, after we were done skiing, we took the train back to Tasch and drove to Brig. Rinse and repeat for the next two days. We admit that this part of the trip was the least fun (not surprisingly), and we would definitely prefer to stay in Zermatt. On the bright side, we got to hang out more with our relatives and saved a bunch on hotels.
Parking in Tasch
Since visitors are not allowed to bring a car to Zermatt, it meant only one thing - we had to leave our vehicle at Tasch. Don't worry. Tasch is more than prepared for it. We parked at the official parking garage with more than 2000 spaces (and enough e-charging stations).
Since we pre-booked our parking ticket online, the parking gates automatically opened when we arrived. By the way, the parking garage is hard to miss - the entrance will be on your right-hand side just before the roundabout.
Taking a Taxi from Tasch
You could also take a taxi from Tasch to Zermatt, but it's quite expensive, and we would only consider it when traveling in a larger group.
Taking a Train to Zermatt
What's amazing about Zermatt is that the village is linked by the railway with the rest of the country. In fact, it's the only way you can reach it (not counting taxis and private shuttles), but we've already talked about the parking situation in Tasch. So you know, trains are the best option for travel in Switzerland if you're not bringing a car.
And despite being a tiny village in the mountains, Zermatt's trains are really good and very comfy (just like the trains to Zurich or Basel). The best part is that the trains to Zermatt have separate luggage compartments for your winter sports gear, making it super convenient.
The main downside is trains are pretty expensive in Switzerland, especially without the Half Fare Travelcard, so you gotta decide if investing in it is worth it or not.
Zermatt doesn't allow cars, so the train is your only way in.
Why Should You Spend 3 (optimally 4) Days in Zermatt?
Well, we're going to start with some (hopefully not tedious) facts about Zermatt to show you that three or four days is just the bare minimum for the skiing trip (and share our overall trip plan by the end of this text). The Zermatt-Cervinia ski resort boasts 360 kilometers of marked pistes, shared between two countries - Switzerland and Italy.
Yeah, you've heard right. 360 kilometers. This is totally mind-blowing. In other words, it's HUGE! Zermatt basically consists of four ski resorts - Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Rothorn, Gornergrat, and Cervinia - packed in one. So, you can easily spend a whole day in every single one of them without getting bored.
We could keep skiing forever in Zermatt - Cervinia.
Your options for exploring this vast network of groomed pistes are pretty much endless. For instance, combining Rothorn with Gornergrat and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise with Cervinia is easy. Cervinia itself is enormous, and you could easily spend two or three days there (when visiting from just the Swiss side). FYI, Cervinia is the ski resort, and Cervino is what Italians call the Matterhorn.
Another crucial thing you need to remember is that Zermatt sits 1600 meters above sea level, while Klein Matterhorn is almost 3900 meters. Here, you can find some of the longest ski runs in the world, like 20+ kilometers with a drop of 2000+ meters. Those are just insane stats.
You can be sure that getting to the top and back to the valley takes time - we think that 90 minutes for this whole journey sounds quite realistic (most of the time, we skied at higher altitudes and only went down to the valley on our final runs).
Our Zermatt Skiing Itinerary
We had 10 days in total for our Switzerland trip, though it was technically eight just for skiing since we spent two days on the road. So, our ideal four-day Zermatt itinerary looked like this: We planned to spend the first day at Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the second day at Sunnegga-Rothorn, the third day at Gornergrat, and the last, fourth day at Cervinia.
On our first skiing day in Zermatt, we kept stopping all the time to take in the amazing views of the Alps.
We also wanted to go skiing in Saas-Fee (Saas Fee's glacier is used as a pre-season training ground for many ski racing teams) and Aletsch Arena (to see the Aletsch Glacier - the largest glacier in the Alps). Sadly, bad weather kept us off the slopes for three days, so we had to eventually cut one day in Zermatt. That's why we improvised and split our Cervinia visit into two half-days. It was fine, mostly because we hoped this was not our last visit.
If you're wondering what we did during those three rainy, snowy, and cloudy days, our favorite activity was definitely the Thermalbad Brigerbad, a large outdoor thermal bath with saunas and other wellness goodies.
How We Purchased Zermat Ski Pass
We booked our Zermatt ski passes through the official website here - the best part was that we could get a bundle that included a ski pass to Cervinia (Italy) and a shuttle train between Tasch and Zermatt.
They do have dynamic prices and different packages but be prepared that a day ski pass generally costs around 100 CHF in Zermatt. We paid around 90CHF and also added two addons: 17CHF for skiing in Cervinia and 20CHF for the shuttle train, though these are optional). As you can clearly see, it was a VERY expensive day.
Zermatt's ski passes are some of the priciest in the world.
Travel Insurance
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Day 1: Matterhorn Glacier Paradise + Cervinia
Since the weather forecast for our first day in Zermatt looked more than promising, we decided to take no chances and started with the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise area. It features the highest point of the whole Zermatt-Cervinia ski resort, the 3883-meter Klein Matterhorn. Plus, you're just a stone's throw from Matterhorn itself (almost), and you get access to the Italian side and its vast network of pistes (Cervinia).
One of Zermatt's trademarks is skiing as high as 3800 meters (my watch showed 3782 meters).
The skiing conditions couldn't have been better - we were on the glacier, after all! The views on a clear day were breathtaking (quite literally, as we were almost 4000 meters above sea level). Simply put, the Glacier Paradise area is why you visit Zermatt.
Arriving early in the morning at Zermatt train station, we took an electric, tiny, but free shuttle bus to Matterhorn Talstat, where our 45-minute journey to the top of Klein Matterhorn started (with a change at Furi and Trockener Steg).
Matterhorn Glacier Paradise's viewpoint was the highest place we visited in Zermatt.
After reaching the highest point of the day, we put our skis on the rack and climbed to the main viewing platform at Glacier Paradise to enjoy the 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains and valleys (Matter and Valtournenche) on both the Swiss and Italian sides and the one and only, the 4478-meter Matterhorn.
Seeing the 4478-meter Matterhorn from Glacier Paradise was absolutely amazing.
Interestingly enough, the iconic mountain looked from this area very different than what we were used to seeing in photos, but we'll talk about it more later. Turns out, even with our hiking background at similar heights (Inca Trail, Santa Isabel Climb, Annapurna Circuit, etc.), tackling stairs to the view deck in ski boots was something else entirely. Luckily, it's just a short walk. Then, we put on the skis and hit the slope for the first time this season.
Skiing above 3000 meters was quite a workout!
So, how was the skiing experience in Matterhorn Glacier Paradise? Well, it was fantastic. Skiing on wide, perfectly groomed slopes without crowds and with one of the most beautiful alpine scenery around us was a dream come true.
But first, we took a bit of a different approach that morning. We didn't initially stay on the Swiss side, but we made our way to Breuil-Cervinia and first explored the sunny Italian pistes. We were a bit worried about the weather in the upcoming days, so we wanted to get a taste of Italian slopes when the cross-border adventure was available.
We could hop over to Breuil-Cervinia from Zermatt, the Italian ski town at the base of the Matterhorn.
After lunch, we returned to the Swiss side and spent most of the day skiing at Furgg, Furggsattel, and Matterhorn Glacier Paradise. It was a long and tiring day (especially the final descent back to Zermatt, which was exhausting) but well worth it.
Back in Zermatt, we had to wait a bit for the shuttle bus (there was a pretty big line), which took us back to the train station. Here, we hopped on the train to Tasch and drove back to the Brig, where we spent a night.
Day 2: Sunnegga - Rothorn & Gornergrat
The second day started exactly like the day before, with us driving from Brig to Tasch and then hopping on a train to Zermatt. The weather looked great again, so we were super excited to explore the less 'famous' parts of this gigantic ski resort.
The base station was just 500 meters from the train station, but we still hopped on the shuttle bus to conserve some energy. The main difference in the morning was that we took the Sunnegga Funicular from Zermatt, which brought us to upper Sunnegga Station (2288m). From here, we took a cable car to Blauherd (2571m) and then another one to Rothorn (3103m).
We rode the Sunnegga Funicular on our way to Rothorn.
It was a weekday, a few days before Christmas. And this side of the ski resort was almost empty. Our absolute favorite of the morning (apart from the breathtaking views) was the slopes around Tufter-Tufternkumme-Rothorn. The first few rides on a fresh corduroy were with the clear blue skies above us, and pretty much no one around was one of the highlights of the whole trip!
Apart from the perfectly groomed slopes, we also found out that this is the area from which you can get some of the most classic views of Matterhorn. We already mentioned above that Matterhorn looked different (it was like a perfect triangle from certain angles). Now, the Matterhorn was much further in the distance, and we could enjoy the 'classic' look with that curved ridgeline that gives this triangular-shaped mountain such a distinctive look.
Our favorite views of the Matterhorn were from Rothorn.
In the afternoon, we descended to Gant (2223m) and rode the cable car to Hohtalli (3286m), which is just above the Gornergrat. From here, we could admire the impressive Monte Rosa mountain massif with Dufourspitze, at 4634m, the second-highest mountain in the Alps (and several glaciers).
Getting to see the Monte Rosa massif from up close is awe-inspiring.
Finally, we made it to Gornergrat (3089m) and skied down to Riffelberg, which is home to the cogwheel train station. Hopping on a train at 2582 meters that stops practically on the slope (and takes us back to Gornergrat) was simply incredible. Naturally, we had to try this ride at least one more time, though we didn't want to overdo it since we planned on taking the cogwheel train from Zermatt the next day.
The cogwheel train ride from Riffelberg to Gornergrat was such a fun experience for us.
By the end of the 'ski' day, we descended to Furi, from which we took a cable car (Matterhorn Express) back to Zermatt. Just like the day before, we caught the shuttle bus to Zermatt Bahnhof, took the train to Tasch, and then drove to Brig.
Day 3: Gornergrat & Matterhorn Glacier Paradise + Cervinia
On the third day, we planned to take the cogwheel train from Zermatt all the way up to Gornergrat (3089m). So once we were done with our morning routine (driving to Tasch and taking a train to Zermatt) and stepped outside the main train station in Zermatt, we headed just across the street to the Gornergrat base station and waited for about 15 minutes for the next train. We grabbed a seat on the right side for great village views with Zermatt above, but the train ride itself was honestly more amazing.
Lucie enjoying the scenic Gornergratbahn cogwheel train ride.
We spent a couple of hours skiing in the Gornergrat area, mostly switching between Riffelberg and Hohtalli (3286m). It was another gorgeous morning with hardly anyone around, so we made the most of it. Since we thoroughly explored this area yesterday, we soon enough gradually made our way to Matterhorn Glacier Paradise via Furi and crossed a border to Italy once again.
We got a combo ski pass so we could hit the slopes in Cervinia too.
We did Colle Superiore Delle Cime Bianche (3090m), enjoyed the stunning views of Bec Carre (3004m), and eventually made our way to Breuil Cervinia and from here to Plateau Rosa and the Theodulpass area. The views from the Bontadini summit station of Matterhorn, Klein Matterhorn, and Theodulgletscher were simply beyond words.
Lucie taking a break and Klein Matterhorn in the backdrop.
We snacked here, sitting on the rocks, soaking up the sun and taking in the view. It's moments like this that make us forget about everything (retrospectively, it's more about how incredibly lucky we were to be there). In the afternoon, we returned back to the Swiss side and did a couple of final runs at our favorite Furggsatel - just an open wide duo of slopes on the Furgggletscher. It can't get any better than that.
Zermatt has some of the best skiing conditions out there.
Our final descent to Zermatt was long and tiring, and the icy patches in the narrow sections didn't help, but we just had to try this epic run one more time. Once back in Zermatt, we took the shuttle bus back to the train station, hopped on the train to Tasch, and drove back to Brig.
We anxiously checked the weather forecast on our way back, worried about the changes coming up. The next day's weather looked still somewhat fine, so we booked a Saas-Fee ski pass and stopped worrying about it.
Where to Head Next?
The weather could have gone either way in the morning, but it ended up being on our side and we had an amazing day skiing in Saas-Fee! The next three days, the weather was as predicted, so we couldn't ski. At least we rested our tired muscles and went to the thermal baths twice before finally skiing in Aletsch Arena! And that's it. We hope this Zermatt skiing guide was useful for you. If you've got questions, just hit up the comments below!
Travel Resources
Here you can find links to all the travel resources we use and which you might find helpful when planning your next holiday.
Accommodation: When looking for accommodation, we usually search hotels via Booking.com or Hostelworld.
Tours: Although we love to travel independently, some places are better to visit with a guided tour.
We prefer GetYourGuide for its easy-to-use interface and solid reputation. Another great alternative is Viator.
Rental Cars: When going on a road trip, we always use Rentalcars.com, a reliable site for booking a rental car in advance.
Flight Tickets: When looking for flight tickets, you can search Skyscanner to find the best price.
Travel Insurance: World Nomads and SafetyWing cover against risks of travel.
