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Zermatt's village lights at dusk below the Matterhorn
Switzerland

Zermatt: things to do

Sights, food and festivals, and the traps to skip
Checked 26 October 2026
Where to parkCar towed?
Photos: Franck Ridel / Unsplash
3 min read

Driving in? Where to park

Best parking bet

Matterhorn Terminal Täsch: 2,100 covered spaces, about CHF 17 a day, height 2.30 m, open 24/7. The shuttle train to Zermatt leaves from the same building every 20 minutes: CHF 8.60 single, CHF 17.20 return.

Watch out

The road from Täsch to Zermatt is closed to private cars, electric ones included. Swiss motorways need the CHF 40 vignette; driving without it is CHF 200 plus the vignette.

Parking in Zermatt: the full guide →

01 · Sights

A rack railway from 1898 and Europe's highest cable car station

Zermatt is a village you walk, with lifts to the glaciers above it. Leave the car in Täsch and spend the parking money on one good mountain ride.

1. Take the Gornergrat train

The Gornergrat Bahn opened in 1898, Switzerland's first electric rack railway. It climbs 9,339 m of track to 3,089 m. If I had one clear morning, this is where it would go.

2. Go up to 3,883 m

Matterhorn Glacier Paradise is the highest mountain station in Europe, with a view of 38 four-thousanders. The Glacier Palace is cut about 15 m into the ice.

3. Pick a Crystal cabin

On the Matterhorn Glacier Ride, some cabins have glass floors. They're on the world's highest 3S cableways, says the operator.

4. Walk the Hinterdorf

The Hinterdorf keeps over 30 larch buildings from the 16th to 18th centuries. The barns stand on flat stone slabs on stilts, to keep the mice out of the hay.

5. See the rope that broke

The Matterhorn Museum shows the rope from the 1865 first ascent. Adults pay CHF 12; it opens daily 15:00–18:00.

6. Walk from Sunnegga to Findeln

From the Sunnegga funicular top station, Findeln is about a 20-minute walk. Time it for lunch.

Open in Google Maps ↗

02 · Food

Raclette, cholera pie and a hut at 2,100 m

1. Order raclette made from raw milk

Raclette du Valais AOP is made from regional raw milk. The word, recorded from 1874, comes from French racler, to scrape.

2. Try the cholera pie

Cholera is a pastry pie of potatoes, leeks, onions, apples and strong cheese. The Saas-Fee tourist board doubts the epidemic story and links the name to "Cholära", the bakehouse coal store.

3. Book fondue at Whymper Stube

Whymper Stube, in the Hotel Monte Rosa, serves cheese fondue and raclette and reopens for winter from 13 November. I'd book.

4. Lunch at Chez Vrony

Chez Vrony sits at about 2,100 m and opens 11:30–17:00. Its organic platter of dried meat, Alpine cheese and sausage is in the MICHELIN Guide's description.

5. Finish with apricot tart

Valais apricots go into a buttery tart. With a coffee on a terrace, that's dessert.

03 · Festivals

Unplugged in April, a marathon in July

1. Book early for Zermatt Unplugged

The music festival runs 6–10 April 2027, Tuesday to Saturday; the line-up comes out in December. Täsch fills, so I'd book the terminal online.

2. Watch for the marathon date

The 2026 Zermatt Marathon was on Saturday 4 July. The 2027 date isn't published, though sign-up is open.

3. Check Christmas dates in November

I found no official Christmas or New Year programme with dates for 2026.

What's on

WhenWhat
13 November 2026Whymper Stube reopens for the winter season (Hotel Monte Rosa)
December 2026, dates not publishedChristmas and New Year in Zermatt: I found no official programme with dates when I checked
6–10 April 2027Zermatt Unplugged music festival, Tuesday to Saturday; line-up due in December
July 2027, date not publishedZermatt Marathon; the 2026 race was on Saturday 4 July and 2027 sign-up is open
04 · History

The 1865 ascent and an 1898 railway

1. Remember 14 July 1865

The first ascent of the Matterhorn reached the top on 14 July 1865. Only three of the seven climbers survived the descent.

2. Credit the rack railway

The Gornergrat line opened on 20 August 1898 and still runs on three-phase power, with two overhead wires.

3. Look at the black wood

The Hinterdorf barns are older than the tourism. Some are over 500 years old, darkened by weather until the wood stores heat.

P

Prices, phone numbers and rules change. We check every page and date it, but always read the sign in front of you — the sign wins, not us.

Sources (30)

  1. Travelling to Zermatt by car — Zermatt Tourism: no cars in Zermatt, drive only to Täsch, e-cars too, large fines, 2,100 terminal spaces, 1,000+ private spaces, shuttle every 20 min, 12 min, free e-bus (Ski-Bus, Winkelmatten)
  2. Matterhorn Terminal Täsch — Zermatt Tourism: 2,100 covered spaces, 131 e-zone with 22 kW Type 2 paid by QR, 2.30 m, outdoor car park for taller vehicles, Kiss & Ride 30 min, 24/7, +41 27 967 12 14
  3. Parking and changing trains — zermatt.ch (older Zermatt Tourism page): CHF 4.50/8/11/14, CHF 16 a day, CHF 15 from 8 days, 2.30 m, 17 free chargers, desk 07:00–19:00, shuttle 05:55–21:55, CHF 8.60/17.20, night trains Thu–Sun
  4. Parkhaus Matterhorn (Täsch Terminal) — parking.ch: Kantonsstrasse, Täsch, 2.30 m, CHF 5/9/12/15, CHF 17 a day, CHF 16 from 8 days, charging CHF 4 plus 65 Rp. per kWh, shuttle CHF 17.20 return
  5. Matterhorn Terminal Täsch — Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn: 2,100 covered spaces, station under the same roof, 12 minutes, trolleys on the train
  6. Motorcycles in the car park — Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn support: car rates, free spots at Umschlag/Bahnhofplatz
  7. All parking around Täsch — Zermatt Tourism: list of Täsch and Randa car parks and taxi parking
  8. Parkhaus Randa — Zermatt Tourism: Gemeinde Randa, 88 covered plus 12 outdoor, CHF 1 an hour, CHF 12 a day, no cards in the garage, +41 27 967 17 76
  9. Welcome Parking Täsch — Zermatt Tourism: Taxi Fredy AG, Kantonsstrasse 81, 120+ indoor spaces, EV charge CHF 30, +41 27 967 01 70
  10. Outdoor and garage parking with transfer — Welcome Parking offer, zermatt.ch: summer CHF 8/15, winter CHF 10/18 a day, transfer compulsory
  11. Hotel Mountime parking + shuttle — Zermatt Tourism: Kantonsstrasse 185, CHF 10 summer, CHF 13 winter, 2-day minimum, minibus CHF 10 a person, minimum CHF 30
  12. Railway Station / Täscherhof parking garage — Zermatt Tourism: Bahnhofstrasse 1, Täsch, low-cost, 24 h, +41 27 966 62 62
  13. Strasse Täsch–Zermatt — Canton of Valais: motor traffic banned except authorised users, permits up to 3.5 t via the Strasse NG13 Zermatt app from 1 December 2024
  14. Swiss motorway sticker — ch.ch (Swiss Confederation): CHF 40, 2026 vignette 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027, CHF 200 fine plus vignette, e-vignette tied to plate
  15. E-vignette and adhesive vignette — FOCBS: CHF 40 on the Via portal, valid 1 December to 31 January of the following year
  16. FAQ vignette purchase — FOCBS: e-vignette linked to the number plate, third-party surcharges
  17. Ordnungsbussenverordnung (OBV), version of 1 April 2024, Annex 1: overstaying CHF 40/60/100
  18. Highest avalanche warning: snowfall causes massive traffic problems — SRF, 22 January 2018: railway and road Täsch–Zermatt closed
  19. Zermatt Marathon arrival: cars to Täsch, 2026 race Saturday 4 July, 2027 sign-up
  20. About the Gornergrat Bahn: 1898, first electric rack railway in Switzerland, 3,089 m, 9,339 m long, 29 four-thousanders, Gorner Glacier second longest in the Alps
  21. Gornergrat Railway — Wikipedia: opened 20 August 1898, three-phase 725 V with two overhead wires
  22. Matterhorn Glacier Paradise — Zermatt Bergbahnen: 3,883 m, highest mountain station in Europe, 38 four-thousanders, 14 glaciers, Glacier Palace 15 m down, Crystal Ride glass floors
  23. Viewpoint old part of the village (Hinterdorf) — Zermatt Tourism: 30+ buildings, 16th–18th century, larch, stone slabs on stilts against mice, Hinterdorfstrasse
  24. Matterhorn Museum – Zermatlantis — MySwitzerland: Kirchplatz, daily 15:00–18:00, adults CHF 12, the 1865 rope
  25. Zermatt Unplugged: 6 to 10 April 2027 — Zermatt Tourism
  26. Whymper Stube — Hotel Monte Rosa: Bahnhofstrasse 80, cheese fondue and raclette, reopening from 13 November
  27. Chez Vrony — MICHELIN Guide: Findeln, about 2,100 m, 20 minutes' walk from Sunnegga, 11:30–17:00, organic platter
  28. Raclette du Valais AOP — Valais/Wallis: raw milk, name first recorded 1874 from racler
  29. Valais specialties — Saas-Fee/Saastal: cholera pie, dried meat, rye bread, apricot tart
  30. Zermatt — Wikipedia: 46.017°N 7.750°E, population 5,847 (2024), three of seven climbers survived the 1865 descent, e-taxis run by four families