Regarded by many as Switzerland's top ski resort and by plenty as the world's best, Zermatt is extremely picturesque, car free and offers spectacular views of the Matterhorn and 28 other peaks surrounding the mountain village. The winter sports opportunities are equally mind-blowing, with the world?s second biggest lift-served vertical drop, and a virtual guarantee of snow from top to bottom throughout the season thanks to Zermatt?s altitude and snowmaking on the lower slopes.

Zermatt offers skiing 365 days a year with a 1000 metre (3280 foot) vertical on its glacier in the summer months. And the glacier route provides lift links over the border to Cervinia and Valtournenche in Italy, now available on a joint lift pass after many years of moaning by visitors who previously had to pay a daily supplement.

Many visitors arrive on the funicular railway up from Brig, or they can park by one of the villages (Visp or T?sch) down the valley and take a shuttle bus or train over the last section. Zermatt is choc full of hundreds of high quality shops, restaurants and hotels with word-class off-slope leisure facilities. The village is peaceful thanks to the absence of the internal combustion engine -- only small electric vehicles quietly hum around the streets alongside horse drawn carriages. Truly, Zermatt is difficult to beat.

Vertical Drop:	7220 ft	Half Pipes:	2
Top Elevation:	12797 ft	Snowmaking:	32%
Skiable Acres:	-	Total:	9km
Trails:	70	Restaurants:	91
Lifts:	34
Cable cars:	14

• Hotels in Zermatt.
• Trail map.
  

Source: www.goski.com