Zermatt, Switzerland

This was one of the best ski experiences of Switzerland combined with a beautiful Swiss village. Zermatt is tucked down near that Italian border in the southern portion of Switzerland. You can reach it by three hours from Geneva, Zurich or Milano. Here you will find plenty of skiing (4 peaks), lots of transport up the mountain (trains, gondolas, cable cars, escalators, helicopters, elevators) and beautiful views of the Matterhorn at every turn.

Off piste skiing here was pretty good, despite most of the something for every type of skiier here,country needing some snow. Almost every day has been spring like conditions, which is typically great. You can literally find but the scenery really made it easy to stop and catch your breath.

The village of Zermatt was lively and beautiful at night. You can find all kinds of lodging options (5 star to budget). There are plenty of options for apres ski or dinner venues. We opted to go with a traditional Swiss meal, splitting some meat fondue.

Until you see it, you don't really understand what the big deal is about Matterhorn. We caught it from many different angles and after just a few glances you quickly understand why this is such a key source of national pride among the Swiss. Perhaps one of the favorite views was walking out of our apartment in the morning, catching Matterhorn lit from the morning sun.

Since Zermatt backs up to Italy, you have the ability to ski in two countries on the same day. The conditions were relatively the same, although the Swiss side (Zermatt) had more terrain then the Italian side (Cervinia). After one cable car ride up on the Italian side, you quickly realize how much more social and outgoing the Italian are compared to the reserved Swiss. The decibel level was a noticeable difference on each side.

The highest point you can ski from is about 3900m (over 12,800ft). This cable car may cause some white knuckles on the ascent, but the view makes it completely worth the angst. Atop this peak you get spectacular views of the Matterhorn, Italian and Swiss Alps. At this altitude you are surrounded by glaciers which seem to go on forever toward the southeastern corner of Switzerland. Even from a lower altitude (just below 2500m) you get some great views of Matterhorn and the surrounding mountains. In fact we had a pretty nice view at lunch Sunday...

For some more pictures of scenic Zermatt, click here.