Zermatt Annual Events to Attend when staying in a Zermatt Apartment

As well as the fabulous ski slopes in winter and amazing summer sports, Zermatt has several events happening each year.  Below is a list of regular events to help you decide when to come to this beautiful place.

• Zermatt Marathon in July – Starting over 1000 metres above sea level and finishing approxiamately 2500 metres above sea level this must be one of the most challenging marathons there are.
• Zermatt Festival in October – A festival of music and other art forms too, regularly featuring the Berlin Philharmonic Ensemble, playing Mozrt, Bach and modern classic from Gershwin.
• Bump Bash in
• Matterhorn Eagle Cup Golf Competition
• Swiss Snowboard Championships
• Patrouille des Glaciers
• Raiffeisen Open Tennis Competition
• Folklore Parade
• Cantonal Festival of Tradition

More details coming.

Summer Skiing in Zermatt with Loving Zermatt Apartments

Summer Skiing in Zermatt

Summer skiing is an experience like no other.  Taking to the slopes in the morning and rushing down the glacier runs is exhilarating.  Zermatt is perfect for summer skiing as it so high in altitude, over 3800 metres.

With 25 km of piste, although it’s only a small proportion of what is available in winter, it is plenty to have fun and improve your technique, along side some of the worlds best skiers, such as the Swiss, Russian and Austrian Olympic teams.

If you are feeling particularly adventurous there it is even a snow park to prefect your skills on the half pipe, rails and jumps.

Ski in Summer in Zermatt

The ski-lifts open at 7am, when the slopes will be icy, then softening as the day progresses, then by lunch too heavy to ski, with the lifts closing at 2 in the afternoon, skiing only makes up part of the day, the rest can be enjoyed by relaxing in the village, walking, mountain biking or any other fantastic outdoor activity.

Remember to take your sunblock and wear sunglasses as the summer sun, high altitude and snow can make the sun very strong.

With the largest summer ski area in the Alps, and open every single day of the year this is a real alternative to a regular beach summer holiday!

Arriving at your Zermatt Apartment by The Glacier Express

The Glacier Express in Summer with the Matterhorn in the Background

Surely there is no better way to travel to Zermatt than on The Glacier Express.

The Glacier Express is a train that travels in Switzerland from St Moritz and Davos to Zermatt taking in a most beautiful scenic route.  Through over 90 tunnels and over more than 290 bridges the line takes in mountainous beauty unparalleled.  For 7 1/2 hours, whilst not the fastest service this is certainly the most impressive in scale, travelling up to heights of over 2000 metres in altitude.  Over 250,000 passengers a year enjoy this amazing journey.

In the early part of the twentienth century, wealthy upper class travelers from all over the world, enthusiasitically embraced the Alps as a venue for healthy sporting activity and adventure.  To service this need for the 1920’s thrill seekers a railway companies of the time collaborated to offer a route between the two glamourous and fashionable health resorts of Zermatt and St Moritz.  The route was possible only in summer, until 50 years after initiation, when the Furka route was made passable in winter.

The route follow this pattern: 

• St Moritz or Davos.
• Filisur.
• Over the Landwasser-viaduct and Rheinschlucht to  Disentis.
• Over the Oberalp pass, it’s highest point 2033m then down to Andermatt.
• Through the Furka-Basis Tunnel to Brig.
• Visp.
• Pass the awesome rock fall at Randa which cutt-off the line in 1991.
• Tasch, the end of the line for cars, which are not allowed any further up the valley.
• Zermatt.

All the cars, second or first class have panoramic windows, affording amazing vistas over the valleys and mountains of Switzerland, and a commentary is provided.

There are normally only 3 trains per day, 4 in Peak summer season, in both directions, all departing in the mornings to arrive early evening in time for dinner.  The prices are in the 150 CHF to 250 CHF mark, with dogs paying half price.

The Glacier Express passing the Oberalp Lake.

Zermatt Snow Parks to go to when staying in a fabulous Zermatt Apartment

If just speeding down the slopes on your board or skis is just too easy try learning a few tricks in one of Zermatt’s snow park areas.

The Gravity Park over at Matterhorn Paradise is open nearly all year, yes nearly all year, so even if you have come to stay in a Zermatt apartment to go hiking in summer you can still grab some air at the Gravity Park.

At the Gravity Park there is a super pipe, half pipe, kickers rails and jumps, which you will find above chairlift Trockener Steg, the exact position changes depending on the season.

Over by Blauherd there is a small fun park with jumps and rails ideal for beginners who may find the Gravity Park a little daunting.

So tried the jumps, rails and pipes, a little battered a bruised?  Come home to a great Zermatt apartment where you can soak in the bath, then put your feet up whilst your friends cook you a juicy home made chilli!

Restaurants in Zermatt

We love the restaurants in Zermatt.  Compared to the on-slope canteens you may find in most resorts, Zermatt has some fabulous gourmet restaurants where instead of just stopping off for a bite to eat on the way down the slope, they are a destination for a long sumptuous indulgent delightful meal.  If you are a vegetarian then maybe you should think of somewhere else to go, as in most restaurants lamb is the speciality, and it really is special.  We tend to go to the on-slope restaurants for lunch, then cater for ourselves staying in a self-catering Zermatt apartment with a fully equipped kitchen.  that way we can splash out a little during the day knowing we can save the pennies in the evenings with a big home cooked ‘’spag-bol”.  These are genuinely our favourite restaurants and we have no connection with the owners (we wish we did!)

Our favourites on the slopes are Chez Vrony, the Zum See and Franz & Heidi’s.  In the village there is Schafestuble and Chez Heini.

Chez Vrony

Situated in Findeln Chez Vrony and Franz & Heidi’s are just a jump away from each other.  Chez Vrony is in a 3 storey wooden house that is straight out of a fairy tale.  Decorated beautifully, mostly with ironwork sculptures created by the owner’s son (who also has a gallery in the village), the place has a magical feel to it.  On a sunny day it’s great to get a table on the terrace with awesome views of the Matterhorn, but make sure you take your sun-cream.  On a snowy cold day you can cosy up inside and be waited in by the friendly, and sometimes rather eccentric staff.  The menu is broadly modern European with some Alps staples on there too, such as a wonderful hey soup, goulash and rosti’s complimented by a wonderful slightly curried seafood dish.

Just a little slide down the hill, is Franz & Heidi’s where in thier tiny cosy dining rooms, or again on the balcony, you’ll be served hearty lamb cooked to perfection, again served with a welcome and warmth you won’t find in other resorts.

The Zum See

Coming down from the Schwarzee Paradise, on a little detour from the last run home is the Zum See.   On a sunny day you’ll be seated around the cattle huts, which gives you the feeling of eating in a little miniature Hansel and Grettal fairy tale village.  If it’s not sunny, and you don’t have a reservation, then with some luck you may get a table inside the tiny dining room.   Again the food is wonderful, serving the staples of Rosti’s, lamb, and warming soups.

In the village we have just 3 favourites, as we tend to cook for ourselves in the evenings, Chez Hieni, Schaferstuble and Myoko.

The Schäferstube is in the cellar of the Hotel Julen.  With a real fire burning this is romantic and intimate place.  Starting with a healthy fresh green salad of subtle tasting leaves accompanied by a crisp white, then linger over a bottle of deep rich red wine and and savour, again, that lamb.

Chez Hieni is a place every visitor to Zermatt must go to for fun, camp, kitsch night of entertainment and again fantastic food.  Your lamb (yes lamb again) will be carved for you by the owner, a colourful character and quite a big celebrity in Switzerland.  Then, whilst you are enjoying your meal, the lights will go down, a large video screen will appear and the owner Dan Daniel will sing for you whilst playing his video behind.  You need to be prepared for this, several bottles of wine should do the trick.  As a momento you can purchase a reindeer ornament, that’s dressed in stillettos carrying a handbag – yes people do buy them!

Schäferstübli Restaurant

So you have had your fill of lamb, you have cooked enough of your own food, and now need a break from so much meat.  Try the Myoko, a  Teppan-Yaki & Sushi Restaurant.  You will be seated at a bar that encloses a chef who chops, slices and sizzles your food in front you, in a most amazing and seemingly dangerous way!  Also, he’ll take turns with everyone around his bar, throwing omlete, usually unseccessfully into your mouth.  It’s a fun night, but like most reataurants in Zermatt – pricey!

Loving Zermatt offers apartments in Zermatt for rental by days or weeks.  We have created a fantastic portfolio of accommodation in Zermatt from luxury to budget, each with a fully equipped kitchens allowing you to prepare your breakfast, lunches and dinners yourself, so you can choose when you want to treat yourself in any of the fantastic restaurants of Zermatt.

…or if you are too lazy to cook for yourself – there is always MacDonalds!

Finding Accommodation in Zermatt

Space, luxury and style.

Choosing the right accommodation in Zermatt just got easier with our new website  lovingzermatt.com.  We created the site for this reason alone.  We LOVE Zermatt and wanted to find accommodation in Zermatt for a large group of us.  We started off at zermatt.ch, which was great as all apartments in Zermatt were listed there, but it didn’t really give much more information.  Some Zermatt apartment owners have their own websites, but few publish prices or availability, and it was impossible to compare them side by side.

We used the technology that we developed for our website in Barcelona, and our relationship management skills, and apartment rental experience to bring together some of the best apartments in Zermatt together.  From luxury to budget, it is now possible to compare prices, in any currency, select the features you want, and, for some apartments even see online availability.  At least one member of the team has visited the apartments on the site, and we have built close relationships with the managers to ensure great standards on cleanliness and customer care.

Big Group Booking Tool

If you are in a very big group and need several apartments in one building you can use our unique Book Group Booking Tool.  With this tool you can tell us your date of arrival, how long you are staying and how many are in your group, and we will show you all the apartments by building, with everyone in the group allocated into apartments, so you can see instantly how much it will cost and what is available.  You can also tell us if you do not want to use sofa-beds, and if you want to share double beds or not.  Once automatically allocated you can move people around according to whether there are couples, who might like an en-suite and who wants to be with whom.  With each change the price is automatically calculated for you in any currency, for the whole trip, and per person per night.  It’s so simple and powerful and it is unique to lovingapartments.com.

Luxury apartment in Zermatt