40 Fun Things To Do in Zermatt & around in Winter

There are lots of fun things to do in Zermatt. Many kilometers of pistes invite you to snowboard and ski in the winterly Matter Valley. The majestic Matterhorn in the background beguiles the senses every day anew. Also in snow-blown weather, when the literally outstanding mountain is hidden behind a white wall of clouds, you feel its powerful presence. But I don't want to tell you about skiing and snowboarding yet.

There are plenty of other fun things to do in Zermatt and around. Here I've put together a handpicked selection for you. The first 6 we did at the beginning of February. These things don't cost too much and you can do them independently and a little bit away from the crowds.

Nevertheless, I did not want to deprive you of the huge offer of Zermatt and introduce you to many more cool activities.

 

Where are St. Niklaus and Zermatt?

St. Niklaus and Zermatt are located in the Mattertal in the canton Wallis in the south of Switzerland and only a little north of the Italian border. Due to its winter sports and hiking area and of course the Matterhorn, Zermatt is a popular tourist center of Switzerland.

St. Niklaus is the main village of the Mattertal and used to be a center of mountaineering and mountain guiding.

Here we found a small but cute and cheap chalet to stay, the "Nachtigall" (Nightingale).

Source: wikipedia.org

 

How to get to St. Niklaus and Zermatt

By train the Mattertal can be reached from Bern and Zurich within 2-3 hours. In Visp, at the foot of the Mattertal, you change to the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn. The journey from Bern costs CHF 45 with a half-fare card.It is worth looking for saving tickets, which are available for CHF 30.

The journey by car to St. Niklaus from Zurich and Bern is via the Lötschberg base tunnel, where you have to load your car onto the train (15 minutes).

Or you can take the Autobahn via Montreux into the Valais, which is about 100 km more to drive but not necessarily longer.

Or as a third option, the sight-seeing route through the Simmental via Zweisimmen. Here you first drive in the direction of Thun on the Autobahn before taking the exit in the direction of Zweisimmen. Very nice route, but about 4 hours to the Mattertal.

On a hike from St. Niklaus to Grächen

 

Where to stay in Zermatt and around

My only hotel experience in Zermatt is the Hotel „Post“to which I was invited by the company I worked with a few years ago. It's located in a beautiful old Valaisan house in the very center of Zermatt and offers you everything the heart desires: comfortable and spacious rooms with balconies, a really nice restaurant, several bars, and several wellness options.

If you want to live in style, stay at the Hotel "Post" in Zermatt.But if you want to stay at a much more affordable price, take a look at the following saving tips.

 

Saving tips in and around Zermatt

2 valuable saving tips in advance:

• If you have to watch your budget, don't look for accommodation in Zermatt. Further down in the valley you will find cheaper rooms and holiday homes. Ok, you will have to include the journey to Zermatt then, but this is still cheaper if you are in the area for several days or longer.
• Instead of booking a hotel room, look for accommodation with a kitchen so that you don't have to eat out all the time.

Our Nightingale

 

40 Fun Things to do in Zermatt

& around

 

1 Stay Home!

Even though there are many fun things to do in Zermatt every day, sometimes it's the best to stay at home.

On Airbnb, we found a cozy chalet in St. Niklaus (in the local tongue: Zaniglas), 40 minutes from Zermatt. As described in the pictures and text of the website, the small chalet welcomed us warmly a couple of minutes outside the village. It provides you we a small kitchen, bathroom, and a double bed underneath the roof, only accessible by a ladder.

Our first two days were rather snowy and dull. Perfect to prepare something delicious inside, uncork a bottle of good red wine, and enjoy the cozy, warm chalet.

If you can't spend the entire day indoors, the small village of St. Niklaus with its old stone houses and slate roofs waits for you. There is not much going on here, but it is still worth a walk, for example for grocery shopping.

Church Tower in St. Niklaus

 

2 A Walk Through Zermatt

Also, our second day was grey and snowy. Nevertheless, we wanted to have a closer look at Zermatt today. From St. Niklaus, it is either a 40 minutes train ride or a quarter of an hour by car to Täsch, the last station before Zermatt. Here, you have to leave the car and jump onto the train for the last 10 minutes. Zermatt is car-free.

Also in the winter snow flurry, the famous Zermatt has its charm. Yes, it is an expensive tourist center that is visited by wealthy people from all over the world, in the winter as well as in summertime. I like to compare the village with an outdoor museum. The many beautiful wooden chalets with their slate roofs, lots of souvenir shops, stylish hotels, and Valaisan restaurants impress.

We walked through the village while a light breeze blew snow in our faces. But soon, we left the bustle of Zermatt behind us and walked further in direction to the mountain restaurant "Zum See"where you can warm up. Over Blatten back to Zermatt, this is a pleasant one hour walk.I like this kind of snowy winters.

 

3 Thermal Bath Brig

In the evening we drove to the thermal spa Brigerbad, half an hour drive from St. Niklaus.Between 5 and 6 pm is the perfect time to arrive, when the visitors get hungry and the bath empties a bit.

In the Brigerbad you will find a large outdoor pool with showers and jets,wonderful views of the snowy mountains included. If you want, there is also a cold water pool to jump in.

Inside there are steam baths with different fragrances, a large hot water, and a small cold watergrotto. On the upper floor is the nude area. Three saunas with different temperatures and humidity levels and foot baths will make you sweat.

The Brigerbad thermal spa isn't huge, but 3 hours of wellness fly by in a flash. It also offers various kinds of massages.

Opening hours:Daily from 9 am to 9 pm

Price for thermal bath, grotto, steam baths, and sauna area:

CHF 27.00 for 3 hours, CHF 37 full day

How to get to Brigerbad by car:

About 30 minutes from St. Niklaus in the direction of Brig. Follow the signs before Brig.

How to get to Brigerbad by train:

St. Niklaus – Brigerbad, Thermalbad ca. 1 Stunde. Mit Halbtax: CHF 9.50 (sbb.ch)

 

4 Hike To Grächen

A steep, but not very far hike (about 4-5 km). From St. Niklaus, you simply follow the yellow hiking trail markings towards Grächen through small settlements and forests. About 3 times you cross the main road.

In the touristic Grächen, where you find many restaurants, hotels, and shopping facilities, you can either take the bus back to St. Niklaus or walk back.

St. Niklaus – Grächen: 1.5 hours

Grächen – St. Niklaus: 1 hour

And of course, once arrived in Grächen, there are many more hiking trails to discover. A small loop leads you through snow and forests and takes about 1 hour. First, follow the signs in direction of Zermatt. The number 12 indicates this route. Either way, you cannot get lost, as you will never be far from the village. When you come across the sled run, follow it down past the Hotel on the lake back to Grächen.

Another hike (where snowshoes are recommended) leads up to the Hannigalp (approx. 1.5h). If you don't want to hike, you can also take the gondola up.

 

5 Sledding Day Hannigalp - Grächen

Again, we first go up to Grächen by bus or, as in our case, by car. In Grächen, sleds can be rented. But since we were provided with some by our hosts of the chalet, we could save that.

From the valley station in Grächen gondolas go up to Hannigalpwhere several ski slopes lead in all directions. Here you can first eat and laze a little in the sun before the sledding begins.

At first, we didn't quite know where the sledding run was. We just followed the ski slope towards Grächen and after about 200m we found the entrance on the left into the forest, which is meant for sledders.

And then it went downhill. But fast! If you don't have a lot of experience with sleds, it's a real challenge to keep it under control and to be able to brake sufficiently in the tight turns. So be careful!

So in no time until we were back down in Grächen. From the lake above Grächen, you have to walk the rest of the way to the village, as mentioned before under hike 12.

A single gondola ride (with half-fare 50%) costs CHF 14.60. A 5-ride ticket: CHF 66.-, if you want to sled down several times. You can find more info under graechen.ch

 

6 Snowshoe hike Gornergrat

This day was the highlight of our week in and around Zermatt. A flawless blue sky accompanied us from morning until evening on our way up to Zermatt, where we rented snowshoes (in any sports store for about CHF 12.-/day) and bought a ticket up to the Gornergrat (CHF 20.- single ride with a half fare card, about 20 minutes).

The rack railroad is a spectacle in itselfoffering stunning views of Zermatt and the Matterhorn.

Viewing platform on the Gornergrat

It was Friday, February 7, a wonderfully sunny day. Surprisingly, the Gornergrat was not overly crowded with tourists. Marvelous, because the Gornergrat has so much to offer:

• Fabulous view of the Matterhorn and another 28 (!) four-thousand meters high mountains of the Swiss and Italian Alps
• The Gornergrat glacier, the second largest glacier in the Alps
• Gornergrat circular trail with viewing platform
• "Must-see" reflection of the Matterhorn in the Riffelsee (unfortunately only in summer!)
• But in winter: Wonderful skiing, sledding (from Rotenboden) and Snowshoe trails from Gornergrat

Most people arrive with skis and snowboards on the Gornergrat, followed by tourists with city shoes and cameras. The fewest with snowshoes. Among them were we.

A short hike led us from the Gornergrat to a rocky hill, which we were fortunate to have all to ourselves.So we spent 2 hours at this wonderful place, took countless photos and movies of the Matterhorn (of which we had a private 1A view), enjoyed the sunny afternoon and a picnic that left nothing to be desired.

Thereupon, we followed the snowshoe trail past Rotenboden to the Riffelberg.The almost 4.5 km long hike is indicated with a duration of 2.5 hours. With our extensive break, we needed certainly more than 4.

In Riffelberg, after an aperitif, you either take the Gornergratbahn back to Zermatt or, like us, the gondola down to Furi.From here, it is still about a one-hour hike back to Zermatt.

This was a gorgeous day that will remain in our memories!