Zermatt
📷 Chensiyuan· CC BY-SA 4.0Zermatt - Im Herzen der Alpen | Zermatt - In the heart of the Alps
About
Zermatt is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Wikipedia →Summary excerpted from the Wikipedia article Zermatt, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may be clipped or paraphrased to fit this page.
Why visit
Visit Zermatt for music, theater, and performance, landscape, water, gardens, and nearby routes. Use Zermatt to connect cultural institutions with streets, food, public space, and nearby landscape rather than treating each stop separately. A good itinerary should stay selective. A good route in Zermatt begins with one serious site and adds smaller stops only when they clarify the same area. For Zermatt, this usually reveals more than adding one more distant sight. Use the surroundings of Zermatt deliberately: they should clarify the place, not simply add movement.
When to avoid
Zermatt, a popular visitor destination known for its striking views of the Matterhorn, experiences its worst travel conditions during the peak winter holiday season from late December to early January. During this time, the town is crowded with tourists, the slopes are congested, and accommodations are in high demand, leading to inflated prices. Additionally, adverse weather conditions such as heavy snowfall and limited visibility can disrupt travel plans and outdoor activities. Travelers seeking a more peaceful and affordable experience may consider visiting Zermatt during the shoulder seasons in spring or autumn.
Winter
For Zermatt, June through August usually require the most attention to heat, light, and weather. The warm window is short, so outdoor plans need to use daylight efficiently. In Zermatt, keep the route tight, carry water where appropriate, and avoid making one exposed site carry the whole day. In Zermatt, the day is easier when indoor stops and evening options share the work.
Spring
The cooler or wetter season in Zermatt generally falls in December through February. Winter is long and cold, so plans should be built around daylight, transport, and reliable interiors. In Zermatt, this is often a good time for close looking indoors, especially in museums, archives, churches, theaters, and bookshops. Outdoor time in Zermatt works best when it can be shortened or moved.
The next week in Zermatt
7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).
Today
Snow showers
5° / 0°
2.5 mm
UV High
Sat
Snow showers
7° / -1°
UV Very high
Sun
Overcast
9° / 0°
UV High
Mon
Rain
4° / 1°
1.3 mm
UV Moderate
Tue
Rain
8° / -1°
1.2 mm
UV Moderate
Wed
Rain
12° / 5°
1.8 mm
In May 16
JFMAMJJASOND
Air quality
No monitoring station within 25 km.
Weather
18° / -11°
Typical high / low
4 mm rainfall this month
Daylight
14.9h
05:57 – 20:52local
Year-round climate
Monthly highs, lows, and rainfall (long-term averages, NASA POWER).
Airports near Zermatt
3 commercial airports within 100 km. Closest is Milan Malpensa International Airport (MXP) at 87 km.
Getting around Zermatt
Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.
Local transit operators
VectareRVSSchweizerische Bundesbahnen SBBGornergratbahnZermatt Bergbahnen AGMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn (fo)Elektrobus ZermattPostAuto AGLEXMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn (bvz)FlixBus-euDB Regio AG NRWHessische LandesbahnNeckar-DonauBlaBlaCar BusSBB Infrastruktur AG BahnersatzFlixBus-deFlixBus-deFlixBus-deInterimsfahrplan / Horaire interimaire / Orario ad interim
Operators and modes aggregated by from individual transit-agency GTFS feeds. Route classifications (subway / tram / rail / bus / etc) come from each feed’s GTFS route_type codes.
Sister cities
Saved on my Zermatt list
3 pins · 3 visited
See these as a focused list: Things to do in Zermatt →
Sources
This page blends public reference data, climate/elevation services, and personal notes. Travel requirements can change, so visa and entry details should be checked again before booking.
- Wikipedia →
Summary, canonical article, and some image fallbacks.
- Wikidata →
Population, area, image, coordinates, and linked identifiers where available.
- NASA POWER →
Monthly temperature and rainfall climatology.
- Open-Meteo historical weather →
1991-2020 temperature and precipitation cross-check for compact climate fields.
- Open-Elevation →
Coordinate-based elevation backfill.
- tz database →
Coordinate-based IANA timezone lookup.
- City flag source →
Public domain, Original: M. Hans Lengweiler Vector: ARK.
- Site credits →
Global source notes, map tiles, flags, licenses, and attribution policy.