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Hello everyone…
Just returned from 7 nights in Zermatt. This was our third visit to Zermatt having previously visited in Dec 2019 and Dec 2021. We’re from Houston, TX. My wife was born and raised there. I’m from Connecticut so I have a lot more snow experience than she does, which is why she still loves it. Having lived in it for 40 winters, I have a different perspective…though I do miss it now that I’ve moved to Houston. So each year we try to book a “snow” vacation and Zermatt has become a favorite destination. On our first visit, it snowed quite a bit and was absolutely the Winter Wonderland we had hoped for. Being the week before Christmas, everything about that trip felt perfect. Then during our 2021 visit (same week), we didn’t see a single flake fall. We still had a great time of course, but we aimed for later in the winter this time to increase our snow chances…or so we thought. We did see a few flurries this time for about an hour on one day. “Unfortunately”, the weather was sunny, though still very cold most of the time and the lack of snow in the village was noticeable compared to previous years. But the trip overall was fantastic just the same.
On our first two trips we flew into Zurich. This time, through Geneva. The experience was essentially the same. Easy access to the train (in the airport) and about a 3.5 hour trip with just one train change (in Visp) from either starting point. We typically book 1st class tickets going into vacation and 2nd class coming out. Honestly, the 1st class ticket probably isn’t worth it but the seats are more comfortable and the cars more quiet and less crowded. It was nice to see a new view, traveling alongside Lake Geneva, which is beautiful and a lot bigger than I expected. At some points, it almost looked like an ocean and extended on for miles of our journey. We also passed through some villages which appeared to have huge vineyards extending up into the mountains. I want to do some research on that but haven’t had a chance yet as we just arrived home last night. I couldn’t sleep so figured maybe writing this will knock me out. If that doesn’t work, Swiss vineyard research will come next and might do the trick.
From Visp (thankfully we had about 20 minutes between connections this time, unlike previous years when we had to sprint with luggage from platform to platform with only seconds to spare…one time unsuccessfully), the ride was familiar but still very beautiful. We were mesmerized not only by the snow covered mountains, but the waters of the frosty light blue alpine streams that run alongside much of the track. That’s not something you see in most of the U.S. and definitely not in Houston, whose favorite color, even for the ocean, is brown.
The train station in Zermatt is located a very short walk (5 minutes tops) from our hotel. We’ve stayed at the Butterfly on each of our trips and really like it. If you want a Swiss Chalet feel to your hotel without breaking the bank, then this is a great choice. Cozy lobby with fireplace. Great restaurant and bar. We saw many familiar faces amongst the staff which was great. Very nice and helpful people overall, though there was a new bartender (heard her mention she had been there 8 months) who didn’t seem to like her job very much and made no secret when she wanted to go home for the evening even if closing hour was still 30-40 minutes away. One night, my wife and I were the only people in the bar, relaxing after a long day, still well before the closing hour and she proceeded to slam just about everything that could be slammed behind the bar as if trying to drop a major hint and drive us off (which she succeeded at). She was the exception to the rule though and we laughed it off. Even she couldn’t dampen our feelings about this hotel. We would stay again and recommended it to anyone. One tip…You definitely want a mountain view room. All rooms have balconies. The mountain view balconies offer an amazing and relaxing view of the mountains. A great way to start or end your day, sitting outside (even in the cold) with a cup of coffee or glass of wine and just take it all in. The “classic” rooms also have balconies but they face apartment buildings and offer no real view at all. Breakfast is included in the rate and is fantastic, offering everything you’d want eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, breads, meats, cheeses, salmon, pastries/donuts/cakes and our favorite Meusli. Even vegetarian/vegan offerings (I’ll pass, thanks). Awesome coffee options and juices…and then of course, the milk and butter. The most delicious milk and butter you’ve ever tasted (obviously not unique to the hotel, but the region in general). I had to have a croissant every morning just to indulge in the butter. Each afternoon, the hotel has tea time/happy hour from 4:00-5:30 which was a perfect way to cap off an active day. The tea time offered complementary coffee/tea and sweets, though we opted to sit at the bar and have wine with our sweets. These always had a strong turnout and we met a lot of nice people during them. Pro tip: If you offer to pass on housekeeping services for the day, you receive two vouchers for a free wine/beer in the bar. We didn’t figure this out until a couple days in and then took them up on the offer the each day the rest of the way. Of course any of your room needs are still met as the housekeeping staff knocks to ask if you need anything when they deliver the vouchers. One last note on the hotel…Who doesn’t like to lay in bed after long day and watch foreign TV until you fall asleep? I do. Well..They seem to have replaced their television service with some new internet based option and for the life of me, I could not figure out how to use it. I was able to get one channel to work consistently…CNN (not my favorite) and spent more time trying to figure out the remote than actually watching TV. The volume control didn’t work (it was set on loud), the channel changer didn’t work and the TVs Siri voice was set to “on” and wouldn’t shut up. I never could figure out how to turn it off. It was the most non-intuitive television experience, though I was able to stay up to date on the Chinese Spy Balloon. On our previous trips, the hotel had more conventional televisions with no issues whatsoever and many channels. Small issue overall but why make it so complicated? Great hotel…but fix the TV situation. 🙂
Speaking of “loud”…The TVs volume was the only thing in the village that was loud. Zermatt at night has to be the quietest place on the planet. The expression, the silence was deafening is never more true than it is in Zermatt at night. It was so quiet, we eventually resorted to playing a 10 hour box fan video on Youtube on my Mac Book as we slept. It’s literally just an image of a box fan running on high for 10 hours. This really helped us sleep!
Food and drink (primarily beer and wine) play a big part in our travels regardless of destination so a warning…much of this trip report is about food and drink. If you’re not interested in that topic you may want to skip it. We are foodies and love to try new things and eat what the locals eat and what the region is famous for. For our first trip to Zermatt, we failed to make reservations and were turned away at nearly every restaurant we were eager to try. We ended up settling for restaurants that would take us. Obviously, these were the less desirable options and left us with an underwhelming view of Swiss food. We’ve learned from that experience, however and our view has done a complete 180. If you take anything from this report, it’s that you need to make restaurant reservations before you arrive (in some cases weeks in advance). Short of that, if all else fails, ask your hotel to try to make a reservation for you when you arrive. Even if the restaurant looks booked up on its website or they tell you it is over the phone, your hotel will probably be able to get you in.
We arrived in Zematt around 5:00pm and the first meal of our trip was at Say Cheese in the Zermatterhof Hotel. We had tried to eat here on previous trips without reservation and as expected, we were unsuccessful. This time we were prepared and had a great experience. This was definitely, the most enjoyable fondue we’ve had. We started off with a plate of dried meat…beef and sausage and then moved on to the Valias mountain fondue which promised to be “stronger” than regular fondue. We’re fans of stinky/strong cheeses, so we went for it and we were glad we did. To the fondue, we added tomato, which we had never tried before. It added a great flavor as well. Along with the fondue you get the traditional boiled potatoes and bread and we opted to add a side of vegetable sticks (just to keep it healthy), which consisted of a bowl of chopped raw vegetables (some that were unfamiliar to us) that we weren’t really sure what to do with. One new twist for us, at the end of the dinner portion of the meal, we were asked if we wanted to try the crispy, burnt cheese at the bottom of the pot. We had never been asked this before and of course said yes. If you’re a pizza eater and you like your pizza “well done”, this is a can’t miss. It tasted like the best part of a slice of pizza. Crispy, “just burnt enough” cheese. A nice final taste. Added to this was a bottle of the lightest, smoothest Pinot Noir which brought the bill to around $200CHF (Swiss Francs) or about $220 USD. We added a tip as there was a line for one on the credit card receipt, but this was an inconsistent practice through out the trip. Some restaurants subtly hinted that they would be appreciated and others never gave you a chance. On average, our dinners ranged from $200 to $300 USD per night, which included a bottle of wine and sometimes a glass or two more and usually a dessert. We really enjoyed this meal and when you hear this is the best fondue in Zermatt, I tend to believe it. It’s definitely the best we’ve had on our three trips..but I’m sure there are many other places that could stake that claim.
Our second meal was at Le Gitan. Our table was close to the wood burning oven which gave the place a nice ambience. My wife opted for Tiger Prawns with butter which were very good and I, the lamb which was great…but we were both semi disappointed to not order the whole chickens which they had turning on a spit in the fire. The family next to us did order them and they looked amazing. However, my wife and I have a running joke about eating chicken on vacation. When we are home and trying to be healthy, we eat it about three times a week with about as much excitement as a trip to the dentist. So on vacation, we would never consider it. But we almost made an exception here. It looked that good. This meal started our tradition of trying soup at every meal. Here it was tomato and we weren’t disappointed as it is one of our favorites, especially in cold weather. We added a dozen escargot and then black and white chocolate mousse to round out the meal and left very satisfied. We would go back.
Dinner number three was at The Stockhorn Grill. This came upon recommendation from a contributor here and we were not disappointed. Just from the look of the place, I knew it was going to be a hit. It’s as cozy and warm as you would want on a cold winter night. Great vibe to the place. The atmosphere was very festive and everyone seemed to be having a great time. And the menu made it a no brainer. All locally sourced, we started with a bowl of creamy Jerusalem Artichoke bisque, which we really enjoyed and a plate of citrus and juniper cured trout. Trout is an amazingly underrated fish in the U.S., but if you know you know and I’m a huge trout fan. I had never had it cured before, which presented almost as if it was sushi. With the horseradish cream sauce it was perfect. This was a tough decision though as the roasted marrow bone, slow cooked beef tongue and beef tartare were all very tempting. For the main course, we opted for the Cote de Boeuf, which was very good though if I’m being very honest, for $150 (for two) I could’ve gotten a much better steak in the States. I wasn’t disappointed, but for the price, it could’ve been better. The steak came with vegetables and we chose Potatoes Gratin, which were very good especially the bites with the slightly burnt, crusty cheese top. The beef stew and Hunter’s stew with deer were also given consideration but alas, you can only pick one entree. Next time. 🙂 A shared warm apple crumble topped off the meal perfectly and we were happily stuffed. Another great meal and a restaurant we will definitely go back to.
The Stockhorn was our Friday evening meal and we were in town until Wednesday. We only had one more reservation booked, lunch at the Findlerhof Restaurant on Monday afternoon, so we weren’t sure what to expect the rest of the way. At this point, with one exception, we changed our approach to having heartier lunches and lighter dinners, even just a snack of meat, cheese and bread the rest of the way. This coupled with the tea time snacks at the hotel really satisfied us and kept us from being that hungry at night. Of course we always had bottles of wine and chocolates in the room and that kept the hunger edge off as well. This helped us save a little money and eliminated the reservation problem.
Knowing that getting to the Findlerhof would be an adventure (we’re not skiers!), we decide to take a practice run at it on Saturday so we would know what we were doing on Monday. The funicular ride was fun, though the cost not so much. I’m trying to remember but I want to say it was about $50 USD round trip for two adults. So we were paying $50 just to go have lunch. $100 including the practice run. But we looked at it as an adventure and were as excited for the hike as we were for the meal. For those who don’t know, the funicular runs underground from the village up the mountain to Sunnegga. This was a welcome relief for my height fearing wife, whose first experience in a cable car was when we visited the Glacier Paradise in 2019. It was a very windy day and the tops of the mountains had been closed because of it the previous few days. When they finally opened, allowing us to go up, they promptly closed again about an hour later, while we were at the top. The ride down was harrowing. We were told the ride down would be bumpy, but not to worry. We were safe. We worried anyways. The car stopped what seemed to be every 100 feet and left us bouncing very high up in the wind for what seemed like an eternity but was probably just seconds each time. Nervous laughter filled our very full car. The funicular was very tame in comparison. At the top, we asked for directions to Findeln, which were not as clearly marked as I had read they would be. At various points you were walking right on the ski pistes and then off on trails. You kind of had to look for the footpaths of previously trampled snow to stay on the right course. In some spots, they put down saw dust to help with the slippery footing, which made following the route easier but it wasn’t 100% of the trail. Far from it. Regardless, it was a beautiful adventure and we made it to the restaurant in about 40 minutes. One important note, you can only access the restaurant via ski or hike and the hike there is all down hill. So keep in mind what goes down, must go up and the hike back to the funicular was pretty slippery and steep (we were told not to continue to hike down to the village from the restaurant as we did not have crampons on our boots and it would be dangerous).
Along the route we passed through small villages and other restaurants, including Chez Vrony which we’ve wanted to eat at since our first trip but never have. On a Saturday with no reservations, we thought maybe we could slip in for a drink, but no such luck. Posted outside was a big sign that said fully booked, reservation only. This didn’t give us much hope for Findlerhof, which was just a little further down, but to our surprise they sat us without question. We had a nice meal of creamy garlic soup followed by rosti with bacon and two eggs and myself a few beers and my wife a few pinot noirs. It was a lively place with an incredible view of the Matterhorn, partially hidden by clouds on one of the few gray days we experienced. We loved this place and couldn’t wait to go back on Monday. The hike back up was somewhat treacherous. We were up against the darkness and the clock, as we probably partook in the festivities one round too long (perhaps two rounds), but we made it back before the funicular’s final run, after several stops to catch our breath on the hike back.
A quick note on Swiss wine. It’s awesome. Like Italy awesome. But because it’s not exported, we didn’t know anything about it until our first trip in 2019. In my opinion it is the best kept secret in wine and we never had a glass we didn’t enjoy throughout the entire trip. The best part is, you don’t have to order an overpriced bottle to get a great glass. Without fail, every house wine we ordered regardless of restaurant, was fantastic.
One final dinner I’d like to call out was at Pizzeria Roma. The website told us there would be no reservations available for the rest our trip, but our hotel easily got us in on just a few hours notice. The place was not that big and very crowded. The pictures on the website looked great and being pizza lovers, we were excited to give it a try. The host here was on point. Hustling around the restaurant seating people and making sure everything was running as smoothly as possible, however, the service overall was the most disappointing of the trip. It seemed they only had two waitresses handling the entire dining room. After sitting for 10 minutes we had to stop the host as he zoomed by to ask for menus. Then wait another exceptionally long time to order drinks. And then again to order food. Water we asked for never arrived. Neither did our final order of drinks. That didn’t prevent them from trying to upsell us Grappa and other after dinner drinks before we left. We ended up ordering an Italian appetizer platter and sharing a spicy salami pizza. The food was good, but the experience not the best. We’d go back in a pinch, but wouldn’t make a point of it like we would just about every other place we ate at.
I mentioned previously, we are not skiers which might make it seem odd that we keep going back to Zermatt. But we are firm believers that relaxing and freeing your mind while on vacation is as important as anything. We live very hectic lives back at home and Zermatt is as serene of a destination as you can imagine. The value of “doing nothing” while on vacation can’t be overstated in my opinion. Sitting on the balcony, wandering aimlessly through the village, finding a quiet spot for a drink by a fireplace are about as good as it gets to us and exactly what we want in a trip. New York City is our favorite destination on the planet and our trips there consist of pretty much nothing but wandering, people watching and eating great food and drinking great drink. Zermatt is no different, though with a little hiking sprinkled in. One of our favorite places to not do much while in Zermatt is Furi. Furi is a short and tame cable car ride from the village. I believe the cost was about $12 each way per person. Once there, there are cute restaurants and leisurely hiking trails which we typically follow until we start to get hungry and/or thirsty. This time, we wandered all the way to what appeared to be a Swiss ghost town, I believe it may have been Zmutt. It consisted of many old and seemingly empty buildings and one restaurant which was open, but alas “cash only” which we had not brought with us. We took some pictures then doubled back to one of our favorite hangouts in Zermatt, Aroleid Restaurant in Furi. We went there three times alone on this trip (twice by cable car and once by hiking, about an hour hike from the village, mostly uphill). Situated right on the ski piste, with soft live music (on the weekend), fun crowd, friendly staff and amazing food. We sat for hours just taking in the vibe and watching the skiers zoom past. French onion soup and the best bread and butter on the planet. Beetroot and pine nut salad, braised lamb, duck confit all delicious…and they roast their own coffee. We’re huge coffee drinkers so this is right up our alley. Of all the great moments of our trip, it’s hard to beat the ones we had in Furi.
Well…That was quite a ramble. There’s probably more to add and maybe I will but now I’m finally tired. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far) and thanks for all the previous help leading up to this trip. Can’t wait to go back.
Rob
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Hi Rob,
Thanks for sharing your travel experience. Such a detail report with great tips and recommendations.
Zermatt is certainly a magical place in winter. Reading you post makes me want to go there again and again.
Best regards,
Anna
Rob—What a fantastic trip report and I loved every word of your food descriptions. You gave me so many great ideas about Zermatt for the next time I visit there. Also, Switzerland is increasing the amount of wine it exports—today, a Whole Foods in my area (Washington, DC) was selling a Chasselas!
Janice
Thanks for your sharing your experiences in Zermatt in such detail! I’m very happy you had such wonderful and relaxing days there. Thanks also for all of your culinary tips. I just referred another forum member looking for hotel and restaurant suggestions in Zermatt to this thread :-).
Hi Rob,
That was fun to read, enjoyed it.
All the hiking you did, I can only assume it was through the snow? Sounds like a great trip you had, with a lot of hiking.
You mentioned the restaurant Le Gitan. On my fourth night in country, I finally had my first fondue. It was in the Zermatterstubli, which is the front of the Le Gitan. Same building, same hotel. I had (this was in September) come down from visiting both the Glacier Paradise, and the Gornergrat and wandered into the restaurant. For what it’s worth, I thought the fondue was great there. I didn’t realize Le Gitan was there until I was ready to leave and the waiter told me there was another restaurant in the back.
Thanks for sharing, as it brought memories for me.
Regards,
Danielsan
Hi Rob
I too enjoyed your trip report. We have visited Zermatt several times but always in the summer. So a very different experience. You might enjoy lunch or dinner at the Riffelalp Hotel next time you go. It is the 3rd or 4th stop on the Gornergratbahn and a short 100 yard walk from the train stop (the hotel has a small train that runs the short distance to the hotel that is free and runs about every 20 min too). The Riffelalp Hotel is a very upscale, (and expense) property that has the best view of the Matterhorn in all of Zermatt in my opinion. They have 2 restaurants, one is casual and the other is more fine dining. Also an outside terrace cafe that serves drinks and lunch weather permitting. We have stayed there several times and it is probably the nicest resort we have stayed at in Switzerland. Beautiful views, great accommodations, spectacular spa and food. Anyway it’s worth a visit in my opinion. You can view it online and TripAdvisor.
Mark. PS the thumbnail photo on my post was taken from the balcony of my room at sunrise
Great trip report! Loved hearing all the details about restaurants, food & drink. Good tips for future travelers, not only on food but walks, costs, and paying attention to “last call.” Sounds like you have your winter vacation strategy well defined, and well enjoyed. Thanks for all the info.
Thanks Bob. Hope you got a good nights sleep after your amazing travel log. We are coming from Australia to Zermatt in June. Will definitely be looking at restaurants and booking. We are staying at Butterfly. Cheers Trudy
Thanks Rob for sharing. It was an enjoyable read.
Thanks all for the kind words and feedback.
Yes…A lot of our hiking was through the snow. Some right on the piste and other times through previously trampled down snowy paths. Some of it was pretty steep and quite slippery, but not TOO scary. Just needed to stop periodically to enjoy the view and catch out breath.
We also had eaten at Zermatterstubli on a previous trip. We had their fondue and it was excellent as well. Would definitely go back there.
Enjoy your trip Trudy! If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a great and detailed trip report! If you ever decide to go sans snow, the walking to Chez Vrony and the Findlerhof is much easier and it is quite enjoyable to walk all the way back down to Zermatt. I highly recommend the Zum See, which involves a little hike and a reservation. You didn’t mention the Schaferstube – did you decide against it? I love the lamb and cozy atmosphere there. I’m sorry the service was less than stellar at Pizza Roma. I’ve been lucky to wander in a couple of times in years past and had great service, but it was always during the early summer when things are a bit less hectic. The Spycher is another to try – it is on my list for the next time since locals have recommended it to me. Loved reading about your trip!
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