Zermatt
Zermatt is a community located (46°1'N, 7°45'E) at the base of the Matterhorn in the German-speaking section of the Valais canton in southern Switzerland. It is 62 km southwest of Gstaad, and only about 10 km from the border to Italy. The name, from Zer Matt, means The Meadow. It is famed as a ski resort and as a general tourist destination.
The town is carfree. Most visitors reach Zermatt by cog-railway train from the nearby town of Tasch. Trains also depart for Zermatt from farther down the mountain at Visp. The only passenger vehicles operating within Zermatt are the tiny electic shuttles that hotels provide to carry visitors from the town center to the hotel properties.
Zermatt is a starting point for many hikes into the surrounding mountains, including the Haute Route that ultimately leads to Chamonix. A complex of aerial tramways and chair lifts carry skiers in the winter and hikers in the summer; the highest of them leads to the Klein Matterhorn, a small outcropping on the ridge between Breithorn and Matterhorn that offers spectacular views in all directions.
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