This weekend is my last weekend in Switzerland! *tear*
As such, my boyfriend and I are finally going to visit the beautiful Zermatt for the day, this Saturday. We each have an all-day rail pass that we bought through our Commune.
My question is: what should we do when we get there?
I looked up options on Tripadvisor and they recommend:
#2: Gornergrat Bahn
#3: Matterhorn Glacier Paradise (Cable Car)
Which should we visit or should we do both? Is there enough time to do that? Do you know if our rail pass will cover the train to Gornergrat or the cable cars up to the Glacier Paradise?
I hadn't even thought to bring our winter coats until I read the advice on Tripadvisor. Thank goodness I learned about the weather now, before leaving.
I'm open to any suggestions, including restaurants (good food, *decent* prices, perhaps Swiss food since it'll be one of my last days here)
At this time of year I'd recommend Gornergrat. It's got a lot more 'stuff' including the winding scenic railway up and the views at the top. Going up to the glacier takes you to... a glacier, which can be interesting, I guess, but not really on the same scale, unless you're really new to the whole snowy mountain thing.
No idea about the rail tickets, but there's no reason at all, timewise, why you couldn't do both in a day. The trip up to gornergrat is about 45mins each way, and the Klein Matterhorn cablecar is somewhat less than that.
I'd suggest lunching at Gornergrat, which is more... well, more touristy, I suppose, rather than up on the glacier, but if you prefer to be surrounded by snow then maybe choose that instead.
And I wouldn't worry _too_ much about the winter clothing. Obviously check the forecast, but it's not winter, and if the sun's shining then you may even be removing outer layers and wanting to sit in shorts and tee-shirts. But do check first, of course
And enjoy! Whatever you choose it's a spectacular location and I;m sure you'll have a great day out.
Your tageskarte will get you all the way to Zermatt - with no extra fees. When you leave the Zermatt train station - just across the road is the station for the small Gornergrat train. This is not included in your pass - but your pass will get you a 50% discount - I think the normal price is about 60CHF so the discount is very good!!! When you go into the Gornergrat station there is a TV screen showing a webcam at the top - if it is very cloudy or bad weather you can decide not to go up and save buying the ticket.
I have never been on the cable car (I'm a scardey cat!!).
The train stations are at one end of Zermatt so if you go straight from one to the other you will not see the town - or the amazing view of the matterhorn. So make sure you walk down the main road into the square and you will get the classic view of the matterhorn. There are lots of restaurants and shops on this street. We ate outside at the italian - on the right near the main square. I had an amazing risotto there.
Thank you for the advice all! I just wanted to update the EF on the conditions at Zermatt. The Glacier Palace and the last leg of the gondola going up there were closed this past weekend (June 2, 2012); I didn't see any notice on the Zermatt website prior to going there, but then again I wasn't looking for it.
So we walked across town again to catch the train up to Gornergrat instead. The views were spectacular. The cost is 80 CHF round-trip, or 40 CHF if you have the half-price card or other similar transportation deal. We stayed there for quite a while, just enjoying the view. The one souvenir shop was closed up there. There appears to be one restaurant but we didn't go in.
We did see a wild goat on the side of the mountain, though! The views of the Matterhorn and the mountain range were wonderful. Be aware that after around 2pm your photos will be backlit, but still beautiful. It's a bit like Vancouver but you get to be really close to the mountains after only a 35min train ride, which also offers spectacular views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn.
Overall we had a great trip and I finished it off with a yummy cheese fondue!