A VERY GOOD CHOICE WITH LOTS OF ACTIVITIES AND DISTRACTIONS FOR NON-SKIERS

Zermatt is instantly appealing to non-skiers because it manages to combine the charm of a small, traditional alpine village with the shopping and infrastructure of a small town. The fact that it is car-free only adds to its allure for those who choose to spend the whole day at resort level. The main street, the Bahnhofstrasse, bustles all day long and is lined with cafes and restaurants with terraces that are perfect vantage points for watching the world go by. There is also a plethora of shopping opportunities for clothing, jewellery and so on. Many of the hotels have swimming pools and spas, even if you are staying in one not so equipped, many others are open to the public. There is a genuinely interesting brand-new Alpine Museum beside the Zermatterhof hotel and a very trendy cinema. (By the way, it is worth noting that Zermatt’s streets can get very icy in winter, so take a stick or use crampons.)

Thanks to its mountain railway system, Zermatt offers non-skiers unparalleled access to the mountain terrain and mountain restaurants. There are almost endless opportunities for lunchtime rendez-vous with skiing friends and relations. The Sunnegga Express underground funicular runs up to Sunnegga, where there is a large restaurant with excellent Matterhorn views. More energetic non-skiers can walk down marked paths from here to the wonderful restaurants in the Findeln sector and then on back down to Zermatt. Really energetic non-skiers can even walk up to Findeln. On the Gornergrat sector the cog railway gives access to Gornergrat itself as well as to intermediate stations such as Riffelalp and Riffelberg, all of which have mountain restaurants. On the Klein Matterhorn side non-skiers can walk or take a telecabin up to Furri, where there is a good selection of restaurants and from where it is possible to walk down to excellent eating places such as Zum See and Blatten.

The Iglu-Dorf collection of igloos just beside the Rotenboden station on the Gornergrat railway makes an interesting stopping-off point for non-skiers. There is a small igloo bar here and cheese fondues are also served.